Rosier named Outstanding Woman in Thoroughbred Horse Racing

The California state legislature honored Laura Rosier as an Outstanding Woman in Thoroughbred Horse Racing.

The resolution, authored by State Assemblyman Anthony Portantino and State Senator Bob Margett, was presented to Rosier on April 11 at the Santa Anita track in Arcadia.

“Racing has given me more than I can ever give back,” Rosier said.

The resolution noted that through her achievements as a supporter of the horse racing and breeding industries Rosier has become a positive role model for young people.

“My experiences in this industry enable me to be more helpful to others when situations arise,” Rosier said.

Rosier, who at the time was named Laura Dart, was 12 when she began her horse racing career as a backstretch worker at Tijuana’s Caliente racetrack in 1973.

She learned Spanish while working in Mexico, which has helped her communicate with Spanish-speaking workers at the San Luis Rey Downs Thoroughbred Training Facility and at the various racetracks.

Rosier spent her teen years as an exercise rider. She reached an agreement with the principal of Mar Vista High School in Imperial Beach in which she worked at Caliente during the day and attended Mar Vista Adult School at night.

The agreement lasted long enough for Rosier to graduate from high school at the age of 15.

She also had a handful of mounts as a jockey during fair meets, although female jockeys weren’t fully accepted in the 1970s and she had to hide her gender.

“We just weren’t very popular then and I didn’t want people throwing stuff at me,” she said. “I just tucked my hair under my helmet.”

In addition to tucking her hair under her helmet, she rode under the name L.A. Dart rather than using her full first name. She won two races out of her seven career mounts, one at the Salinas fairgrounds at the age of 16 and one at an Arizona fair meet.

“My dream was to be a full-time jockey, but I had to be realistic. Galloping horses made me a living,” she said.

Rosier has worked at the San Luis Rey Downs Thoroughbred Training Center since 1980. She stopped by the facility while visiting family in San Diego.

“When I found the place I never wanted to leave,” she said. “Just everything about it is a real peaceful place to train horses.”

Rosier had experienced the nomadic lifestyle of traveling between California tracks from 1977 to 1980.

Rosier met her husband, Tim, at San Luis Rey Downs. They have been married for 23 years, and when Tim Rosier became a trainer in 1987 his wife became his assistant.

In 2002 Laura Rosier obtained her own trainer’s license. “I just wanted to try some things my own way,” she said.

“We enjoy working together,” Rosier said of teaming with her husband, “but I wanted to develop some ideas of my own.”

Since 1986 Rosier has been on the executive board of the San Luis Rey Downs chapter of the Race Track Chaplaincy of America.

She has been an executive board member of the San Luis Rey Downs Horsemen’s Organization since 1988. In recent years she became a member of the Bonsall Chamber of Commerce board of directors.

Rosier also serves as the horsemen’s representative for the California Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Foundation and for California Thoroughbred Trainers.

In that capacity she has acquired funding for horsemen’s medical and dental needs, assisted horsemen in obtaining health care and financial aid, prepared monthly workers’ compensation updates, translated and mediated for Spanish-speaking horsemen, prepared immigration documents, and prepared manual pension forms.

That role earned her a promotion to the management of San Luis Rey Downs in April 2003.

Magna Entertainment Corporation, which owns San Luis Rey Downs, needed a staff member dedicated to health and safety issues. Eventually Rosier became the second assistant manager of San Luis Rey Downs, joining Sandy Moore in complementing the duties of general manager Leigh Ann Howard.

Rosier eventually also took over the security management functions of San Luis Rey Downs and also performs whatever other duties are needed.

Rosier’s safety programs at San Luis Rey Downs have included implementation of Occupational Health and Safety Administration regulations, the development and piloting of an emergency response team, and the development and chairing of monthly safety committee meetings.

She also handles human resources responsibilities at San Luis Rey Downs, including orientation, open enrollments and other benefits packages, and the handling and researching of workers’ compensation claims.

In December 2007 Rosier was certified as a paralegal. Her daughter, Kelly, graduated from the University of San Diego in May 2007 and had been certified as a paralegal before convincing her mother to complete the course.

Rosier also has a son, Chris, who works in the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club catering department and also works as a disc jockey.

Rosier’s husband and daughter were in the audience for the Outstanding Woman in Thoroughbred Horse Racing presentation, as were Howard and Moore.

“It was a very nice day,” Rosier said.

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