Thoroughbreds are high-performance athletes that require the highest level of care, and we are fortunate to have exceptional race-day veterinarians throughout the country on call every time a horse steps out on track.

Based in Christchurch, Alisa Smith is the on-course vet at Riccarton Park and Addington Raceway, playing an instrumental role in the running of each meeting. Originally hailing from the United States of America, Smith gained a wealth of experience in the sporthorse field, before an opportunity half-way across the world landed her in the New Zealand racing industry.

“I went to the University of Florida for my bachelor’s degree and veterinary training, then after graduation I moved to Virginia because my background was in sporthorses and that was what I wanted to pursue at that stage,” Smith said.

“I did an internship with a specialty hospital just outside of Washington DC and we had quite an elite clientele with Olympic-level horses, the O’Connor’s trained there and eventers from all over the world, which was very cool.

“I got to see a lot of very nice horses and having some amazing equipment at my disposal, but the lifestyle was tough, we worked 70-80 hours a week and it just never stopped because we had such a high-need horse population.

“After about a year, I was looking for a change of path and there was a job available here in Christchurch, so I interviewed and ended up being offered the job. Initially it was meant to be for two years, but I loved it and have been here for 11 years.”

Upon moving to New Zealand in 2013, Smith worked alongside Corin Murfitt, who was the longest practising veterinarian in New Zealand prior to retiring in 2017 and guided her into the busy environment of race-days.

“It was a bit of jumping in the deep end for me because I didn’t have any racing background or experience, we had some point-to-point and steeplechase races in Virginia but certainly not harness racing,” Smith said.

“I was very lucky with the clients I had, I spent a lot of Saturdays at stables and they put me through all the motions of gearing the horses up, what each piece of equipment was and why they used them. I started riding a bit of trackwork in North Canterbury for a couple of trainers which was heaps of fun, so I was able to see the industry from a different perspective.

“It helped me fill in the gaps because when you have conversations with trainers about the needs of an individual horse, a lot of the racing lingo is like a foreign language to someone from another background.

“For me, part of learning how to ride trackwork and gearing up was just to be a better racing vet, it made a huge difference.

“When it came to the race meetings, I didn’t have a formal training to become a race-day vet, but I was lucky that the practice I worked for had done the race-day work forever.

“Corin was a very senior veterinarian, he had been an equine vet for 40 years so the first six or eight meetings I rode along with him as an observer, but also to start getting my feet wet, from learning what they were looking for in post-race exams, to inspecting at the start.

“Even though horses are horses, and standardbreds and thoroughbreds are relatively the same, the way in which they are used is very different. It was also getting used to the jockeys and drivers and using their knowledge to my benefit, if I had a question about a horse’s action or how they moved, they could explain perhaps a piece of gear had been added, or this is a change that has happened recently.

“There’s so many facets of the job, I turn up an hour before the first race and there will be horses that need to be inspected before they are cleared to race, then blood testing those that will not urinate for swabbing or for pre-race.

“We’re following the field during the race in case anything happens, then of course afterwards. There are multiple things you are doing at the same time, so the time passes pretty quickly.

“I don’t get nervous on race-day, but you don’t ever feel completely at ease because you know at any stage something can change. You’re always very present and aware, taking in the surroundings.

“It depends on the day, sometimes on our premier meetings such as Cup Week or Grand National or the bigger racedays, there will be two vets on.

“I work with Donna Williamson most frequently, she and I share the workload and then at times, we may have a race-day investigator undertaking blood testing as well.

“90 percent of the time, I’m there as the one man band.”

Smith has developed a great appreciation for thoroughbreds through her work, particularly noting the willingness of the breed as young horses right through to the rehoming stage.

“The thoroughbreds are just a ‘yes’ horse, they are so willing, so trainable and they want to do whatever you are asking,” she said.

“I love that mentality, I work with a lot of sporthorses and the warmbloods often say no, before they say yes.

“One of my biggest pet peeves is that thoroughbreds are forced to race, it just boggles my mind because if you ever try to get a 500kg animal to do what they don’t want to do, you will not be successful.

“A thoroughbred is such a versatile animal, you watch them in their baby, immature bodies and they just take it all in, they are such little professionals and it amazes me that they are able to do that and adapt to such intense training regimes and environments.

“They go to the races, switch on, and then come right back and be pets afterwards. They are truly remarkable.”

Upon Murfitt’s retirement, Smith took ownership of Premier Equine Vets, with racing clients occupying much of her professional time outside of race meetings.

“I bought the business from Corin in 2017 and took it over as a sole practitioner, which suits me well because I can make my own schedule and work around my horses, it’s been perfect really,” she said.

“I spend most of my time in the local racing stables through the week, I’m there pretty much every day and the majority of my clientele are racing-based, probably 80 percent is either harness or thoroughbreds.

“I arrive at Riccarton Racecourse around 8am, and earlier during the spring, closer to 7-7:30am. I finish up there around 11:30am when everyone heads home, which I appreciate too because it is such a professional environment where as a morning person, you just get stuck in straight away.

“I have a two-year-old little boy called Caleb who is also quite time-consuming at the moment, but I do still ride, and I have a really cool Irish sporthorse mare who only recently retired after doing a bit of everything.

“We are very fortunate in Canterbury to have nice areas to ride, whether it be going down to the beach for a gallop, or having a cross-country school at Eyreton, it’s all so close. Prior to having a baby, I was competing about twice a month and that was awesome.

“I really loved riding trackwork in the mornings, even if it was just one or two horses. I had a schoolmaster that I learned to ride to time on, and I loved that, but unfortunately I just couldn’t continue doing that and taking the risk of getting hurt while owning the business.

“It was just slightly too high risk versus having my own horse, she was relatively quiet and fairly predictable.”

Smith acknowledged one of the most rewarding parts of her job to be watching the success of her clients, with many horses she has watched progress since they were just yearlings.

“It’s super exciting, I know how much time, money and effort they put in so there’s nothing better than seeing them doing well,” she said.

“Especially if there’s been a particular horse that has taken a bit of thinking outside the box, those one’s are special too. It’s really cool to be involved in that success.”