Retirement track: Loving those green-jacket jobs

Albert P. Horrigan, a retired state district court judge, comes down from his home in Flint, Mich., twice a year to work as a doorman at Keeneland. Photos/Tom Eblen

Take a closer look sometime behind the smiles of all those green-jacketed ushers, greeters and doormen at Keeneland Race Course.

You never know who you might see.

In pre-retirement life, they were a judge, a restaurant owner, a corporate executive, a fire captain and even the University of Kentucky police officer who guarded Coach Adolph Rupp.

Now, during Keeneland’s April and October racing meets, they work long days for modest wages opening doors and helping people get where they need to be. Some move to Lexington for the privilege. And they seem to enjoy every minute of it.

“We used to come down here for long 3-B weekends,” said Albert P. Horrigan, a retired state district court judge from Flint, Mich. “You know — betting, bourbon and burgoo.”

On one trip, Horrigan asked an usher how he liked his job. The next meet, Horrigan was an usher, too. That was seven years ago. Now, twice a year, the judge rents an efficiency apartment for a month and moves to Lexington.

“My son thinks I’m nuts,” he said. “He figured it up and finally said, ‘You’re paying them to work here!’ I said, ‘Yea, but it’s a vacation.

“Every Irishman has a place in his heart for an acre of land and a horse,” Horrigan said. “We don’t have anything like this in Michigan.”

The judge is one of 179 members of the Keeneland Guest Services staff. More than 80 percent of them are retirees, and about 70 percent of them live in Central Kentucky. But a few come from as far away as Michigan and Florida. And most come back meet after meet, year after year.

“We want someone who’s here for the experience,” said Howard McKenzie, an IBM retiree who leads the staff. “If they’re here for the money, they’re in the wrong place.”

Ric Hodges, who ran a convenience store in Winston-Salem, N.C., drives over twice a year and books a room at an extended-stay motel so he can usher.

“I’m having a ball,” he said. “I love talking to people. I love to see the horses run.”

Charles Ellis spent 35 years with Ashland Inc., where he was senior tax manager and a corporate officer.

“I always told my wife that when I retired I wanted to get ‘one of those green-jacket jobs,’” he said. So, four months after he retired in 1998, he was working at Keeneland.

Ellis’ main job is handling the trophies and managing awards ceremonies for sponsored and stakes races.

“There are no unhappy people in the winner’s circle,” he said.

Other times, Ellis ushers and acts as the “fashion police” on corporate-box row. Along the way, he has met celebrities such as actress Ashley Judd, NASCAR driver Michael Waltrip and legendary horse owners Bob and Beverly Lewis.

Bill Rice, 78, came to work at Keeneland after he noticed his neighbor loved the job so much. Now, he says, it’s the most fun he’s had since he was a UK cheerleader and went to the Cotton and Sugar bowls with Coach Paul “Bear” Bryant and the team in the early 1950s.

Tony Williams, a retired Lexington firefighter, leads a five-member team whose fleet of wheelchairs helps older patrons get to and from their seats. He’s been working at Keeneland for 35 years.

“There’s no place like Keeneland,” he said.

Robert Stoudemire, 69, is quick to agree. He spent 30 years on the UK police force, including several as Rupp’s body guard at home games. He retired in 1994 and was working at Keeneland the next year.

“I just love the horses, the scene, the good people,” he said. “I just love talking to people.”

The toughest part of Stoudemire’s job is keeping the grandstand aisles clear. But even that’s not too hard.

“If people are losing money, they’ll sometimes get rowdy,” Stoudemire said. “But they finally calm down. Sometimes, they even come back and apologize.”

Robert Stoudemire, a retired UK police officer who used to guard Coach Adolph Rupp at home games, talks with Keeneland patron Joan Jaber of Newport at the track Thursday.

Above photos:

Howard McKenzie, left, who has headed Keeneland’s guest services team for 21 years, greets old friend James “Smitty” Smith, who was enjoying the races Thursday. Smith was maître d’ at Columbia Steak House in Lexington for many years.

Charles Ellis retired as a top corporate executive with Ashland Inc. in 1998 and started working at Keeneland the next year. He manages the trophies and presentations for stakes races.