When Oaklawn Park opened last weekend, two new faces were behind the microphone: Matt Dinerman became the track’s seventh announcer in its 120-year history, and Crystal Conning joined the team as Paddock Analyst. Oaklawn veteran Racing Analyst Nancy Holthus rounds out this trifecta providing expert information.  

Crystal Conning aboard Marcus Aurelius. (Conning family photo)

“I briefly knew Crystal and had only spoken to Matt on the phone before they came to Hot Springs,” Holthus said. “For not having known each other, the chemistry couldn’t be better. The addition of Crystal and Matt elevates our product to another level. Both give amazing insight, analysis, and new perspective to our fans.”

Conning has had an amazing ride from her hometown of Melbourne, Australia, to Oaklawn. The granddaughter of two New Zealand trainers grew up frequently attending races and the Melbourne Cup, and she witnessed Media Puzzle’s emotional 2002 win. Pictures of the great racemare Sunline, a three-time Australian Horse of the Year and a four-time New Zealand Horse of the Year, adorned her bedroom walls.

She was immersed in Thoroughbred racing but not allowed to participate. Conning’s mother, fearing for her safety, guided her toward show horses instead of being a jockey. Conning competed in 5-star eventing, the top level of the sport, with an off-track Thoroughbred named Marcus Aurelius.

“My mom kept me in show horses as long as she could,” Conning said. “I started galloping Thoroughbreds to pay for my show horses. And it was what I always wanted to do. I did both for about a year, and then I sold my horses, tack, and trailer and went full time into racing.”

First win on Abbalac. (Conning family photo)

Conning’s first mount was on July 24, 2015. Her first win came less than a month later at Bathurst Racecourse in New South Wales on a mare named Abbalac.

“I had been on her every day. I knew her pretty well,” Conning said. “But I didn’t get her out of the gate very well. We were back and wide. After the half-mile, she pulled me around the field and to the front. She carted me around and won for me. I had such a good rapport with that horse, and it was such a special moment. I don’t think anything feels as good as that first win.”

Conning rode one season in Australia and had around one hundred mounts. Success did not come easily, and Conning took a break from racing.

She came to America to see friends and visited Keeneland. She galloped for trainer George R. “Rusty” Arnold II, who offered her a job. She worked for him for a year and then got back in the irons as a jockey.

“I was lucky to land with Rusty,” Conning said. “When I first got here, I didn’t know a thing about American racing. I didn’t know who Bob Baffert was. I knew Smarty Jones and Zenyatta and that was about it. I landed in that barn, and they are such wonderful people.”

Her fifth American start brought her first stateside win. It came at Belterra Park on a horse called Gogetter in Conning’s first time riding on a sloppy track. She hadn’t mastered pulling down a chain of googles, so by the end of the race she wasn’t able to see anything.

She was leading apprentice rider at Belterra in 2020, and she also won two races at Churchill as a “bug.”

A muddy first U.S. win on Gogetter. (Coady Photography)

In the summer of 2022, she was riding at Canterbury Park, and Conning was interviewed in the paddock. It went well, and she was asked to do a few paddock segments when she didn’t have mounts and was also invited on the prerace show. She enjoyed the experience but didn’t think much about it. At the conclusion of the Canterbury meet, she moved her tack to Turf Paradise, and the winter proved challenging.

“I was not having much luck,” Conning said. “A friend sent me an ad for the paddock analyst position at Monmouth [Park] and encouraged me to apply. I thought I had a 100-1 chance, but I ended up getting the job.”

She started at Monmouth Park in May.

“It’s been a good transition. If I can get paid to go to the races, which has always been one of my favorite things in the world, and talk about horses, that’s pretty awesome,” Conning said. “A month beforehand, I had no idea this was on my path. Good timing and good luck have played a major role in my life. It’s how I ended up in America and at Monmouth and at now at Oaklawn.”

Conning had never been to Hot Springs and arrived three weeks before the season started.

“Hot Springs is a gorgeous town, and Oaklawn is an incredible facility,” she said. “The community loves the racing here. I haven’t really experienced that except in Lexington.”

Conning is galloping horses again in Hot Springs. She will return to her role at Monmouth this summer, after Oaklawn concludes, and she plans to ride some at Parx Racing and Delaware Park on Monmouth’s dark days.

“I miss riding,” Conning said. “When I’m at the races at the jocks are getting a leg up, I’m itching to ride. I’m looking forward to riding and getting my adrenaline fix and then working the Monmouth broadcast on the weekends. I think I will enjoy being a jockey more when it is not my full-time bread and butter.”