Annise Montplaisir appreciates nature’s beauty and is known to work in her Lexington, Ky., garden until fading daylight makes it impossible to continue. She delights in tending to delicate young plants and watching them grow until they thrive.

During her work day, she focuses on growth that has the potential to be critical to Thoroughbred racing’s future. She co-founded Amplify Horse Racing with Madison Scott in 2019 to introduce students 25 and under to the industry with the hope that it might lead them to become not only fans but industry employees.

“I live my dream job every single day,” said Montplaisir, 31. “Horse racing has done so much for me, enriching my life and giving me amazing travel opportunities and incredible opportunities of being around horses. It’s something I want other youths to be able to experience.”

Skip Dickstein photo

She describes herself as a “big horse nerd” when she was growing up in Fargo, N.D. She learned about horses first-hand, initially doting on a pony named Ginger before graduating to a Quarter-Horse, Misty. When she watched the movie “Ruffian” as a 12-year-old, it was life-changing.

“That’s how I became interested in racing. I was just really captivated by her story,” Montplaisir said. “The movie did a great job depicting how much Thoroughbreds love to race.” 

She knew she wanted to work in racing when she saw it live for the first time at North Dakota Horse Park. After that, it was only a matter of gaining as much experience as possible while narrowing down what role she wanted to fill.

North Dakota Horse Park played a key role in her development. She became a volunteer racetrack ambassador there, learned to gallop and pony horses there, rose to director of communications, and even served as official clocker for a time.

She did various summer internships while studying at North Dakota State, with all of them deepening her knowledge and passion for racing in one way or another. There was a summer at Canterbury Park. There were two summers spent covering the action at Saratoga Race Course for the Saratoga Special, a newspaper known for developing young talent.

After graduating from North Dakota State, Montplaisir was introduced to the international scene when she enrolled in the Godolphin Flying Start program from 2018-2020. She decided the shape she wanted her future to take during that time. What if she could help other young people enjoy their own journeys in racing?

Amplify, a non-profit organization, was born. She became its full-time executive director in 2023.

“There is so much gratification in seeing kids connect with horses. We find over and over again that, if a kid gets to touch a horse, that really makes their experience,” Montplaisir said. “The more students we interact with, the more people are going to have a better understanding and positive perception of racing.”

Amplify offers a national mentorship program that pairs mentors with high school and college students. It is rolling out a curriculum for Kentucky high school students comprised of one week of lesson plans culminating in a field trip to Keeneland Race Course. In conjunction with the National Museum of Racing’s Hall of Fame, Amplify held the Winner’s Circle Summer Camp in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., at the end of July.

According to Montplaisir, Amplify will make direct connections with almost 15,000 youngsters this year. Plans to expand the effort are well underway.

Speaking at the 2024 Race Track Industry Program conference. (RTIP/David Sanders)

“When you look at every other major sport, from football to golf to hockey to the NBA, they all have youth arms of the industry that are engaging youth and getting youths involved as fans or potential employees,” Montplaisir noted. “I want Amplify to be widely viewed as the youth arm of the Thoroughbred industry and have a national office and regional chapters across the United States.”

Damon Thayer, who served in the Kentucky Senate from 2003-2025 and is an important advocate for racing, believes Amplify can fill a critical need.

“At no time in America’s history have fewer kids been exposed to agriculture and farming and animals and, in this case, horses,” said Thayer, an Amplify board member. “In a lot of cases, Amplify is the first exposure a lot of kids get to horses. I don’t care whether it’s 2026 or 1926, there are a lot of kids out there who, once exposed to it, will absolutely love horses.”

The Jockey Club, Keeneland, Churchill Downs, and Godolphin are among the organizations who have stepped up to support Amplify. The non-profit also relies heavily on individual donations. Montplaisir describes John Ballantyne, Bill Benter, and James and Shari Ough as “amazing donors.” David Smyth, who won last year’s Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge, donated 5% of his winnings.

Thayer expressed hope that a more permanent funding source can be developed. He thinks Amplify can be that important to racing’s future.

“There are so many industries where workforce development is a critical path to future sustainability of the industry. The horse industry, in general, is one of those industries,” said Thayer, who now operates his own communications and consulting firm. “We always have to be conscious of developing the next generation of people to work in these jobs, administrative as well as hands-on horsemen and horsewomen.”

As with her garden, Montplaisir is laser-focused on growth. “We have something amazing,” she said. “I think we need to share it with more kids.”