Before sunrise, the backside at Albuquerque Downs belongs to the horses.
The shedrows begin to stir, the feed carts begin to rattle and the horses begin to get restless. Exercise riders gather and climb aboard Thoroughbreds bound for another morning of training.
Among them is Bryce Bourdieu.
The 23-year-old moves through the barn with the practiced confidence of someone who has spent his entire life around racehorses. He helps saddle horses, talks through the morning set list with trainer Andres Gonzalez, then swings aboard and heads toward the track.
