Everytime I hear people talking about horse racing it seems like they only see one side of the coin. It’s either glamorous or abuse. It’s fortune or cheating. Black or white – nothing in between.

I went to take pictures of these paradoxes, but all I found was shadow and light. I expected to find a loud, unsettled place and a little chaos. Instead I ended up rethinking.

Race tracks are life. Just like the horses you’ll be put to the proof and meet people in your life who only want to derive benefit from you. In the end, some of them might even hurt you. But if you look close and listen carefully, maybe you’ll be fortunated to watch miracles happen. Even during the wildest storm there will always be someone you can count on and who reacts on the softest whisper.

Since I grew up with horses I always knew each of them is an individual creature. But it was at the horse track I recognized, some of the horses are actually born to run and race with other horses. They long for it – you can see it in the shed light upon their eyes.

I saw the same scences as everybody else: horses beaten up for nothing, being handled as if they were kinda sports machines. But I grew up learning that shadow can only exist where light is, so I began to look for it. Suddenly I noticed jockeys trusting their horses with their lives as they were chasing a dream as a team. And somehow exactly these horses managed to win. Not only for themselves, but also for their human partner. I witnessed two heartbeats becoming one hoofbeat.

These photos were taken on several races during the winter of 2015.

Honorable Mention (Pro) – 2015 – International Photography Awards™ (IPA)
Featured on CNN International– 2016