Officially, Joe Lee will be making his Breeders’ Cup debut when he runs May Day Ready in Friday’s $1 million Juvenile Fillies Turf at Del Mar. Those who know Lee – a New York native who likes to call everybody “Cowboy” – understand this is hardly his first rodeo. Lee, 62, has been involved in racing for more than four decades. From a hotwalker, to groom, to exercise rider, and wanna-be-jockey – he rode in one race – to assistant trainer, Lee has worked behind the scenes for most of his career. Inflicted with the racing bug after attending Secretariat’s 1973 Belmont Stakes, Lee found his way to the Belmont Park backstretch while in high school on Long Island. Among the barns he spent time in were David Whiteley, Joe Cantey, LeRoy Jolley, and John Veitch. After leaving the backstretch to study finance at the University of Kentucky, Lee wound up back in New York and was in the barn of D. Wayne Lukas, where he worked under assistant Kiaran McLaughlin. Todd Pletcher was a foreman back then. In 1993, McLaughlin took a job in Dubai and invited Lee to come with him. When a new venture was introduced, Lee was on the ground floor of what would eventually become the global power known as Godolphin Racing. In 1994, as a head lad for Sheikh Mohammed’s fledgling operation – not yet known as Godolphin – Lee took Zieten to Japan, where the horse finished second in the Keio Hai Spring Cup. While Lee was in Japan, Sheikh Mohammed’s Balanchine went to Europe, where she won the English Oaks and Irish Derby. :: ON SALE NOW: DRF Breeders' Cup Packages! Get everything you need to win and save 41% off the retail price. On May 14, 1995 – by then the operation was known as Godolphin – Lee took Heartlake to Japan, where he won the Group 1 Yasuda Kinen. That same day, Godolphin runners Flagbird and Vettori each won Group 1 stakes in France. “There are just a few percent who have done what I’ve done, as many times as I’ve been to Japan, Hong Kong, England,” Lee said. “I’ve been so fortunate what I’ve done. I wish my kids, or anybody really, could experience what I’ve experienced. “When I was with Godolphin and I went away with a horse, it was always ‘Whatever you decide, we’re standing behind you,’ you were a part of the team,” Lee added. Lee worked for Godolphin until 2001, when he went to Japan to help out his father-in-law, who was a trainer there. Lee and his wife, Suzuyo, stayed in Japan until 2011, when an earthquake and tsunami hit the region. The Lees and their four children returned to the U.S. From 2011-15, Lee, working out of the U.S., went back to running a feed and supply company that he had started in 2001 while he was in Japan. the company exported product used for training horses from the U.S. and Ireland. In 2015, McLaughlin asked Lee if was interested in working for him after his assistant Artie Magnuson had left. In 2017, Lee traveled to Del Mar with Takaful, a Grade 1 winner who finished 10th in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint. In 2020, when McLaughlin quit training to become agent for Luis Saez, Lee took over the stable that had been pared down and wasn’t left with too many horses. There were two runners from Godolphin of modest talent, but with the pandemic have shut down racing in New York, those horses were moved. A few years ago, when owner Larry Doyle, proprietor of KatieRich Stables, was looking for a New York trainer, he asked Neal McLaughlin, Kiaran’s brother, for a recommendation. He recommended Lee. The first horse Doyle sent Lee was Works for Me, a New York-bred who had run third in his first start for Doyle’s Kentucky trainer, Daniel Lietch. Works for Me won his first start for Lee and has since gone on to win a statebred stakes, has placed in three open stakes, and earned $250,000. Inspired by that success, Doyle wanted to send Lee another horse. That turned out to be May Day Ready, a daughter of Tapit who sold for $325,000 at the OBS April 2-year-olds in-training sale. May Day Ready has won all three of her starts even though there were hurdles to overcome each time. When May Day Ready debuted in Saratoga, she won a 1 1/16-mile maiden race even though Lee was wanting to sprint her first time. May Day Ready’s temperature was higher than normal when she shipped to Kentucky Downs, but she won the Juvenile Fillies Turf there by a 1 3/4 lengths. She was initially entered in the Miss Grillo Stakes at Aqueduct on Sept. 29, but that race was canceled and rescheduled. May Day Ready was rerouted to the Jessamine, a race she won by a nose in the last jump after some early trouble. Lee had to work the horse the Tuesday before that race and ship the same day. Following that win, Lee said he received 70 or so congratulatory texts, but he said he was happier for the owners. “I’ve experienced Grade 1s all over the world and it’s great, but to see other people really enjoy it, the owners, the owner’s friends, was great,” Lee said. “I enjoyed watching them more.” Lee’s stable numbers just six horses. He doesn’t aggressively seek more horses, but is willing to take on more if the right opportunity presents itself. Doyle, who pinhooks many of his horses, said he absolutely plans to send Lee another horse or two and enjoys the fact that two of Lee’s sons – Joseph Lee Jr. and Anthony – work with their father at the barn. :: BREEDERS’ CUP JUVENILE FILLIES TURF: See DRF’s special section with top contenders, odds, comments, news, and more “I enjoyed learning more about him, and his kids are great too,” Doyle said. “I got the best assistant trainers in the game. They’re really fantastic. Nobody’s getting better care of their horses than what I’m getting. That’s a fact. They really love these horses and take great care of them.” On Tuesday, as he watched May Day Ready warm up for training, she bucked a time or two, an indication how well she was feeling. “Everything is going to plan as opposed to none of the other races going to plan,” Lee said. “She is talented and she does have a great attitude. Hopefully, she’s feeling this good Friday.” :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.