By Kristin Bechthold
Francisco Bravo got his trainer’s license at Canterbury in 1992. He has been around horses his entire life, having grown up on a farm in Santiago, Chile. He currently trains 36 horses at Canterbury and 20 at Remington Park in Oklahoma. He also trains at Lone Star Park in Dallas.
Bravo has called a horse farm in Sulphur, Oklahoma home since 2007. He moved to Texas from Minnesota in 1993 after Canterbury Downs closed. He lived in Texas from 1993 to 2007, when he purchased his farm in Oklahoma. He considers his farm his favorite place to be and his “third love,” behind his wife, Lori, and 23-year-old daughter, Natalie. His idea of a perfect day would be when he gets to train his horses at his own farm and “sleep in his own bed.”
Outside of racing, Bravo likes to train buggy and driving horses as a hobby. Most of his free time is devoted to working on his farm, such as fencing, tractor work, and mowing the lawn. Even though he clearly enjoys working on his farm, he would much rather skip out on cleaning stalls. “I’ve done a lot of them,” Bravo said with a laugh. “I hope I’ve graduated from it by now.”
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Though he isn’t sure what he would be doing if he wasn’t a trainer, he could see himself in the military. “I like discipline and I like things to be by the rules,” Bravo said. Since he has been training nearly all his life, he has a strong passion for his job. “I really like the horses, I like the action, and it’s a good lifestyle for us,” Bravo said.
Bravo comes back to Canterbury every year because he has an appreciation for the track. He feels as though he and other horsemen are welcomed and are well taken care of. “I think it’s a phenomenal place,” Bravo said. “It’s a good feeling to come here.”
