Chosen as trotting instructor of the year three years in a row Santtu Raitala jump into the car and hit the gas. The destination of Raitala, who leaves his home in Pihtiputaa, is Tampere and Teivo’s Tuesday restaurants. There are 300 kilometers to go.
The day before, Raitala competed in Kaustinen. It was an easier gig, it was only 130 kilometers to get there. In a week, Raitala accumulates an average of 3,000 driving kilometers. Annually, the number is somewhere between 120,000 and 130,000.
– The guy calculated that it takes two months of the year to drive a car, Raitala laughs.
Fuel prices, on the other hand, are no laughing matter. Refueling is a significant expense for Raitala, who travels around Finland for his work.
– The price of diesel has almost doubled in recent years. It’s not so pleasant when you have to spend a lot of time on the road.
So money returns, but it also moves in the other direction.
Raitala is the best and most sought-after trainer in Finnish trotting. He made history last year by becoming the first instructor in Finland to earn more than two million euros a year. This year, the record books have been broken again.
In his coaching career, which started in 2008, he has won a total of more than 10 million euros in prize money. Most of the money goes to the owner of the horse.
The instructor’s share of the prize pool varies between 5 and 15 percent. That is, if the winning horse of the start is paid 2,000 euros in prize money, the handler will receive about 200 euros.
The size of the percentage depends, among other things, on whether the horse is in professional training or not. The coach is also paid the same share as the instructor.
Raitala’s status is currently such that he might benefit from it when negotiating percentages. The conductor is also paid 20 euros for each departure, so-called bench money.
Thirty-year-old Raitala, who offers his services as an entrepreneur, works six days a week. On trotting days, he normally competes with different horses in about seven or eight starts.
Last year, there were a total of 1,930 starts. Of them, he won 357, i.e. just under a fifth.
When Raitala managed 1.7 million euros in prize money in 2020, his own income was a good 70,000 euros.
– There are many competitions annually, where the first prize is 100,000 euros. I have never calculated exactly what would be the biggest accounting day for me personally. But the best days are when we are talking about several thousand.
The flip side of the coin is that sometimes you return home empty-handed.
– Very often there are situations where the trip practically did not make any sense in retrospect.
– Financially, I am in a very good situation. There is good work, which is always a positive thing for an entrepreneur. You can’t really get rich as a trotting instructor, but you can get by and live in your dream profession, at least for me. The best thing is working with great horses.
Raitala doesn’t exactly take a vacation
Raitala is like a mercenary of the trotting world. He steers horses owned by others, and collects his reward at the end of the day. This year, according to his own calculations, he has guided almost 600 different horses. There are several dozen standard horses, the kind that he guides more regularly.
Raitala’s income therefore depends on the success of these horses. However, he hardly feels any pressure or tension.
– It gives a nice little feeling that we are on the verge of big things. Just because there are often many horses with whom we do long-term cooperation and aim for a certain competition. It’s nice when you have the feeling that everything is possible in the competition.
Sometimes these big races end in flops. The horse may get nervous and the performance goes completely to his cheek.
– It’s a momentary annoyance. It must be discussed with the coaching staff, why this happened and what can be learned from this. Both successes and failures are an inevitable part of everyday life.
Raitala says that he does not set profit or reward goals before trotting days.
– Those are things that you don’t have to think about at all. Completing the horses is the sum of so many parts that it is impossible to think what the balance of the day will be.
The prize pools also vary from race to race. Saturdays are candy days of the week in the trotting calendar.
– It is in many ways the most interesting day of the week. Then the best horses of the moment are running for the best prizes of the week.
Raitala has accumulated approximately 280 working days in recent years. There is an average of one day off per week. He has tried to make December lighter on the work front.
You shouldn’t go on vacation in the summer.
– It’s a challenging time for the holidays, because then there are big and great raves. Summer weather is generally the best weather to work in our sport. Then the audience will also find the place better.
The horse is a decisive athlete
Raitala has, as stated, already claimed more than two million euros in prize money this year. The director with the second most wins is Hannu Torvinenwhich remains almost one million Raitala’s sums.
Of course, this is also influenced by the fact that Raitala has contracted almost 400 departures more than Torvi.
So what makes Raitala such a good instructor?
In trotting circles, he is considered above all analytical and completely devoted to his profession as an instructor who knows how to give a lot of valuable information about a horse to its trainer and owner. In competitive situations, he can control even uncertain horses.
Raitala himself does not flaunt his skills as a director.
– However, in this sport, the horse is the main focus and determines the quality of the performance. The trainer’s success is based on the network, which owners and trainers he rides for, and what kind of horses they have.
From his own toolkit, Raitala mentions the ability to recognize the effect of horse equipment on performance.
– All horses are individuals. When you ride them many times, you get insights into what you could try with the horse in order to get optimal performance. For some it’s good to see other horses and compete with them, while others focus better if they don’t see others.
Raitala, who rewrites Finnish trotting history year after year, is not planning to compete abroad, at least at the moment. When wondering about his future goals, he puts horses in the center again.
– Goals are more like, if you are in close cooperation with the horse, then you start setting goals for that horse. Setting personal goals is difficult because it all depends on which horses you get to ride.
– Economic growth will possibly come through better success. And a person always wants to strive for better. Then it is also logical to strive for better financial success.
Raitala’s Tuesday evening trots in Teivo were relatively successful. Out of six starts, he won three and won a total of 5,130 euros in prize money.
At the end of the working day, he got back behind the wheel of the car and drove 300 kilometers back to Pihtiputaa. On Wednesday we go again, then it’s Vermo’s turn in Espoo.