CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. -- It was 7 a.m. on a Wednesday morning and there was already a lot of activity at the stable area of the Charles Town Turf Club. It had been that way for an hour and a half.

A guard held a stop sign at Fifth Street, the road in back of the stable area, stopping cars so a group of horses could be walked across the road.

In the stable area some horses were being walked, while others were being fed, washed or rubbed down.

Still, other horses were working out at the main Charles Town track and across the street at the old Shenandoah Downs track.

There were a lot of cats around, to catch the mice.

You're told as you wait in the walk area in the barns to stand to the left of the horses as they walk by you. If they kick, they'll kick to the right.

There were 2,000 horses at the stable at the 18 barns in the stable area.

The video lottery area at the track has just opened up and some bettors were already there. But that seemed a world away.

Ronney Brown stood in front of his stalls at Barn 17. Brown, a native of Frederick, has been the leading trainer at the track the past three years and is leading with 62 wins this year.

He trains 60 horses, 15 of which he owns. He has about 20 people working for him, including jockeys, grooms and walkers.

Brown got into horse racing in 1984 and has been at Charles Town during most of that time. Today was a typical day for him. He was here in the morning to watch his horses work out and would return that night to see three of his horses run.

But those horses would not be running at Charles Town if not for the work done in the morning.

"The track opens at 5:30 a.m.," Brown said. "The first thing they have to do is check the horses and clean the stalls, dump the buckets. The riders come here and gallop the horses on the track. Some of the horses you work with six days a week and some three or four. The horses are like runners. Some you have to handle every day and some you don't."

Derrick Barry has worked for Brown as a groom for four or five years. Barry has been around horses much of his life. He was standing by one of the stalls checking on one of the eight horses that he works with.

"I got here at 4 a.m. One guy beat me here," the groom said. "I first checked on the horses and made sure everyone is up and has eaten. If they had not eaten I would let the boss know."

He said most of the horses are tame and easy to work with. But he had his hand broken once when kicked by a horse.

"It can be a dangerous job," he said. "You have got to know what you are doing or you can get hurt. You have to keep focused, keep your attention. Horses are like people. Some are timid and some are more aggressive, and you have to more stern with them. They follow the tone of your voice."

He said they eat everything from hay to oats to treats like carrots, peppermints and apples. He gives them treats to help keep them calm.

"Horses are like kids," the groom said. "You treat them good and give them treats, and they act better. But some are stubborn and if you give them treats, they will act bad and get more treats."

Barry, 28, said he has worked at Charles Town most of his life, although he worked at Pimlico for a year.

Today, he will work until 11 a.m, go home and then come back that night to work with one of his horses that is running in the ninth race.

"Before racing, the horse might need icing or you might have to freeze his feet," Barry said. "You try and relax them and keep them calmbefore a race. You do what you can to keep them quiet. After the race we bring them back here, cool them off and wash them down and walk them for 35 to 40 minutes. If they win, you have to take them for urine and blood tests."

Brandon Whitacre is Brown's most successful jockey this year. He is only 20 years old and just got his license last season.

"I am a sixth-generation jockey," Whitacre said. "I am from Laurel, but went to South Carolina to learn how to ride because I heard that was a pretty good place to go. I was there for two years."

His family enjoyed success at Charles Town. His grandfather was the leading jockey here six times in the 1960s and 1970s. His dad was also the leading jockey here at on time.

"I figured I would give it a shot," Whitacre said. "My first race here was in February, and I won."

He has 65 wins at Charles Town this year and about 150 total wins. He rides at several tracks, but mostly for Brown.

"I will race someone else horses if Ronney Brown's horse is not in the race," Whitacre said. "He is the one that got me here."

Asked if he likes riding, he said, "I love the thrill of it. Nothing compares with it."

It is about 9 a.m. and about 20 horses are working out on the Charles Town track. Some are going pretty hard and others are taking it easy.

Robin Hammond sits on a horse in front of the paddock area and watches. He is one of three outriders who work the track.

"I am like a policeman. We make sure everyone does what they are supposed to do," said Hammond, who has been at the track for three-and-a-half years. "We help riders if they get in trouble. I already caught two loose horses today."

Suddenly he stopped talking and yelled, "Rider off." A horse had gone down and the rider had fallen off. Hammond quickly went out and helped the rider back on the horse. The rider said he was OK even though he was rubbing his neck. Hammond stayed on the track until someone came up and raked around the area where the horse had fallen.

"Little incidents like that happen," he said as he came back to the paddock area. "They had to come over and rake the hole so another horse did not stumble. We've had riders fall off horses, and the horses step on them. Today, one of the horses bucked a rider off, and the horse went around the track without him. I finally caught him at the other end. At this time of the day, most of the horses are babies. They are just learning."

Sole Request, a horse trained by Brown, finished his workout. Brown came over and talked with Whitacre, who was riding the horse. Sometimes jockeys work out the horses, but other times it is done by exercise riders.

It was 9:30 and the Charles Town track was closing for the morning. The one at Shenandoah would remain open for another hour and a half.

By 10 a.m. things were starting to wind down in the barn area. Brown was talking with some of his people, including exercise rider Jimmy Unsiuay.

"I exercise the horses, gallop the horses," Unsiuay said. "We usually go twice around the tracks and I do 10 horses a morning. It usually takes about 15 minutes to work out a horse. Some are easy to ride and some are tougher."

He said he has been lucky and not been hurt.

"You have to have experience and a good hand with horses," he said. "You have to take your time."

His day was about done because he only works in the morning.

Roger Thomas is another groom who has been with Brown for a long time.

"I have been working at this track since 1977," he said. "I am here at 5:30 every morning and out by 10:30 or 11. Then, I come back at night. This is the only track I have every worked at.

"He is in charge when I am not here," Brown said.

Jackie Fields was working with Backstage in one of the stables. She was one of many female grooms at the track.

"I have been doing this for 20 years and there weren't many women doing it when I started," she said. "There are plenty of them now. I always worked at Charles Town. Ronney is easy to work with."

She says she has to know the horse to do her job well.

"You have to be careful, keep an eye on them," Fields said. "I am packing his feet now, making sure he is all right. He is eating now. They eat all the time. They never stop. What they do best is eat."

She said the horses act differently depending where they are.

"Right now he is like a pet," she said. "But if you do outside they are different. They can act up. They are like two different animals."

Anthony Mawing was waiting outside the barn. He has been riding for 10 to 11 years and is the top jockey at Charles Town. He usually spends five hours with the horses in the morning.

"I like to exercise the horses in the morning, keep on top of my business," he said. "You have to know what is going on. It becomes second nature with you. I exercise as many horses as I can. I try and get a feel for them."

He also keeps busy, riding at several different tracks. One recent day, he worked out horses at Charles Town in the morning, drove three-and-a-half hours to ride four horses at a track in Virginia and then came back to Charles Town that night to ride eight horses. He won one of the 12 races.

He has ridden all over world, including for three months in China.

On this day he will only ride at Charles Town.

"I will go home, try and get some errands done and rest and then come back to the jock's room about 6 this evening," he said. "I will ride four or five horses tonight. It is a light night for me."

Brown was also about done. He had a few more people to talk with before going home. He would return that night to watch three of his horses run.

"I will go home and come back at about 6:30 p.m.," he said. "It is a normal racing routine for me. You have to go home and get a nap. I wouldn't be able to do this any other way."