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Beginnings
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Odds On Acres did not just magically become the magnificent facility that you'll find in Crete,
Illinois…it took many months of planning and long, hard hours of work to bring to fruition this
state-of-the-art harness training center. The brains behind the design of Odds On Acres was none
other than trainer Robin Schadt.
"It took a lot of processes for me to figure out exactly what I wanted," Robin said. "I had been
a caretaker for many years, and so I really wanted this place to be very caretaker and horse friendly.
In other words, I wanted to make it for the horses and the people tending to their needs as a first
priority. I thought that for the whole operation to work smoothly, that need to be first on my list."
So Robin set about visiting a number of training facilities already in operation-both in Illinois,
New Jersey, Kentucky, Canada and elsewhere.
"I visited a lot of different farms, training centers, and breeding operations," Robin said. "I took
a little bit of something from each place that I really liked, and remembered the things that I
didn't want."
All of those thoughts gave Robin the idea for the layout that she believed would eventually become
Odds On Acres.
"The first thing I did is I sat down at a large table and I started with cut-outs that I designed
of barns, a track, etcetera," Robin remembered. "Then I took those cut-outs and continually rearranged
them until I was really happy with the layout of the place. After I had what I wanted, I turned the
plans over to Big Tom (harness racing owner Tom Lewandowski) and let him do the rest."
Robins says she designed Odds On Acres so that the horses would have an open access to the track, and
would not be hindered by cars driving past them at any time.
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"I wanted the horses to be able to get to the track without distractions, or without the worry of a car
possibly coming through the area where they were to be working," Robin said.
Robin's design was completed by February 2003, when Odds On Acres became a full-service training center.
She designed it so in each of the barns every horse has a window, and can have access to clean, fresh air
at all times. The barn aisles are wide and roomy, and the two main barn rows of the main barn are offset
against a middle center section, where the Odds On offices and tack rooms are housed. As well, there
is are vet and blacksmith rooms near the center aisle, as well as laundry rooms. In addition, each
caretaker has his or her own bath stall exclusively set aside for their horses.
"I did this so that everyone would have their own area that they are responsible for," Robin said.
"This way I can see that each caretaker is keeping his or her area clean and neat, and there are no
excuses why something was left in this bath stall or why a bath stall isn't clean. Each person is
responsible for their area, end of story."
Robin also set up Odds On Acres so that the two round exercisers would be placed strategically at
each end of the main barn. The swimming pool is also set just on the northeast side of the main
barn so that the horses can reach it easily even in inclement weather.
"I tried not leave anything to chance, and to make everything as convenient as possible for everyone
who'd be working here on a daily basis," Robin said.
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