Feature written by Chloe Dowler, Class of 2026
When Marilee Herrera (Equine Business & Sales and Equine Science & Rehabilitation major, Class of 2026) sits in a Midway University classroom, she brings with her a lifetime of experiences far beyond what most students could imagine: childhood mornings on racetracks, years in corporate marketing, entrepreneurship, motherhood, and a military career spent interpreting satellite imagery in war zones. At 55, she is a non-traditional student, but in many ways, she is the type of student Midway was built for: resilient, deeply driven, and shaped by a commitment to service.
What makes her story remarkable isn’t just how many chapters it contains, but the quiet, steady force with which she rewrites her life each time. For Herrera, enrolling at Midway University was not a random decision, but the culmination of a long, winding road that ultimately led her back to the horses who have anchored her since childhood.
A Life Shaped by the Track
Herrera’s earliest memories are measured not in years, but in racing seasons. Her father was a professional jockey, and their family traveled from meet to meet; California to Chicago, Detroit to Phoenix, New Orleans to Omaha. The backstretch was her playground; the barns her neighborhood.
“Traditionally, back in the 70s and 80s, horse racing wasn’t year-round like it is now,” she explained. Her father’s job took the family across the United Sates. They lived “almost like gypsies,” staying wherever the next meet took them for three or four months at a time.
To Herrera, it felt normal, at least until she was old enough to realize how unique her upbringing was.
“My dad was a professional athlete. Not many people can say their parent rides horses for a living,” she said. From her earliest memories, she wanted nothing more than to follow in his footsteps.
She spent mornings at the track as a child, absorbing the rhythms of barns and backstretches, feeding horses, and learning from trainers who treated her like family. By high school, though, her world began to broaden. Cheerleading, academics, and extracurricular activities competed for her attention. Just as she was preparing to take the next step toward becoming an exercise rider, tragedy struck.
At 15, Herrera lost her father to chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a condition that then was barely understood. The shock altered the course of her life.
“My dad made it look so easy,” she said softly. “But I realized how dangerous the job was.” Her dream of becoming a jockey faded. She turned her focus toward another goal: veterinary school.
A New Direction
Herrera began college at the University of Arizona with plans to pursue veterinary medicine. But once again, racing called her back.
“I learned there was a Racetrack Industry Program. You could actually get your bachelor’s degree in racetrack management,” she said. “I thought, wait a second… that’s what I love.”
She graduated with a degree in racetrack management, launching a career that eventually took her far from the barns she grew up in. She transitioned into marketing, worked for Subway World Headquarters, married, and co-founded a real estate business in Connecticut. Life moved forward, until it didn’t.
When her marriage ended and her children became older and more independent, Herrera made a bold decision: she enlisted in the U.S. Army.
Reinvention in Uniform
Herrera swore in at 39 and left for basic training on her 40th birthday.
“It’s a lot older than most,” she laughed, “but I always wanted to serve.”
Her aptitude tests revealed a high language-learning aptitude, and the Army trained her as a geospatial engineer, which was a role that involved the analysis of satellite imagery and terrain to support military operations.
Her service took her across the world: Kuwait, Afghanistan, Turkey, Kyrgyzstan, Germany, Ireland. She helped plan helicopter landing zones, analyzed terrain for troop movement, and identified areas where danger could emerge.
Then, during a training exercise in California, an MRAP vehicle rollover left her with severe nerve damage affecting her vision. Herrera developed diplopia, which caused double vision that took years of therapy to manage. She was medically retired from the Army in 2018.
Once again, life shifted beneath her feet.
Horses as Healing
Isolated during the early days of the pandemic, and thousands of miles away from family, Herrera realized something was missing.
“Horses,” she said. “I needed to get back to what I love.”
In 2020, she put out a message on social media. Did anyone have a horse for sale? A former classmate responded. Soon, Herrera was on a plane to look at a young filly named Spicy Sommelier.
“I asked, ‘Who do I write the check to?’ I needed her,” she said. “Getting her … changed everything.”
Spicy became her companion, her motivation, and her source of stability in a turbulent time.
“She depended on me, but I depended on her even more.”
That purchase sparked a new era. By 2022, Herrera had moved to Kentucky, earned an associate’s degree in equine studies from BCTC, worked in yearling prep and rehab at the prestigious WinStar Farm, and reignited her passion for the racing industry, this time as an owner. She now participates in several racehorse partnerships and still beams proudly when she talks about any of them, especially those with liquor-themed names like Bourbon Notes, Bourbon Betty, and Native Brew.
“I’m not even a big drinker!”, she laughed. “But they’re great names.”
Why Midway University?
Herrera’s connection to Midway actually goes back decades.
A “full circle” moment 34 years in the making
In the late 1980s, while earning her first bachelor’s degree in racetrack management at the University of Arizona, Herrera completed a summer internship at a Thoroughbred farm in Midway, Kentucky. Every day she drove past Midway College, which was the original name of Midway University.
“I used to pass the arena and the jumps right there off the road,” she remembered. “I thought it was the most adorable little college. It had this aura about it. I always thought it was so cool.”
She never imagined she would be a student there herself one day, let alone more than three decades later.
Choosing Midway for its unique equine rehabilitation program
When Herrera completed her internship at WinStar’s rehab barn, she realized just how much she loved the work. She wanted to build a career helping injured horses heal, strengthen, and return to function.
But she knew she needed more specialized knowledge, more than a typical equine studies program could offer.
Midway University stood out immediately.
“I looked into Midway and realized they had an actual equine rehabilitation concentration. That sealed it,” she said.
The combination of equine science, hands-on rehabilitation experience, and business coursework matched her goals perfectly. It offered the education she needed to eventually open her own equine rehab business, where she could combine her love of horses, her experience from WinStar, and her desire for autonomy.
A welcoming community for non-traditional students
Another reason she chose Midway, it didn’t just allow for non-traditional students, it embraced them.
“Coming in at 55, I worried whether the other students would accept me. But from day one, Midway made me feel welcomed,” Herrera said.
Her classmates embraced her; her professors supported her, and she found a place that didn’t just tolerate her experience; it valued it.
“Everyone has been so supportive. Other than maybe a few wrinkles, I feel like I fit right in,” she joked.
Honored on the Track
On November 11, 2025, her worlds collided in the best possible way. Horseshoe Indianapolis, a racetrack, invited her to be honored on Veterans Day and even named the fifth race after her.
“It was extremely honoring and humbling,” Herrera said. “I felt so proud.”
She stood onstage, was featured in the program, and received her own saddlecloth that represented both her service and her lifelong place in the racing world.
“It was amazing. How many people can say they had a race named after them?”
Looking Forward
Herrera hopes to someday run her own equine rehabilitation business, splitting her time between Kentucky and Florida like many in the industry. She still works the windows as a mutual clerk at Keeneland and Churchill Downs, a job she started 35 years ago and still loves its energy and closeness to the action.
She plans on riding Spicy for pleasure, dreams of buying her own farm one day, and will continue to chase opportunities, always learning, always moving forward.
Advice for Other Non-Traditional Students
Herrera’s message to others returning to school later in life is simple:
“Stay involved.”
“Be part of the community here. Midway has so much to offer. Your experience will be richer if you participate, even in small things. Take advantage of the sense of community, because it’s amazing.”
There’s Always Something New
From racetrack backstretches to military bases across the world, from heartbreak to healing, from California deserts to Midway classrooms, Marilee Herrera has lived a dozen lives in one.
Yet when asked what keeps her going, she answers without hesitation:
“You’re never too old to learn. There’s always something new, always.”
And for Herrera, that belief has led her exactly where she was meant to be.