San Diego, California News Station - KFMB Channel 8 - cbs8.comLip-Synching Race Horses

Lip-Synching Race Horses

It's been said, "never look a gift horse in the mouth." Dianne Piper spends her days looking straight into an equine's gums.

"My job is to certify that the horse that comes to the receiving barn, goes to the saddling paddock and races is actually the horse that it's supposed to be," Dianne said.

Dianne Piper is the lip-flipper.

"I'm looking for a tattoo on the upper lip and we also in California use a photo ID and a written description," she explained.

The horse's identification card also includes a 5x7 color print - it's the thoroughbred's driver's license.

"Every horse that races every time is identified, like we've never seen it before," Dianne said.

About 30 minutes before post time, entries for the next race saunter over to the receiving barn, where they are first checked for footwear. Horseshoes must be racetrack legal and meet exact specifications. No flip flops or practical pumps. Then Dianne flips the lip, looking for a letter and a series of numbers.

"The letter indicates the year they're born and the numbers are actually part of their registration certificate numbers," Dianne said.

Next, the runners get the once over from the state veterinarian. Still, with all this scrutiny, there are times when the wrong horse is headed to the track.

"It happens occasionally and most of the time it's just an accident. The trainer might have two or three horses in the race card for the day and the groom might bring over the wrong horse," Dianne said.

In a sport where there's big money on the line and winning is everything, nothing gets by Dianne Piper. She's the long lip of the law.