Through the Kat’s eye
By Ron Uchman

Four Footed Fotos is listed as the Track Photographer at Hawthorne but Katherin Eaton, Kat, is the one person we identify with that position. Every race, every day, good weather or bad, Kat is down on the track taking the win picture, as well as the pictures afterward in the winner’s circle. I’m not sure how, but she did find a few minutes to sit and talk.

“Oddly enough, I’ve always been around horses. One day, I was probably six or seven, my mom and I were out at the riding stable where she had her horse. She was going to take pictures of her horse. She told me to hold her camera. As soon as she put it in my hand, I was like, wow. I ran around and started taking pictures and guess I just got the bug.”

“I put the horses on hold for a while and did some drawing but when I got into high school and realized that my drawing wasn’t where I wanted it to be, I figured photography was more representative of what I was trying to do. That’s probably the best way I can describe my initial interest.”

“I went to Columbia College for five years and started out as a fashion photographer, then I switched to photojournalism (because I thought fashion was shallow). As part of my Photojournalism 3 project, I had to choose something to photograph, something to do a documentary around. I chose horseracing. I started going to Sportsman’s Park and taking pictures and ended up meeting John Brokupp, at that time the Media Director of Sportsman’s. Then one day when I was out there, I think it was Illinois Derby Day, and taking pictures, and John asked me to bring the pictures by to show them to him. As part of my project, I put the pictures into a little book and brought it to him. It just so happened that my current boss Doug Clark and his dad were there. John introduced us and I told him I was approaching graduation. Doug looked at my stuff and asked if I wanted a job. I’ve been around ever since.”

“We take a lot of pride on the job we do here. You have no idea how often people will come in to compliment us. (Just a note here: When I was conducting this interview, an owner came in and requested a picture of a winner he had here in 2005. He was effusive in his praise and wondered why the other tracks didn’t do work of equal quality. RU) We probably have the fastest turnaround in the business. If you win the first, we can usually have your picture ready by the time the second race is over. Plus, I don’t think most fans realize that they can also buy pictures. If they stop by, we would be happy to help.”

“I always wanted to do something that made a difference. It’s strange, this job does make a difference to people but most don’t realize how much of a difference it does make. They work so hard just to get these horses to the races, and then, after they win, to get them a good picture…well, you can see the appreciation on their faces. It’s a good feeling. It might not change the world but it is important to individuals. They will have a crystal clear memory for the rest of their lives. That makes all of us happy.”

“That’s what I do.”