She has had to develop a thick skin but
admits some of the things said and written
about her are hurtful.
"People think they know you because they
see you on TV every day, but they really
don't know you at all," she said. "That leads
people to make inappropriate comments.
You want to let it just roll off your back and
say it doesn't hurt, but it does. I actually got
a hand-written letter from someone recent-
ly that was really insulting. That hurt and it
makes you question what you are doing. But
five minutes later someone will say some-
thing really nice about you and that makes
me feel better and makes me realize there's
no way I can please everybody."
Those sorts of things drive Courtney, who
is out to shatter every stereotype people
might attach to her. She admits that when
she began the job at Gulfstream she may
have known a lot about horses but not
enough about horse racing. So, she im-
