The Story Behind the Silks: Laura Krasauskaite

Racing silks are a unique representation of the owner, their horses, and the jockeys who wear them. Owners have their distinct designs with various colour combinations to represent and differentiate themselves, with each set of silks having a unique story all their own. Every aspect of the design, including the colour choices and combinations, takes on various symbolism and meanings, whether it is historical, cultural, or personal significance.

Trainer Laura Krasauskaite was born in Lithuania and came to Canada on November 23, 1998. She has been around horses since she was around 10 years old, dating back to her time in Europe.

“Horse racing has been a passion for me since the day I found the horses and I don’t see myself doing anything else but this,” said Krasauskaite. “I started with show jumpers and dressage, and I found it a bit boring. I’m an adrenaline junkie. I like excitement and I like the pressure. When I came here (Toronto), I went straight to Woodbine and met [trainer] John MacKenzie and that’s how I got introduced to racing. The closest show farm was too far for me to ride a bicycle to and from Etobicoke. When I was told what Woodbine was, I was like ‘Really? Show me, I want to see it!’ I remember I walked in, watched my first race, and said, ‘This is it.’ I found my final destination in the horse industry… horse racing. It was extremely exciting. From that day, I never stopped.”

Krasauskaite has been training at Woodbine since 2018 and has her own set of silks under Krasauskaite Racing Stable Inc. Her silks are described as, “Sky blue, white warrior and horse emblem, sky blue sleeves, white cap.”

“I came up with these silks when I bought Silent Causeway,” she said of the dark bay who posted a 6-7-1 mark from 25 starts, to go along with over $313,000 (U.S.) in purse earnings. “I gave her a first breeze and she worked the bullet, and we were flying. That’s when I knew I needed something special because the stable was going to get better.”

Silent Causeway (Silent Name (JPN)-Giant’s Causeway) won the La Prevoyante in 2021, delivering the trainer her first stakes win.

Krasauskaite had a previous set of silks that she felt she needed to change to her current ones as a symbol of moving forward.

“I started using them about five years ago, but I wanted something stronger to represent the future.”

She describes the white warrior and horse emblem on her silks, a symbol representing Lithuania known as Vytis. When speaking of the history of Lithuania and the Baltic people, she shared that her grandmother survived a camp in World War II, and her great-grandmother survived both World Wars.

Krasauskaite views the symbol as representative of an attitude many Lithuanian people share, to move forward and focus on the positive.

“The design represents my ancestors and my culture, it’s a symbol of Lithuania. It carries my history and how my ancestors are always with me. A warrior on a white horse with a sword in the air charging full speed. That symbol represents power, strength, and dominance. It’s for my people, who would be very proud to see them. The new version of the symbol has a horse with a sword and shield and the horse rears, but I used the original version of the symbol with the horse galloping full speed forward. It’s another thing that pushes me forward because I know that my ancestors would be proud to see this all over the world.

“I believe the symbol was from 1305,” she continued. “As Lithuanians, we had a huge, strong army in North, East, and West Europe. Lithuania was huge. We were from the Baltic Sea all the way to the Black Sea, that’s how much land we had. But now we’re tiny. This symbol represents the power and strength of Lithuanians. Every culture has its strengths. That’s why that symbol is there, as a reminder of the power, the strength, and to not give up.”

Krasauskaite shared more about the personal symbolism of the blue and white in her silks, and why she made alterations to the original design to be more personal for her.

“The only thing I changed about the symbol was the colours. The colours in the symbol are supposed to be a white horse with a red background. I didn’t want to use the red because I thought it was too aggressive. I used turquoise with a white rider and horse instead. I like turquoise because it’s extremely relaxing and a friendly colour. I like to go to the ocean and all you see is the white sand and turquoise sea. When you go on vacation and look at that turquoise water and the sand, you have five minutes you forget about horses and you’re somewhere else. It’s so relaxing, peaceful, and eye-catching. That’s why I chose the turquoise instead.”

Krasauskaite is proud that her silks convey a symmetry and harmony between power and peace, something she is reminded of often, especially during challenging days.

“The colours I used represent peace and the symbol represents dominancy, moving forward, and not giving up. There were a couple of hard days, and it’s normal in this industry to have its ups and downs. There were days when I was planning to quit since I was doing it by myself. It was more exhaustion than anything. Then I looked at Silent Causeway wearing those silks and she did well. She won stake races and won a lot of money by trying. When I look at that symbol with the warrior going full speed forward, it reminds me that I’ll be okay, we’ll be okay. It gives me that power.

“No matter what you go through, remember why you’re here and why you’re doing this job. It’s for the love of the sport and the love of the horses. Sometimes they just want your attention, so they’ll break a (fence) board and stare you down while they do it. It’s like dealing with a bunch of kids, even with my broodmares.”

“They’re just bored and want my attention,” she added with a laugh.

Whenever she sees a jockey donning her silks on the racetrack, it is a treasured reminder of the affinity Krasauskaite has for horses and horse racing.

“We all go through a lot for the love of the horses, like me, a single parent. Don’t give up, keep going forward. Everything you do is for the horses; they love you more than anything. They appreciate every moment of it.”

Sophie Charalambous, for Woodbine Communications