Two Barbers, a YouTube Channel and the Truth About Race at the Racetrack

“We had all these guys in our chairs, and all we needed was someone to film and capture their passion,” Harper, 45, said.

When a documentary filmmaker said he would charge $1,200 an episode, Harper went down YouTube rabbit holes learning how to buy and use camera equipment. After spending $13,000, they were in business. Sort of.

They posted their early video interviews on Facebook, attracting just a handful of views. The absence of a critical audience, or really any audience, allowed Harper and Davis to get comfortable with their filmmaking technique.

“I look back at some of our early stuff, and the frame’s out of focus and the camera’s jiggling,” said Harper, the cameraman.

But in time, their interview style — TMZ ambush meets speed-dating questions — drew endearingly candid responses from the people Davis calls the “real racetrack royalty”: the men and women who walk, rub and care for thoroughbreds that are worth more than their handlers may ever earn in a lifetime.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/09/sports/horse-racing/real-players-backstretch-horse-racing.html