"The Steward"

My name is Emily Shields and I started designing the SIM when I was 11 years old. I couldn't find any people my own age interested in horse racing, so I decided to reach out to the online crowd. The game started out with 13 players and very few horses, and by the time it closed in late 2003, 500 people from four continents had played and almost 16,000 horses were in the database.

After a two year stint going to college in Kentucky I returned to California: The SIM's home base. I have worked as a hotwalker and groom at Santa Anita, Hollywood Park, Del Mar, River Downs, Keeneland, and Churchill Downs, and I have also worked in the front offices of Del Mar and Churchill Downs. I freelance for TVG, ESPN, ABC, HRTV, and currently work for the California Thoroughbred Magazine.

Aside from racing, I am a fanatical sock collector and I love penguins, polar bears, fish, music, and travelling. I have been to 40 racetracks, 46 states, as well as to Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Peru, and Costa Rica. I hope to travel to Europe and Asia eventually, too!

The SIM is my "child" and my dream is to have it be my real job. I am very proud of the SIM's accomplishments so far and I hope to touch the lives of each player. Long live the SIM!