Win, place and sew - equestrian and horse racing apparel

Nation's Business, Feb, 1987 by Del Marth

Win, Place And Sew

Betsy Noble feels as if she has won the daily double. Putting her money on her two favorite hobbies, sewing and horses, she has parlayed them into a thriving business--making racing silks.

Silks, the colorful jackets and cap covers worn by jockeys, are provided by horse owners to distinguish their animals from the competition.

Noble's company, Custom Jockeys' Apparel in Hollywood, Fla., got its start at her bedroom sewing machine in 1964.

"I was an exercise girl then at Hazel Park racetrack in Detroit and married to a jockey,' says Noble, 44. "I would repair his breeches.'

When a pair became too frayed, she made him new ones. Before long, jockeys admiring the fit and quality of Jerry Noble's breeches "wanted me to sew them new breeches.' They also recommended her services to owners who needed silks.

In 1971 the Nobles moved from Detroit to the Miami area to be near the Calder, Hialeah and Gulfstream racetracks. Jerry Noble continued riding, and Betsy arose before dawn each day to solicit business at the tracks and to deliver orders. She still goes to the track each morning, but, she says, "I really don't want the business to grow much more. I'm busy enough.'

Her rented 2,000-square-foot building is a riot of colorful bolts of fabric and threads. Nine employees work at the dozen sewing machines and cutting tables. Her husband, now 48 and retired from riding, helps operate an $18,000 computerized embroidery machine.

Besides silks, the company makes breeches, saddle towels (worn under the saddle) and blinkers (hoods placed on horses that block out vision to the side and rear). Betsy Noble's most colorful creations are the racing silks. The firm makes three or four sets a day.

Years ago they were actually made of silk. But since the advent of nylon in the World War II era, they have been made of nylon taffeta. The synthetic material is easier to clean, less expensive and wears longer than real silk.

The price of a set of silks averages $75. That price doubles, however, for owners wanting complicated patterns. "For example, one owner wanted a cornucopia, and it took me days to handsew the different colored grapes and grains,' says Noble. Sometimes a customer has no pattern or colors in mind and asks Noble to create a design. Then she must refer to her own detailed files to ensure that she does not duplicate something done years ago.

Because of such customization, large manufacturers have backed off making racing silks. "Besides, no one could manufacture silks by the gross and maintain the quality we do,' says Noble. Yet her firm used 15,000 yards of material last year.

Noble does have competitors, all businesses run by seamstresses like herself. Custom Jockeys' Apparel is the largest maker of racing wear, however, receiving orders year-round from some 40 racetracks worldwide. Sales in 1986 were $175,000.

Noble has yet to buy an ad, but she handles orders from as far away as South Africa and Hong Kong. Her "sales crew' consists of jockeys and racehorse owners who travel the international track circuit, mentioning her name to anyone needing racing attire.

Her customers include many top jockeys, including Willie Shoemaker, Chris McCarron and Laffit Pincay, and such prestigious thoroughbred operations as Calumet Farm. Recalls Noble, "I was making riding pants for Steve Cauthen before anyone heard of him.'

She adds that, if she were a betting person, her profits might be even higher, because "invariably, when I make a new set of silks and a jockey wears them for the first time, he wins.'

Photo: Betsy Noble has turned her avocations--horses and sewing--into a winning combination. Her Custom Jockeys' Apparel in Hollywood, Fla., outfits jockeys and horses alike with colorful racing garb.