TUAN TRAN

    Life can be pretty stressful for Bill Tran, who for the past seven years has been part of a law firm in Little Saigon in Westminster, California. So a few years ago, Tran turned to Quarter Horse with the hope of releasing some of the boiling pressure from his daily life. "I love to come to the track after work and just hang around the barn," said Tran. "Those days of being around my horses are my favorite time of the week."
      Success quickly found Tran at the racetrack, as the owner became a regular visitor to the winner's circle. "I got spoiled because I won six or seven races right away," he said. "To see your horses do well, that is such a great feeling."
        Tran paid his first visit to a racetrack when he was just five-years-old in his native Vietnam. It is now obvious that the outing made an indelible impression on the young boy.
     "It was my grandfather that took me to my first racetrack," said Tran.  "I wish my grandfather was still alive. It would have been a big thrill for me to see him with my horses."
      Soon after, Tran and his family moved from Vietnam to Maryland. It did not take long that the now 37-year-old lawyer learned the power of education. "I realized at an early age that education is the way to the top in this country," Tran said. "My parents instilled that in me. I wanted to make them proud of me and I felt that learning about laws would help us in our daily lives."
      Tran began his studies at California State Fullerton before earning a scholarship to the University of San Diego. By then, Tran had already fallen in love with Quarter Horse racing. "I saw the replay show one night and I was hooked immediately," he said. "I began to come out to the track and I just enjoyed it more and more each night. I've now been coming here for 20 years. At first it was just to gamble. Now I look at people like Enrique Gonzalez and think to myself 'that's where I want to be someday.' "