This is a difficult column to write - one that touches upon loss, ethics, philosophy, law and emotion. Frankly, it’s beyond my ability to explore such matters in the 800 words or so allotted to this column but suffice it to say it last week was one of the worst racing weekends in the history of Saratoga Race Course.
When the cancellation of racing due to heavy rains and lightning is the best part of a four-day stretch it’s not hyperbole to say it was a horrific week.
The heart-wrenching loss of a talented and valiant competitor - Maple Leaf Mel - strides from the finish line in front of a youthful, happy, sun-drenched crowd was so devastating in its suddenness and visual clarity that it left veteran and novice fans stunned and instantaneously aware of what had just tragically occurred.
Surrounded as I was by the leading owners and horse people in the sport, the reaction of all was visceral and raw. The gut punch caused tears to flow, curses to be uttered, and ashen heads to be buried in open hands. Much like the description given by survivors of airplane crashes, there was much noise and movement followed by an immediate eerie silence and stillness borne of sadness. The recognition that something bad and uncorrectable had just occurred was palpable. It hung there - and hung there. But for the very few celebratory imbecilic utterings of those who backed the mutuel winners and muted applause of relief when jockey Joel Rosario walked off under his own power, everyone was duly respectful of the solemnity of the moment.
Brendan Walsh the trainer of Pretty Mischief, immediately grasped that there was no “winner” of this year’s Test Stakes and showed his class by eschewing the traditional winners circle celebration. Kudos to him - class in troubled moments seems to be the least celebrated virtue of modern society - when it occurs it needs to be noted. In a world where winning often excuses poor behavior, the connections of Pretty Mischief showed humility and kindness in the moment and the next morning by sending the winning flower blanket to the stricken Maple Leaf Mel’s empty stall.
The loss of beautiful animals over the four-day span will renew portrayals of the sport as cruel or brutal - but it’s far more complicated than that - as most things are. This is a sport and town that in many ways loves animals more than humans. The connection this town and its people have to horses is immense and historic. So too the vast majority of people in the sport care deeply and obsessively for the well-being of the horses in their charge (often to the frustration of the humans in their lives). Owners of horses spend way more of their resources and time than is rational, constantly thinking about, caring for and producing creatures whose connection to society waned greatly with the invention of the automobile. The existence of the modern thoroughbred, indisputably a business, is due primarily to love of animals.
A subtle, but telling, indication of the respect this area has for animals is a huge sign near the race course on Steele Street that reads “Proceed With Caution Deaf Cat” so as to warn motorists that “Gwen” won’t hear you coming and her life is precious so be alert. So it is with horses – “proceed with caution”.
The regulation of the sport is now both a local and federal matter and the sport would be wise to remember its license to exist can be partially or fully revoked. Weekends such as this cry out for action and when an industry fails to act politicians react. While regulators are often initially reluctant or slow to act they tend to act bluntly when they do. Let’s hope they don’t do so here.
As a devotee of the sport and its participants both equine and human, I have grappled with the reality of weeks like this. It is not a matter I view dismissively or nonchalantly. I have spent much time over the years contemplating questions about horse racing and thoroughbreds.
To me the case for horse racing boils down to its authenticity. In an increasingly artificial world, horse racing is one of the “real things” that remain. There is an unmatched beauty in real things - art, music, food, education, pride, love, sex, family, friendship are all better when real rather than artificial. All those things are also at times messy, painful, filled with mistakes (and at times brutal). So too are thoroughbreds - beautiful, graceful, real,- but fragile and at risk - and at times heartbreaking. Tears.
