Storyline: Last Saturday reminded me why horse racing will never be what it once was. Huge.
Years ago I co-owned a race horse. Tuffy Acclaim was his name. Tuffy was a Standardbred Pacer and a pretty good horse, too.
“Tuffy Acclaim Favored to Win in Buffalo Raceway Feature.” That’s a top-of-the-fold headline, sports section, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, June 24, 1965.
Courtesy: ebay.co.uk
Though only a teenager, co-owning a horse meant I could go to the track and watch Tuffy run. I’d nestle along the rail, right near the finish line and root for my horse. What a thrill!
I grew up in Batavia, NY, a town where horse racing was a big part of the local economy. The town had a horse track, Batavia Downs, right off the NY Thruway, Exit 48.
Not everybody around town owned a horse, of course, but owning one wasn’t out of the ordinary, either.
Not in that town. Not in those days.
Back then, everybody I knew accepted horse racing as a business, pastime, and sport. There wasn’t any talk about animal safety or cruelty. There was moralizing, though.
Gambling. Everybody knew somebody “who was hooked.”
The sport was fine. Some of its fans were not.
I hadn’t thought about any of this for years … until last Saturday ….
We traveled to a family event held in a town with a horse track. “Used to have a horse track” is the correct phrasing. The place is boarded up, available for purchase: “1000 Acres for Sale” read the sign by the road.
Courtesy: detroit.cbslocal.com
I looked over the fence. There were horse barns, the paddock, and the track not far beyond.
I thought about the days when I was part of that scene. I wondered about all the people who used to be involved in horse racing. And I thought about all the people, today, who’d be blown away if they knew how big horse racing was back then.
What a contrast … what was with what is.
Today, though, is different. Past and present merge three days a year for The Triple Crown. Today is Preakness Saturday, the second leg of The Crown.
That means horse racing is in the spotlight. There’s pageantry and excitement. People everywhere pay attention. Horse racing is above-the-fold news, just like the old days.
Homeboykris wins at Pimlico on Saturday, then collapses and dies (photo, CNN International)
But today is different.
The news shocks the senses. Two horses die in undercard races—one from a fracture, the other from a presumed heart attack.
Picture it. Horses die right in front of fans on one of racing’s biggest days.
Pause. Reflect. Search for meaning.
Horse racing will always be with us. But it will never be what it was.
It can’t be. It’s not because the sport has changed. It’s because a lot of us have changed.
Saturday was a reminder.
Great reflection, Frank. Glad to see you doing what you want to do. I am retired as well and am continuing my interests in studying the sounds of the environment. I have helped form the International Society of Enoacustics and as Secretary General I am hosting the Ecoacoustics Congress at the Kellogg Center June 6-7. I saw your note and reflected on our journey at MSU. I see Bailey Scholars is still going. Hope you stay healthy.
Cheers
Stuart