Harness: Looking for the bright light in times of despair
In times of tragedy or crisis, it is human nature that we turn to the things we love for comfort. That goes beyond just the people in our lives, but our passions and our hobbies as well. For some it may be a favorite movie or television show, our favorite book, a round of golf, or sports in general.
In the days after the attacks of September 11, we turned to our family and friends for comfort. We got together for a meal, drank a toast to a fallen friend or family member. We mourned and grieved together. In the weeks after the attacks, we turned to the things in our life that brought us happiness and proved to be a distraction. For me, that was the New York Yankees and horse racing.
My father and I got through the fall of 2001 together, attending the races at The Meadowlands and watching the Yankees make their dramatic playoff run. On October 27, we made our way to The Meadowlands for our traditional Breeders’ Cup-Big M doubleheader. We watched with pride as the jockeys at Belmont Park carried the flags of both the United States and their own country of origin together, a reminder that we are all Americans and we are all human. I can still feel the chills going down my spine in the final furlong of the Breeders Cup Classic that year as Tom Durkin exclaimed:
Sahkee, a narrow lead and Tiznow is battling on, the American Horse of the Year and the Arc winner are heads apart with a furlong to go in the Classic. On the outside Sahkee, Tiznow fights on, here’s the wire, desperately close, Tiznow wins it for America!
We had those moments to take us to another place. We had moments like Mr. November, watching Tino Martinez lift an entire city off the ground with a bottom of the 9th game-tying home run in the World Series and then watching Scott Brosius do it again the very next night.
This time, it’s different. We can’t get together with friends or family. We can’t drink a toast together, unless it’s on FaceTime. Yes, there is still some horse racing in this country, but we can’t go to a racetrack. We can’t bond with our father in the grandstand of our favorite racetrack. We can’t have Opening Day of the baseball season to remind us that things will be normal soon. We don’t even have our political leaders urging us to try and get back to normal like we did after 9/11. Yes, this time it’s different.
All we have is what is inside our four walls and there is no indication as to when that won’t be the case. In fact, we are even told not to embrace our parents and grandparents just to be safe as we don’t want to get them sick. We have to resist our own muscle memory. We see our mom or dad and we give them a hug. We run into someone we know on a grocery aisle, we shake their hand. We have to resist every urge we have learned throughout the course of an entire lifetime.
So, what do we turn to?
Well, first and foremost, we have been given an opportunity to really enjoy the family we have beside us every day. It goes without saying that should be our first goal, to make the most of this time we have with them.
Now, if you are reading this, you are a racing fan like I am. Thankfully, one of the things the internet has given us is a near-endless supply of historical races on video. If you a harness racing fan, you can watch any Hambletonian going back over 40 years, any Meadowlands Pace, Little Brown Jug, including the full national broadcast of some of these shows. If you like thoroughbred racing, pick your event, Triple Crown, Breeders’ Cup, or just go to YouTube and type in your favorite horse’s name. I promise you, there is plenty of content available.
If you are active on social media, this is a time to really take advantage of that. Enjoy the positive aspects of social media. Engage in fun debates on Facebook or Twitter about who was the better horse, what was the best edition of a certain race, etc. Talk about your best score. Talk about your worst beat. There are plenty of topics within racing that can help the hours that pass turn to days and the days turn to weeks.
I don’t know what tomorrow will bring, much like none of you reading this column do. I don’t know when things will begin to get better. I don’t know when things will get back to normal or what normal will look like when it gets here.
This will be the only column I write that addresses the coronavirus because much like you, I am looking for distractions, every minute of every hour of every day. For however long this “new normal” is our reality, whenever it is my turn to write a column I will write about a favorite race, a favorite event, a favorite horse, or anything in the world of racing that I can share with you to help take you to another place, even if just for a few moments. Be well, be healthy and be safe. I would like to leave you with one of my favorite quotes, as it is something I hold onto:
Throughout our history, Amerca’s darkest days have always been followed by its finest hours.
- Aaron Sorkin, The Newsroom