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Jockey Simon Husbands is appealing a one-year suspension handed down by the stewards last December after a race in which it was determined that Husbands didn’t appear to be trying to win with his horse. Writer Perry Lefko attended Husbands’ appeal of the sentence at the Ontario Racing Commission yesterday. The following is his coverage of the first day of the appeal:

On Monday, jockey Simon Husbands appeared before the Ontario Racing Commission in regards to the one-year suspension he received and appealed for a ride aboard Bug’s Boy, Nov. 30, 2008 at Woodbine. Husbands finished second in the race by three-quarters of a length aboard the maiden $23,000 claimer who was let go at more than 14-1 odds. Husbands’ brother, Patrick, won the race aboard 8-5 favourite Come On Love. Simon Husbands was later suspended by the ORC for failing to persevere in the run through the stretch. Down The Stretch covered the hearing, the only media to do so. Here is the story.  Dan Loiselle Dan Loiselle, who called the race, took the stand first and remarked that looking back on it he found himself thinking about the jockeys’ race at the time between Patrick Husbands – Simon’s younger brother – and Jim McAleney, both of whom were tied for wins on the season at that point.“It was a very tight jockeys race. Going into (the race) I thought this could be interesting,” he said. “This riders’ race is shaping up. It peaked my curiosity that he was on the favourite…to see how he’d perform.” Defence lawyer Dan McMahon questioned Loiselle for remarking that Bug’s Boy had “yet to be asked” by Husbands leading up the 16ths pole. McMahon wanted to know if Loiselle was editorializing with his comment and if he was implying anything. Loiselle said he was not implying anything. “That was what I saw at the time. It was fleeting. I hadn’t seen him hit the horse or begin scrubbing.” Loiselle said he would use the comment “yet to be asked” 100 times a year, but generally at the top of the stretch. McMahon vigorously challenged Loiselle about his statement. Loiselle said: “I’ve seen hundreds of thousands of races and I think that’s a pretty educated guess (that the horse hadn’t been asked to run up until the 16ths pole).” When asked about his credentials as a rider, Loiselle quipped: “The last race I rode was at Wal-Mart and it wasn’t entered in the fifth.” Richard Grubb Senior steward Richard Grubb followed and said the stewards could see Husbands was standing up down the lane and his posture was quite high and it looked “like he had them at mercy. At five steps from the wire, he started to knuckle, but at this point the race was over.” Grubb stated the stewards had not been apprised that Husbands had been told by trainer John LeBlanc not to use the whip. He said if a trainer doesn’t want a whip used, he’ll declare that at entry time and the horse will not be allowed to have a rider with a whip for five consecutive races. As Grubb examined the tape of the race, it appeared to him Husbands was mildly pushing his horse in the last four or five jumps to the wire. “You’re not obligated to hit a horse, but you’ve got to push on him…His posture changed very little from the start of the race to the finish.” He added: “Look at the other riders. Look at their action. They’re getting down low. They’re whipping. They’re riding. Pick anyone. He’s still got a very good hold of hold of the horse (in the drive to the wire). At the last minute, he decides to pump, but the race is over.” It was Grubb’s contention that if Husbands had given the horse “his head” at the eighth pole, “he’d have gone on and won handily…All the other riders are energetic and he’s still sitting. Pick any rider and see what they’re doing. I’m not saying he has to whip and pound on him, but he has to at least hand-ride him.” When McMahon said that it appeared that four or five strides from the wire Husbands was scrubbing a little bit on his horse, Grubb replied: “At that point, Secretariat couldn’t have caught the (winning) horse. (Bug’s Boy) was much the best and should have won.” As for the contention that Husbands held back because his brother was battling for the riders’ title, Grubb said: “Had James McAleney been on the lead, we’ve had take the same action.” Gunnar Lindberg                                             Fellow steward Gunnar Lindberg, who was not in attendance for the race because it was his day off, followed Grubb. He appraised Husbands’ ride while watching a video of the race. “He never knuckles down. His hands don’t move until he makes a half-hearted attempt.” Lindberg said looking at the video, Bug’s Boy went by the winner “pretty quick” when allowed to run” past the wire. Grubb said it’s incumbent on a rider to follow the trainer’s instructions, but to also try some different things in the race if the strategy isn’t working. “He never really seems to move his hands. He keeps it in the same (position). You have to change. He never changed his posture until it was too late. He’s not really giving a good effort there and that’s late in the race.” Lindberg said if Husbands had let the horse run at the 16^th pole similar to what he did after the wire “he’s a winner.’ Lindberg added: “This is probably one of the worst things that can happen – preventing a horse from winning…We felt he never let the horse run at any time in the race until such time as it was too late.” Jennifer Creer McMahon presented his defence witnesses, beginning with veterinarian Jennifer Creer, who was present in the morning when LeBlanc gave Husbands the instructions “not to hit the horse, but to run to the bit.” Robbie King Robbie King, secretary/manager of the Jockeys Benefit Association of Canada, followed and revealed the Husbands brothers have a strained relationship, something he became aware of when he returned to riding in 2005 after training for some 10 years. King said it’s important for a jockey to have a whip regardless if he uses it on his horse because “it’s a safety issue. Some wild and wacky stuff can happen out there. It’s better to have it on you.” King said the fact Husbands asked his mount to switch leads at about the eighth pole was a sign he was trying to get another gear out of the horse and the horse did take off at that point. “It’s an unusual mode of riding and that’s probably why we’re here,” he said. “I don’t think we should be sitting here. The horse ran the best race of his life and the gentleman (Husbands) is facing a year’s suspension for something he didn’t do.” Lou Cavalaris   Hall of Famer Lou Cavalaris took the stand next. Cavalaris, an esteemed trainer during his lengthy career in horse racing, opined Husbands did nothing wrong. “I think he rode a good race. He did everything right. He saved ground, finished second at a big price…If I was the (trainer of this horse) and I told him not to hit (the horse) and get what you can, I’d be pretty happy. Looking at the horse’s form and everything, I’d have to be pleasantly surprised at how the horse ran. I thought the kid rode him perfectly. I would be more than satisfied with the ride.” As for the stewards’ opinion that Husbands failed to persevere, Cavalaris said: “I’d say that’s their opinion. I don’t agree with them. That’s why I’m here.” Under cross examination from the Crown, Cavalaris said: “(Husbands) saved every inch of ground. He couldn’t have ridden him any better.” John LeBlanc LeBlanc followed and said on the morning of the race he told Husbands “not to push the horse, definitely not use the whip and keep him covered up as much as possible.” He had deduced from previous races and galloping Bug’s Boy regularly that when the horse was whipped, “he hit the wall.” After the race, LeBlanc said he was satisfied with the ride. “I thought he did a dynamite job throughout the whole race…The fact the horse didn’t stop, he was trying. He was moving forward. I was very happy.” He said his wife, who owns the horse with the couple’s child, planned to give Husbands a Christmas gift basket the next day for doing such a good job on Bug’s Boy, along with winning a race for them in the race that preceded that and for a race the previous day. When asked by McMahon if he had any problems with the ride, LeBlanc said: “Not at all. I thought he rode a dynamite race. He followed my instructions…That’s exactly what I wanted. LeBlanc said he has already lined up Husbands to ride a couple races for him in the upcoming Woodbine meet and that he will have the mount the next time Bug’s Boy runs. Under cross examination, LeBlanc was repeatedly asked why he told the stewards in the hearing to discuss the race a few days later that it looked like Husbands held the horse. He said if he said that, he would have followed up with some comment explaining what he meant. “I may have chosen some poor words because he did not hold him. There was more to that statement at the time.” That led to a critical point in the cross examination, specifically the public and the stewards’ perception of the race, in particular because there was no disclosure about the instructions for use of the whip. Simon Husbands Husbands took the stand and admitted he and his brother had some jealousy issues growing up and to this point the two don’t really say much to one another. Husbands said he had learned the hard way to follow trainer instructions because his stock had dropped after not following orders. After finishing second in the race in question, he said: “I was shocked (from what he’d run the last time). I told (the LeBlancs) we could bring the horse back next year and have some fun. They were all happy.” He added that based on the way the horse ran the last time he rode him he knew he couldn’t beat down on him. “I know for sure in my heart if I get aggressive, I know he’s going to stop.” When asked if he’d ride him differently, Husbands said: “I’d ride him the same way…He’s not the nicest moving horse. When you’re holding him, you’re helping him.” Husbands said he was “shocked” when informed he was to appear before the stewards to discuss the race. The hearing continues today. 

I think I set a personal record this weekend. I went to Woodbine  four times. I was there before 7 am saturday morning to hook up with Richard Dos Ramos. If you met “Dos’ for the first time, you’d have a hard time beleiving he’s been a jockey for almost 30 years. he doesn’t have that hollow, desperate, fleshless contour to his face that many jockeys who have been in the game that long tend to develop. Dos Ramos, who will be 47 has a strong handsome face with big dark eyes that seem to open wide to anyone engaging him in conversation.

    Dos Ramos made a big splash in 1981 when he won the Sovereign Award as top apprentice jockey in this country, a feat he repeated the next year. I was a sports reporter with City-Tv at the time, using every possible excuse to do a story at the track and I coined the phrase, “Get rich and famous with Richard dos Ramos!”. Ok, not an award winner, but when I met him in barn 14 Saturday morning we were both amazed at the relentless passing of time and perhaps the fact that, more or less, we’re still doing the same thing. Except, as editor of Down The Stretch, Canada’s most informative and entertaining horse racing newspaper, I don’t have to come up with excuses to go to the track for a story.

I was meeting with dos Ramos for two reasons. This saturday when the thoroughbreds return to Woodbine, Down The Stretch will be part of Community Day, in which many of the track’s partners interact with the fans. We have a table on the second floor and will be giving out many freebies, including signed covers of our paper. One of the covers will be the one featuring dos Ramos when he won the Breeders’ Stakes on Marlang. I had Richard sign 30 of them on saturday and not one to minimize an opportunity,  I interviewed him and took some pictures. That story will appear in the next issue of Down The Stretch. One of the pictures i took was of his left hand. Many years ago he was on a horse that snapped a leg….11 of the 12 horses behind managed to run past him safely, but the final horse stepped on his hand, mashing his thumb quite badly. Apparently he had to beg the surgeon not to amputate it, so the doctor tried a ‘new’ technique and did in fact save the thumb. 

Next saturday at Woodbine will be very busy for us.  We’ll have those covers from Dos Ramos as well as signed covers from Paul MacDonell, driver of Somebeachsomewhere and if the special delivery system works quickly enough, I hope to have Chantal’s ink on some covers. She’s still riding in California.

Also this Saturday, we’re giving out pens with the Down The Stretch information printed. Associate Editor Eleanor LeBlanc has ordered purple ribbons, which stand for the fight against horse slaughter and we will dispense those to anyone making a donation; our intent is to give any money we raise to a horse ‘rescuer’ to perhaps help in the purchase of a horse from the slaughterhouse.

Woodbine is providing us with a limited number of programs to disperse as we see fit, and we also have printed copies of all the Perry and Mooch cartoons. I can only imagine the stampede of racing fans to our table to get one of those.

Make sure if you’re at the track on Saturday, you come to see us!

Oh by the way..the other three times at Woodbine - went back Staurday at noon to score a form, returned Saturday night to distribute copies of Down The Stretch in the harness paddock and was back before the simulcast doubles on Sunday…to ..uh..you know…bet.

There is now a snappy :45 Down The Stretch commercial. Every few months, I go, tin cup in hand, to the lovely people who are bankrolling my racing paper, Down The Stretch to ask for more money. The first few times I went begging, Tony and Mila smiled, snapped their fingers and a massive guy in a suit came marching in with a suitcase full of cash (I’ve altered reality for the sake of dramatic narrative).

The last time though, Tony told me to be more aggressive and to make a tv commercial. The idea was to create a fast-paced, dynamic spot that would run on the horse racing channel (420/421).  I proposed this to Woodbine and we quickly swung a deal that has turned out to be a bargain for me. Woodbine has complete televison facilities. For the cost of a decent triactor, they provided me with a producer (Paul) , cameraman (Matt)  and editor (Lisa) and the complete run of their editing suite. Need some birds-eye video of last summer’s Queen’s Plate?

Got it!

How about a closeup of some harness racing?

No sweat?

Sound effects? Horses hooves? Trotters churning up the limestone?

That’ll take half a minute! 

Woodbine editor Lisa was amazing, mixing sound and images as per each of my frantic, ever-changing demands.  Anyway, it’s a really good piece of video and available for all the world to see at Facebook. Just click on the Down The Stretch section and if that doesn’t work, watch HPI starting Friday night April 3. The spot will run 10 times that weekend and the next and many times more in ensuing weeks. You might even get tired of it.

This is part of many marketing strategies attached to Down The Stretch, Canada’s most informative and entertaining horse racing newspaper. On April 4th, as part of Community Day at Woodbine, Down The Stretch will have a table on the second floor. It’s all about creating a crowd, so we’llbe giving out Down The Stretch pens, autographed covers, prints of the Perry and Mooch cartoons and, if our shipment makes it from New York on time, purple ribbons for those who wish to make a fashion statement against the slaughter of racehorses. Come by and say hello.

Meanwhile, after I finish this blog and my 9:45 am sportscast on 680News, I opt into my never-ending day. The latest issue of Down The Stretch arrived at my home last night ( 5000 issues) and my car is filled with them. I need to drop several hundred off at Woodbine - at the racing office, the backstretch kitchen, the Jake Howard recreation centre, the executive offices, my two bins at the front and at the west entrances and in the press box.

Then I have several champions theatres who will, apparently stop all operations until they get Volume 2 Issue 3 later today.

 I also have two meetings at my son’s high school today and I have to pick up my daughter at her public school.

I think there might be a 15 minute window between 1:45 and 2:00 where I can do an errand or two for you if you need me to!

So I publish this horse racing newspaper - Down The Stretch, Canada’s most entertaining and informative racing newspaper - and I was thinking from the beginning that we would cover the races and players with passion and humour, but guess what one thing seems to be attracting us the most attention? It’s the issue of horse slaughter. Sadly, hundreds, maybe thousands of horses that used to run in Canadian parimutuel races, find themselves on the treadmill to slaughter because of a huge demand - especially in Europe and Asia - for horse meat. It’s expensive to own a racehorse and sometimes, when a horse can no longer earn anything on the track, its owner is faced with a difficult decision.

Thanks to people like Alex Brown, the relentless soldier at the front of the anti-slaughter movement in the United States, laws were created that make it illegal in the States to kill a thoroughbred in this manner, or to even participate in the transport of a former racer to a slaughterhouse. There is a growing constituency in Canada that wants similar legislation here.  A brave young woman by the name of Yael Gottesman is a vibrant and irresistible one-women band against horse slaughter in Canada. She has spent months collecting names on a petition and will soon be rewarded for her persistence. After several requests, Peter Kent, the Federal Member of Parliament for her riding, has agreed to meet with here. That meeting is scheduled for April 7. In Canada, the chances of a private member’s bill ever becoming a reality is minimal, to be optimistic, but Yael’s confrontation with a sitting member is one of many strategies that could lead to laws against this hideous practise.

In our own modest way, Down The Stretch will support the efforts of horse rescue and anti-horse slaughter activity. We will continue to run stories that speak to this topic and beginning with our latest issue - on line now at www.downthestretchnewspaper.com, we will run the purple ribbon that is emblematic of horse rescue. You can find the purple ribbon on top of the editor’s comment on page 3. 

And while we’re blogging about Down The Stretch, please allow me to strut a bit here. This is our 17th issue and it’s a good one. I think the cover is the most exciting and attractive yet. I’m learning that exciting words on the cover of a paper can often be more effective than a great picture. Inside this issue is a lot of great material. Perry Lefko has the definitive take on Frank Stronach’s dramatic race track collapse. Stronach has poured about $750 million into ownership of many racetracks in the United States, but recently, Magna Entertainment  filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Simply put, Frank has run out of money to run his equine  money pits. We also have a very attractive two page spread on the un-Stronachs, the relatively unknown exercise riders who work the horses in mornings when the temperatures were often in the -20 windchill department. We’ve got a complete analysis of what everyone involved is calling the worst accident in harness racing at Woodbine, a feature on trainer Ian Black, victories at several U.S. racetracks by Canadians, regular columns from Louis Cauz and humourist Bob Carson and, for the first time, Perry and Mooch, our unique cartoon characters, go satirical. Also,with all the discussion that we’re involved with regarding man’s cruelty to horses, you can read in Oddities and Entities, a tale of one horse’s cruelty to one man - i.e. me.

What colour ribbon do you think would be best to represent the cause of better treatment of reporters’ arms against uninhibited colts?

I’m sure there’s other people on this planet somewhere who involved themselves in a wide range of horse racing activities over the past weekend, but I challenge anyone to match me for the most diversified and entertaining series of events. Let me chronicle them for you.

Thursday morning, in what I hope was the last snowstorm of winter, I drove to Woodbine for an appointment to interview Woodbine Entertainment Group President Nick Eaves. I suspect most racing fans aren’t too familiar with Eaves, who at 40, is the youngest man to hold this post. Eaves is almost annoyingly un-screwed up. He’s tall, in great shape ( two time defending champion at a mile and a half on the E.P. Taylor Turf United Way corporate race) and always pleasant, receptive and engaging to a curious reporter. A little dysfunction would be reassuring, but you don’t get that from Eaves.

“Everything is on the table,” he advised me when I asked if there were any issues he’d prefer me to ignore. So we talked about how the economic depression was affecting horse racing, Woodbine’s policy on horse slaughter,  how incredibly slow things move when Woodbine tries to get the feds to help incorporate new betting strategies, the very strange and mostly fractured relationship Woodbine has with the Ontario Harness Horse Association and the less than complete way that Woodbine promotes the fascinating jockeys and drivers who make the whole thing work on the track. I got 45 minutes of very usable stuff which will be transcribed and published in an ensuing issue of Down The Stretch, Canada’s most informative and entertaining horse racing paper.

Right after that I drove to Jr. Scholars day care centre in Mississauga to shoot part of a commercial that we’re producing about Down The Stretch, Canada’s most informative and entertaining horse racing paper. And I guess you’re wondering - what the hell is there in a day care centre that would show up in a commercial for a racing publication? I’ll leave that to your imagination, but I will suggest it might have something to do with four of the most precious cutest kids pretending to be our crack team of proof readers.

On Saturday, I experienced the perfect storm of celebrity, horse racing and betting. Our guest in the Favourites dining room was the iconic puppet, Ed the Sock, invited to take the Down The Stretch challenge to bet $50, with all winnings going to the Ontario Standardbred Adoption Agency.  As I waited to meet Ed, I loitered in the harness paddock. Actually I had a real purpose. On opening day for the thoroughbreds, Down The Stretch, Canada’s most informative and entertaining horse racing paper will be part of community day and we will be promoting ourselves from a table on the second floor. I had printed up several shiny copies of a November issue of Down The Stretch, which featured Paul MacDonell driving Somebeachsomewhere to victory. I found the ever-obliging Macdonell and he kindly risked carpal tunnel syndrome by signing all the covers for me. We’ll give them out on April 4.

Meanwhile, Ed showed up just before the third race and found me distracted because the third race was a $19,000 trot and the two-horse was Son of Paige, of which I am a 1% owner with the Harness Racing Canada syndication. Son of Paige’s recent form was not encouraging, but I did bet $3 win/place at 9-1 and driver Mike Saftic deserves some kind of trophy for his work in the stretch, rallying Son of Paige from seventh, pinned in at the rail, through an infinitely minute opening in midstretch - Son of Paige was full of trot as he hit the wire first by almost a length.

“We gotta go be in the picture!” I exclaimed to my group, which included Ed, writer Perry Lefko and my teenage son, Roger. When we got to the winners circle, we realized that I was the only one from the syndictate at the track that night, so we made  a cozy gathering as track photographer Clive Cohen snapped us. Driver Saftic was ecstatic that Ed the Sock was there and he actually ordered a closeup of himself, me and Ed with the winning horse.

Unfortunately, Ed didn’t bet on Ed, though he did take my advise in subsequent races which mean the $50 voucher was soon exhausted. However, when advised that Down The Stretch, Canada’s most informative and entertaining horse racing newspaper always contributes at least $50 on behalf of its wagering guests, Ed reached into his pocket and volunteered $50 of his own ( which is quite the feat for a puppet with no hands!).

My exciting weekend was hardly over. I was back at the track on Sunday to shoot some live action for the commercial. Woodbine producer Paul Salvalaggio and cameraman Matt  huddled with me and we decided on three little scenes to be edited into a fast paced, heart pounding spot that will run many times on HPI, the horse racing channel.

I want to thank Kiran, Sadaf and Samantha, students at my Radio News class at Seneca who showed up with friends and relatives to form the crowd that was needed for the scenes. It was  a lot of fun and in between shots I hit an $87 exactor at Gulfstream.

So that was my four day all horse racing experience.Wonder what mischief I’ll get into this week?

You might think that after waking up at 2:15 am five days a week, a guy would enjoy sleeping in Saturday morning. But last Saturday, I was up and anxious at 6 am ( actually, that feels like sleeping in to me) because I had booked myself for a date with the Woodbine backstretch.

I can’t ever remember being at a racetrack backstretch when I didn’t think it was the most relaxing, calming experience I’ve ever had. Even on a cool March morning, the activity level was high - there were dozens of horses going in a variety of directions. I got there just before 7, but the exercise riders, grooms and trainers had been up before 5. For me, the project was to find several riders of the unsung variety and ask them about their experiences.

I must have stopped about a dozen of them.

“Hey, pose for me,”  I requested, pointing my camera at them and, in each case, the riders would hold their horses while I snapped. Not necessarily an easy thing - a thoroughbred on a  crisp winter morning can be on the sharp side and often fights his rider. Mostly I was asking just how miserable it was a few weeks ago when the wind chill was around -30 in the mornings.

I talked with Tyrone Harding, Caroline Whey, Damian Jones, Cindy Cox and Lisa McCallum ( and several others) and they all laughed at the question while admitting, it was miserable. It’s dark and bitterly cold in February, but the horses need to get fit and these are the people who do it and rarely get any special attention for it.

I met Stephanie Hammett, the wife of trainer Jody. Stephanie owns the horses her husband prepares and she told me that they really value the contributions of the exercise riders, going so far as to reward them with 5% of any winnings their horses produce.

I wandered in and out of a few barns. In one I met Hugo Taft who owns four horses and does his own riding. While I was talking to him, one of his horses, a rogue colt named Cool Guest stuck his head out of his stall and took a huge bite of my left arm. Fortunately, I was wearing a leather jacket, but it sure stung.

 A few minutes later, still in the same barn, my long-time friend, Jordy Lay rode by on his horse Rowenberry Road.  I pulled out my little digital tape machine and reaching as high as I could, asked Jordy questions about working his own horses and how he bears up in the bone chilling cold.

“It was awful,” said Jordy. “It was the least fun I’ve ever had on a horse. When it’s that cold, the horses are sharp and the riders are dull.”

Jordy gives good quotes. I didn’t realize that we had completely circumnavigated the inside of the barn. I walked right by Cool Guest again and for a second time, he chomped down on my left arm.

What’s that expression? Bite me once; shame on you. Bite me twice; shame on me.

I had a mean looking mark on the arm. If you want to see it, check out Keith McCalmont’s Triple Dead Heat blog (He seems to know how to download pictures; I’m not sure I can do that here.)

 Anyway, a visit to the backstretch in early March is not only a thoroughly thoroughbredly enjoyable activity, it’s a reminder that the flat racing starts on Saturday April 4 and that for me is almost always the surest sign that winter is done.

Also this..yesterday in the mail I recieved my invitation to the annual Woodbine Royal Week of Racing Golf Tournament.  This is the one everyone in the media kills to get it. I’m a ridiculously bad golfer, but I love to get free stuff and this event teems with parting gifts.

Most of the holes are sponsored and golfers are treated to cigars, sample beverages, prizes for landing on the par three greens. Golf Carts loaded with drinks, sandwiches and chocolate bars circulate freely just in case the 12th hole hamburger stand and the first hole barbeque leave any of the participants hungry.

Woodbine VP of communications Glenn Crouter and Christina Barth do an amazing job on this event. I could probably scalp my invite for enough to bet the entire card at Aqueduct this weekend, but I won’t.

The tournament is in mid-june…now I start to count down..only three months to go.  

I’ve been thinking a lot more about harness drivers this morning, especially after that horrific eight-horse spill at Woodbine last night. More on that in a minute.

I took my 11 year-old daughter Emily to Woodbine saturday night, because I needed to interview a couple of drivers regarding recent accomplishments. I stood outside the drivers’ change room in the new paddock waiting for Mike Saftic and Randy Waples. As I waited,  veteran driver-trainer Mike Guitard approached and told me he used to watch me on City Tv in the 70s and 80s, to which I responded that I used to bet on him in the same era. I guess each of us has memories of limited satisfaction as far as that goes.

Mike Saftic was the first to come out of the changeroom. Even though it was less than ten minutes to his drive in the first race, he welcomed the request for an interview. I wanted to ask him about a win he recorded the week before on an 87-1 shot named Stanford Bridge. Saftic was animated and upbeat about winning with the trotter who had five miserable races on his card up to that race, which explained why he went off at such outrageous odds - he paid $177 to win. According to Saftic, the race went perfectly for him. Sandford Bridge started in eighth behind a pace that was probably too hot for the frontrunners. Before the half, in this perfect longshot storm, two of the favourites broke stride and fell out of the race and another favourite suffered broken equipment . When Saftic took his horse four wide at the head of the stretch, Stanford Bridge responded by trotting past all the leaders for the eye-pleasing win.

After the first race, I cornered Randy Waples; the purpose - to ask him to explain how he is the leading driver. Three times in the past he led all the reinsmen at Woodbine and Mohawk - one year he won 430 races, but injuries and other events have taken him down a less smooth road the past six or seven years.

Waples, as indicated in an earlier blogm is an absolute delight to interview. He enjoys the attention and gives an energetic, humourous, sometimes self-deprecating response to the inquisitor’s question. His answers are thoughtful and expansive.  Waples has had two serious physical problems this decade. A terrible fall three years ago resulted in two broken arms and of all the people to discuss how you perform certain personal tasks with both arms wrapped in casts, Waples is the guy. Lets just say his wife Angela is a special, extremely loving woman. Waples also reminded us that he missed three months one year when his sciatic nerve went nuts, making it painful just to sit in the bike. But, as of this entry, Waples is leading the parade among all drivers and just into the first week of March has earned his owners close to a million dollars in purses, which makes him the country’s leading driver according to winnings as well.

My tape machine got 7 minutes of usable stuff, at which point, I thanked Waples for giving me his timem, and then he said something a great  majority of pros would not say to a reporter.

“Thanks for keeping track of these things,” said Waples.

My daughter had stood patiently and now was begging me to get her a slice of pizza. As we made our way out of the paddock, Waples came running up behind us and handed Emily one of his whips.

“Now I can take care of my brother, Roger ” said my delighted daughter, making wild slashing motions with her souvenir.

This morning I came in to 680News and saw the it on the wire - a terrible spill at Woodbine that knocked 8 horses out of the $55,000 Boys Pacing Series Final. I logged on to Horseplayer Interactive which allows speedy downloads of race replays so that I could see this for myself. Mario Baillergeon had the favourite, Warp Speed in third down the backstretch when that horse clearly took a bad step and lurched forward into the track. I think his momentum took him somewhat to the right and because of that, none of the trailing drivers had any chance of avoiding the carnage. Fortunately, this one looks much worse than it was. Every driver behind Warp Speed was thrown from his bike. Baillargeon suffered a broken ankle. Robert Sheppard was taken to hospital with a broken leg and Roger Mayotte has a broken shoulder.  The very good news is that none of the horses have any serious injuries; we’re told just bruises and cuts.

If you get to watch the video, you will see Jody Jamieson sitting in 8th on HBFs Tommy T…in his attempt to avoid total destruction, Jamieson goes flying off the track and into the infield. Incredibly, he came back to win not only the next race..but the final two on the card for a total of four wins. And Rick Zeron, who was second last at the time of the accident behind Joan’s Bad Boy was not only thrown from his bike, but then  the trailing horse, Hammingway Hudson, driven by Chris Christoforou actually ran right over him. Zeron, not exactly a softy, fulfilled his obligations on his next two scheduled drives, then, quite understandably, felt too sore to continue. Christoforou also went flying from his bike and was unable to drive the rest of the evening.

As for the official result of the fifth race, only two horses finished - the winner was Windsun Twister driven by Luc Ouellette with Dinner Guest and Randy Waples coming in second. Those two horses were lucky enough to be running first and second when Warp Speed went down.

It is far more dangerous to be a jockey than a harness driver, but last night was a pretty strong example that standardbred racing isn’t exactly badminton either.