An Ode to The Ponies

So, Ed Rendell, our former Mayor and Governor of Pennsylvania, among other things, now writes a column for our local paper. One of his latest was "An Ode to the Ponies."

Fans of Barbaro will certainly appreciate Rendell's reminisces on Barbaro: "Who can forget the gallant Barbaro, who after winning the 2006 Derby, broke down in the Preakness and then fought courageously but futilely to survive. . . The nation fell in love with the horse's courage as well as the grace and caring shown by his owners, Gretchen and Roy Jackson."

He goes on to remember other "local" horses like Afleet Alex and Smarty Jones who helped put Philly on the map as horse country. He even reveals that he and his wife were the guests of Smarty's owners, the Chapmans, at the Preakness when Smarty blew away the field! What a thrill!

And then he reveals what truly happened in the Belmont, a race that everyone (including sports writer Dick Gerardi) thought was his for the taking. "Smarty was the victim of a conspiracy in which the jockeys for Rock Hard Ten and Eddington took turns engaging Smarty early on so he would burn himself out. As a result, Smarty set a blistering pace. . .and could not rally. As the race ended, the deafening roar gave way to a silence quieter than that during the moment of silence observed for President Reagen who passed away earlier that day."

But here's why you know he does love the ponies; he took that loss really hard. "I felt like I had been kicked in the stomach. A great sense of grief came over me that would take weeks to dissipate. I've never felt worse about a sporting event, including the Eagles' losses in the NFC Championships and the undefeated 1971 Penn basketball team going down to Villanova in the NCAA Regional Final."

For a die-hard Eagles and Penn fan, that is saying a lot. What Smarty ultimately did for our region however, was to bring attention to horse racing. And as Rendell reveals, "I signed our gaming bill a few weeks after Smarty's run. Because of our expanded gaming at Pennsylvania racetracks, horse racing, which was floundering on the brink of extinction, is healthy once again."

You gotta love the Gov.