Thanksgiving ABCs

Traditionally around this time of year (in Canada, eh) people are asked about what they are most thankful for.

In harness racing, I'm thankful for a lot of things. So I took some time this past weekend to reflect and express what I am most thankful for with something representing each letter of the alphabet. I'm sure I missed some things others would consider essential, and I invite comments on what you are most thankful for with respect to the standardbred industry. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

A - Adam Mauntah. Someone like Adam, who has a successful day job and yet drives hours to announce at fairs in South-Western Ontario and writes insightful blog posts. People like this who want to be involved, yet don't need to be involved, are true assets and I wish we had more people like him to help promote harness racing.

B - Breeders Crown, finally taking place in mid-October and not late November. In my backyard, even better.

C - Canada's Horse of the Year the last two seasons, Somebeachsomewhere. The only horse that comes up when I talk to people outside of racing about what I do for a living, showing his crossover appeal. His on-track exploits have set a standard for others to measure up to.

D - Delaware County Fair, host to the biggest party in harness racing - The Little Brown Jug. Every year they pack that place to capacity for one of the most coveted trophies our sport has to offer.

E - Equipment and the innovations that help protect both the horse and driver, keeping our participants speedy yet safe.

F - Family. The family that got me here and keeps me here, and keeps me loving what I do.

G - Generosity. In such a competitive industry, the people in it truly do put differences aside to help their fallen brethren. The WallTyme Golf Tourney giving to Don McElroy, and hearing Don's voice break with emotion when he asks me to help him offer a note of thanks to the community nearly made me break up as well. The outpouring of support for Kurt Hughes is still awe-inspiring for me. Get well Don and Kurt.

H - Horses. Let's be thankful for the almighty standardbred.

I - Internet, naturally. How fast the information gets to people and how many people it reaches still blows me away.

J - John Campbell. An icon and soon to be Canadian Sports Hall of Fame member. Ambassadors like Campbell are invaluable.

K - Kelly Spencer. An absolute gem. I'm thankful for her ambition, vision and that she's in our fraternity. If every track had a Kelly Spencer with free reign over promotions and marketing I think we'd have a much more fun and popular presence in the mainstream.

L - Lacombe, Alberta and the Alberta Downs racetrack built by Robert Allen, giving Albertans a desperately needed racetrack outside of Northlands and Grande Prairie. Someone please ask Baymount and UHA how long this track took to get up and running...

M - Muscle Hill. A superstar we can all get behind. Perhaps the best horse of the 21st century. Enough said.

N - New owner programs like the SBOA's owner mentoring group. Getting new people involved with well-established and respected industry representatives. What's not to like?

O - Open Pacing Class of 2009. What a solid and competitive group. The ongoing serial of harness racing: who will win next week? Stay tuned to the Battle of the Free For All Titans.

P - Pepsi, and sponsors like Pepsi that help promote our marquee events like the North America Cup. Honourable mention to Sobeys for their involvement with the Gold Cup & Saucer.

Q - Quality press releases and digital photos from tracks and organizations to help publicize their product and the individuals involved with it.

R - Retirement and life after racing organizations that do their part to promote the standardbred's versatility and find homes for the sport's retired stars.

S - Slots at racetracks. They have surely helped the purse structure in jurisdictions like Ontario, New York and Pennsylvania.

T - The terrific people I work with, not only at the Standardbred Canada office but in concert with my job.

U - Urging rules, and the debates over them. While it's unfortunate that the bulk of discussion came up both after the rules were already in place and after one unfortunate event, at least there's discussion about what people do and don't like about them. Healthy discussion is good if it makes our product better.

V - Village Acres, Hanover Shoe Farms and the hundreds of farms and nurseries that continue to produce champion standardbred racehorses.

W - Wagering via simulcast. Recent estimates state that close to 90 per cent of North American pari-mutuel wagering is done through simulcasting. Think about that.

X - Xtreme Horsepower. Georgian Downs continues to showcase racing in an innovative context. Well done, and I hope others follow suit.

Y - You. You're reading this, you live and breathe this business, you are the lifeblood. Without you, what do we have?

Z - Darin Zoccali and the horseplayers and handicappers like him that continue to bet on and offer handicapping tips on harness racing.