The Worst of Racing
That I lost all but one bet at the Breeders’ Cup isn’t what has me feeling so down today. Nor is it that Lost in the Fog didn’t win. What has me so out of sorts was watching the Mile yesterday afternoon and then hearing the news last night that jockey Michel Lapensee died on Friday from injuries he suffered in an accident at Suffolk Downs last Monday.
Accidents happen in racing. Horses break down; jockeys are paralyzed or killed. It’s the ugly side of the sport, what we don’t mention when we’re talking about getting people out to the track or how to promote racing. And no wonder — when accidents happen, when there’s a death, it can horrify even the most devoted fans and make them want to turn away.
I didn’t see the accident at Suffolk last week, but I’ve seen enough to imagine the scene on the far turn. The rider lying motionless in the dirt, the wild-eyed horse fighting to right itself on the track. Michel Lapensee was much like other Suffolk jockeys, a journeyman who loved to ride, took the mounts he could get and did his best. That he died doing what he loved is small consolation for the horror of those moments.
What happened to Funfair in the Breeders’ Cup Mile was hardly less shocking. Halfway down the backstretch, the horse was pulled up with what very quickly could be seen as a catastrophic injury to his right hind leg. Jockey Edgar Prado struggled to still him and then slipped off the panicky animal, who broke loose from his hold and ran toward the outer rail, bucking and trying to shake away the pain. His leg flopped in the air. As the rest of the field ran to the finish, Funfair limped back toward Prado and an outrider. They caught the horse and the vet approached. The crowd cried out — the results were posted, favorite Leroidesanimaux was second by a nose — and Funfair slumped to the ground. The tarp went up.
I meant to write today about the best in racing — there were plenty of such moments yesterday — but I’m pausing instead to confront the worst, to mourn what was truly lost this weekend.
