The Big Horse
“From the instant the bell goes off and the front panels of the starting gate spring open, time, and life itself, seem suspended. The animals surge forward like water pouring over a falls, quickly forming themselves into a moving stream, wider in some spots than others, but flowing forward at what seems a constant rate. Should one have a stake in the outcome whether it be a simple matter of money, or something more complex and mysterious, such as a hope or a dream one’s heart is in one’s mouth from start to finish. Adrenalin floods the bloodstream, the pulse races, the skin either tingles or grows cold, and strange noises, ranging from abject whimpers to blood-curdling screams, escape from one’s mouth. The race is over in a millisecond but takes a lifetime to run. And no matter the result, there can be no going back, and life will never be quite the same.” — From “The Big Horse,” by Joe McGinniss, out this week from Simon & Schuster.
