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Remember
the story of Seabiscuit, the great race horse who turned into a genuine folk hero? Well, it is happening again, and this time
the horse’s name is Smarty Jones.
Seabiscuit entered the world of American Icons soon after the great depression and
as World War II was raging in Europe. He was once so seriously injured that it was questioned whether or not he would live,
let alone ever run again. He did not quit; he didn’t understand the concept. He lived and ran again. And he won! Americans
adopted him as their symbol of hope, the underdog that would not be beaten.
Some 65 years later comes a little thoroughbred
race horse named Smarty Jones, who like Seabiscuit before him, has captured the imagination of a nation when a hero is exactly
what we need. He, too, was seriously injured and his life was also threatened by those injuries. And, just like Seabiscuit,
he doesn’t know what it means to quit. Smarty Jones is not the offspring of some champion race horse father or mother, but
a child of ordinary parents, just likes most of us.
It is a time in our history when terrorism is grabbing daily headlines
in a world going more and more insane each and every day. Buildings are being blown up, people’s heads are being cut off live
and in color, and we can’t seem to figure out who our friends are and how much we can depend on them, if at all.
All
of this is going on while Americans are losing their jobs thousands upon thousands at a time. Our jobs are being exported
for corporate profits, yet we are told and expected to believe that the economy is turning around. It’s more like it is spinning
out of control. Like the whole world around us. And if we complain, our patriotism gets questioned.
After winning
the The Kentucky Derby, thoroughbred racing fans, as well as people who never bet on a single race have become caught up in
this horse’s story. After winning the second leg , The Preakness, Smarty Jones has become America’s new Icon.
On Saturday,
June 5th, at Belmont Park in New York, Smarty Jones will attempt to win thoroughbred racing’s most prestigious, most difficult
prize, The Triple Crown. Whether he wins that day or not, make no mistake about it, this little racehorse, has given people
of this country, and a good part of the rest of the world, something to cheer about, something to deflect our collective attention
away from the horrors all around us, something to make us smile and to feel good about.
Well done, Mr. Jones.
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