Cape Breton's Magazine

went through him. And he lived 2 days or 3 days or something, and he died. He was one of the better horses here at that time. R. J. Logue owned him. Freak accidents can happen. There was a C H Lucky Star--was it last winter?--the bike broke in the middle. And the driver fell off, and he kept running and hitting the broken bike and everything, and he tore his hind legs pretty near off. He was really, really bad. And that same thing happened the summer be? fore last in Truro with one of their good horses. They were just after refusing 35 or 40 thousand for him. And that happened when he was blowing out. When he was warm? ing up before the race. And the bike broke. He got away on the fellow. The bike then was hitting him on the legs and he was try? ing to run from it. And it's just bounc- ing--it gets worse. The faster they go, the worse it'll get. And he just, like he just cut his leg off on the bike. So there's lots of them that'll get hurt. (Dangerous sport.) There's danger in driv? ing down the street in your car. There's not as many accidents as what you would ex? pect, though, really. (Do you find you drive your horses differ? ently? Do you find there's some horses that you just don't have as much say over?) Oh yeah. There's some horses that you can't rate, that are front runners and they just go as far and as fast as they can go. (What does "rate them" mean?) When you rate them--a horse that can pace in 2.10 (that is, the mile in 2 minutes, 10 sec? onds) , he probably can pace a quarter (mile) in 30 seconds, or 30 and 2 (tenths), 30 and 3. And if you really pushed him, he probably could pace a half (mile) in 3 (that means 1 minute, 3 seconds) or some? thing. Then he wouldn't pace in 2.10, he would probably pace in 2.12. Because he gets tired. Like he starts to stop, get? ting home. So you can't let them go the quarter in 30 seconds and the half in 3, and expect them to get home. You've got to try and rate them over to the quarter in 32 seconds, and over to the half in 1.05, then hope that they can come the last (half) in 1.05--and then they might beat somebody, getting home. You've got to try and rate them, so that you spread them as thin as you can and as far as you can. (You're working within very narrow limits, really. What's the track record?) It's 59 (the mile in 1 minute, 59 seconds). 2.12 or .13 is the slow class. And the fast class now is going around 2.05. (We're dealing with about a 13-second gap. All these horses are all pretty close.) That's why the classifier is there (at the track. He sets up the race card.) He tries to get 8 horses in a race that are really close. (The gap is only a couple of sec? onds difference between the horses that are on that track at one time. So the race falls to the driver, doesn't it?) Yeah. To rate them, and try and get them in the right position. To spread them as thin and as far as you can get them. (So the two things you want are to rate that horse--spread him as thin as you can around the track. And while doing that, you want to get the position. Because it doesn't matter if you can get the speed, if you can't get out and get to the front. And you told me that one of the best posi? tions, or maybe the best position, is where?) Two over, if the horse that's cut- ting--that's in front of you--is half a- live. It's not the best position all the time, because I showed you where it wasn't the best position, eh? Your cover is all through, like he can't go any more. He starts to back through. (He starts to back up. When he backs up, what happens to you?) He carries you right to the tail end of the field. ('Cause you can't get out.) Be? cause there's fellows gone 3 wide, and there's fellows on both sides of you, and he just takes you right to the back. (And that's where the very best position--) Can turn into the worst position! (Just one more thing about being an aggres? sive driver. What happens when the offi- Centre for International Studies UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF CAPE BRETON Films and Speakers provided free of charge to Schools - Community Groups - Churches Interested in: Global Issues? Development? Food & Agriculture? [ TELEPHONE: 539-5300 ext. 277, or 929-2063 6 Boutiques Under 1 Roof: 2nd FL, Over TWEED & HICKORY ""-Cotton, ro'''''. ,sx''..t??g YOUR MATERNITY SHOP Club ALL NATURAL FIBRES SPORTSWEAR WITH ELEGANCE Career Shoo UNIFORMS FOR PROFESSIONALS Tweed Sport] CLOTHES FOR THE OUTDOORS • IJI CTITES FOR THE 5'2" AND UNDER ALL DISCOUNT PRICES JACOBSON'S Discount Outlet: High-Fashioned, Quality Merchandise at Unbelievably Low Prices Don't Miss This Unique Discount Operation! 40 Pitt Street under Tweed & Hickory 263 CHARLOTTE STREET. SYDNEY 564-6308