Fleabiscuit

A letter to the New York Times editorial page, July 7, 2004:

Over the last five weeks, Smarty Jones gave us all the opportunity to vicariously live the makings of the American dream.

In spite of the chaos and disappointment over our military, our political leaders and our businesses, we were able to take pleasure in the Philadelphia horse who by all reckoning shouldn't have won the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes.

When he lost the Belmont Stakes on Saturday, many of us felt a deep sadness. Even Edgar Prado, the winning jockey, and Marylou Whitney, Birdstone's owner, communicated sincere apologies; they realized their role in depriving the country of Smarty Jones, a badly needed American hero.

So I think that Nick Zito, Birdstone's trainer, really missed the mark when he noted that the fans "didn't boo that much." He added, "Later on they were O.K."

We're not O.K. We needed the horse to win. So fleeting, the American dream.