The Canadian Sportsman
Post Parade Redux
Back To Post Parade ReduxSeptember 08, 2009
The Ballad of Dirty McGirky and more Post Parade Magic starring Billy 0'Donnell and Jackie Mo.
Favourite answers from past Post Parades
Bill O’Donnell (above, April 15, 2004):
What other moment in your life comes closest to the feeling you get winning a big stakes race?
“It’s x-rated.”
What’s the biggest practical joke you ever pulled?
“One of the ones was on Jack Moiseyev. One time we came up to London from New Jersey for Doug Brown’s Easter Seals charity events at Western Fair. Jack didn’t know anyone up here so he asked to look at a program. After looking at it awhile, he said, ‘Who’s this Dave Wall guy? He’s all over the program.’ I said, ‘Oh, that guy. They call him Dirty McGirky. He’s a nasty son-of-a-bitch. He’s dirty and rotten, especially if there’s a new guy coming in.’
Mike Saftic was with us and he was playing right along, too. We all had lunch together — Wall was there, too — and afterward Jack says, ‘That guy seems okay to me.’ I said, ‘Don’t let him fool you, When he gets on the track he’s as dirty as they come. Watch out.’
“So, I tell Wally and he’s in on it and during the post parade he comes up behind Jack and tries to scare him. In the race going into the first turn, Jack’s on the inside, I’m behind him and Wally comes right up on the outside of Jack and Jack looks over and yells at Wally, ‘Get away from me you bastard. I’ve heard about you.’”
Mark Ford (above, May 13, 2004):
What drives you crazy?
“Being unjustly portrayed as the villain.”
If you could pick one super power to have, what would it be?
“The ability to make people evaporate.”
The Commish
Everyone gets the “If you were the Commissioner of all of harness racing...” question. Here’s the best responses.
Ian Fleming (above, Aug. 20, 2009):
“Encourage people to cut back on their grumbling. Racing isn’t the only tough business out there. In Clinton, we have three variety stores. It’s similar to the horse business, very long hours. The one I go to is run by a family that is happy, all the time. They are gaining customers, all the time. We have to fight about some things, but surely not everything.”
John Campbell (above, April 28, 2005):
“Universalize our rules on racing, medication, everything. We should have universal rules, especially between Canada and the United States. The whipping rule is one of the biggest things and the pylon rule. To me, it is ludicrous when a guy is sitting in a simulcast parlour and the two biggest simulcasting outlets, Woodbine and the Meadowlands, have different rules on whipping and pylons violations.”
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Charlie Leerhsen (above, June 12, 2008):
“Order every track to send a bus to local colleges every Friday and Saturday night, to bring the kids to the track. But I would charge students for the bus ride and charge them to get in the track. If you think you’re going to draw more people by charging nothing, you don’t know human nature.”
Handicapping Challenge
Post Parade subjects set the odds when asked the “chances the following will occur in the next 10 years”
Betting on harness racing will reverse the current trend and start rising?
Ron Gurfein (March 20, 2008) — “It has already. We’ve hit rock bottom. Now the trick is to keep the trend going up for awhile.”
Moira Fanning (Oct. 18, 2008) — “2-1. Ontrack betting? 50-1”
Hugh Mitchell (Nov. 27, 2008) — “100-1.”
Kelly Spencer (Jan. 5, 2009) — “2-1”
Chris Roberts (Jan. 22, 2009) — “3-1”
Chuck Keeling (March 26, 2009) — “10-1”
Hec Clouthier (Feb. 12, 2009) — “4-1”
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