Share Your Story
Steve Coburn, co-owner of California Chrome, the latest horse to lose a bid for the Triple Crown of horse racing, gave the world an earful just minutes after his colt lost at the Belmont Stakes.
While much of the media, his wife, and I’m sure many of his fans were upset at his ranting of “Cowards!” and “Cheaters!” toward the spoiler Tonalist team, I for one am glad he brought the situation to light. I did not know (or never really got that deep into horse racing) to know that different horses came in and out of the three races that form the Triple Crown.
It starts with the Kentucky Derby, then the Preakness Stakes, and finally completes with The Belmont Stakes.
36 years have past since the same horse won all three races. Now I understand better why that is.
It is grueling for one horse to compete in three races like this so close together. Typically, these horses compete in one race per month. Here they are charged with running three high-profile, highly competitive races in just 5 weeks time.
How can it be fair to bring in a fresh horse like Tonalist, to compete against a horse that had just run two major races in the last few weeks?
To drone on about this topic would only serve to highlight my ignorance of this grand sport, which admittedly I only take interest in once or twice per year. I watch the Triple Crown races, and occasionally take a trip to the nearby (and picturesque) Fort Erie Race Track in Ontario, Canada to watch them in person. (and indulge in the foolish pursuit of turning my $2 bet into a fortune betting on some long-shot who looks strong or worse, has a name which I think is cool).
But I think what is important here is the message Steve Coburn brings. That is, if you don’t open your mouth (or put pen to paper) people will remain ignorant, uninformed, and NOTHING WILL CHANGE!
You have a message to share. A talent. A unique perspective. A better way. A safer way. A faster way. A fairer way. You know something we don’t know…YET!
Please tell us!
You’re not as alone as you think.
I forget where I heard this, but it goes like this:
“If you’re one in a million, and there are 7 billion of people on this planet, that means there are seven thousand other people just like you.”
They share your interests. They share your fears. They share your hopes and your struggles.
Won’t you help them?
In our lifetime it’s likely that none of us will have the opportunity to be heard by tens of millions around the world like Steve Coburn, but we all have a chance to be heard by hundreds of people in our own town. Thousands across our nations. Perhaps millions through the internet.
You, like Steve Coburn, have the opportunity to change something for the better through the written or spoken word.
The only question is: “Will You?”
Writing a book is great way to start and it’s not nearly so hard as you think.
Let me know if I can help you.
by Bob Schwarztrauber
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