Anyone read John Hawkes' novel "The Lime Twig"? Remember Sidney Slyter, the racing reporter who was sure that an entry in a cheap stakes race at a small country track was actually a former champion who had been stolen out of the pasture where he was grazing away his retirement...

I wish Sidney was here now to help me get to the bottom of something I just became aware of. Its old news on the TG board-- back in May 04 there were a series of posts titled something like "New York Racing Fans be Very Afraid" concerning the world's 2nd most well known Austrian egomaniac, Frank Stronach.

In the NY Post this past week there was a picture of Bill Clinton with a young blonde woman by the name of Belinda Stronach, divorced daughter of the aforementioned Frank. The picture was taken at a tribute to Jack Nicholson, who has made millions of dollars just for wearing sunglasses.

(Actually, a million dollars may not have been enough compensation to sit naked with Kathy Bates in a hot tub. But I digress.)

In June of 2004 Ms. Stronach was elected to the Canadian equivalent of our House of Reps, representing the district where Magna headquarters is located. Her father had campaigned unsuccessfully for the same seat in 1988.

To read posts on Canadian websites, there is no question that this Bill/Belinda relationship was beyond platonic. Where theres smoke, theres fire, says I. For Ms. Stronach's sake, she says only that Bill Clinton is a close friend who inspired her to run for office.

Now my imagination is running wild. Bill and Hillary finally split and Belinda and Bill become the new fun power couple in Canada (remember the Trudeaus?) Hillary is then free of the Bubba baggage, can run for Pres, and the American electorate, for the first time since 1940, can vote for a candidate who already has 8 years experience running the country.

Why do I care? About Bill/ Belinda, I really don't. But every mention of Stronach brings some of my deep seeded beliefs to the surface:

1) In the long run, he is bad for racing. He will abandon racing in Texas, Maryland and maybe California, leaving a vacuum that may not be filled.

2) I never want to see racing from Frankqueduct, Stromont or, banish the thought, Magnatoga.

If investigators were allowed to probe the Sweet Catomine debacle further, they would have found wrongdoing somewhere in the Magnagement of Santa Anita. Thats why the investigation was short and only racing's image was punished.



Post Edited (04-25-05 05:17)