Participants in the fiction contest shared their passion for the sport

Writing is a personal exercise. Nowhere is that more true than with fiction writing.

Fiction springs from the recesses of the imagination of the author, who brings forth a reality and a world that he or she wants to convey to the reader to tell a story.

Opening up a vein, as Red Smith once described writing, is a difficult task, particularly for those who do not write full time. While good writing looks easy, it is the result of a lot of hard work.

When we asked our readers to participate in our biennial fiction contest, we were asking them to open up a vein and have others judge their work. The winners would have their creations presented in a very public forum. Since the vast majority of the participating authors are not writers by trade, it was an assignment that many may have found daunting.

From this process came 135 entries in the fourth biennial Thoroughbred Times fiction contest. In this week's issue, on page 24, we are publishing the winner, "The Painting," by Alan Henry. Henry is a perfect example of a writer who works hard and persevered to get to the top of the pack. Henry had placed in the top three in the first three contests without winning, but was never discouraged and worked on his craft. The result is an excellent story, well written, that moves nicely through the world created by the author and interweaves the charm and romance of Thoroughbred racing with a larger story.

"The Painting" is a romantic piece, a point that Henry, in a follow-up letter after he was informed that he had won, touched upon. He questioned whether such a story would even appeal to readers.

Wrote Henry: "Before I actually wrote the piece, I thought about whether a love story would appeal to the judges of a horse magazine contest. It quickly dawned on me that, of course, it would, because there is no group of people more Ôromantic,' in the academic sense, than horse owners. That is: they (we) are all a bunch of unrealistic dreamers, high on irrational exuberance (not of the Alan Greenspan variety). I loved, by the way, the little quote in your magazine recently when someone gave the definition of oxymoron: 'a sensible horse owner.' That says it all."

Besides publishing the winning story in this week's issue, on page 23 we list all participants in the contest. It is our way of honoring them all, knowing how much work, time, sweat, agony, and heart and soul went into each piece. For most writers, it undoubtedly was a labor of love, for writing and racing. Combining those two passions into a singular piece produced a wealth of testimony to the strong bond that exists between man and horse.

To all participants in the contest, we thank you for your time and effort and for allowing a group of judges the opportunity to share your creativity and passion.

Keep it clean

You have to give them a lot of credit: The Maktoums are honest. Members of every racing commission in this country should embrace their high level of integrity.

We say this because Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum's Worldly Manner tested positive for clenbuterol after a race at Nad al Sheba in Dubai. No race-day medications are allowed in Dubai.

Now, it would be very easy for something like this to go either unreported or ignored. After all, Sheikh Mohammed, owner of Worldly Manner through his Godolphin Racing, owns the track, employs the trainer, employs the stewards, employs the testing laboratory. Clearly, the matter could easily have been quashed. After all, there was no betting on the race, so money was not lost as a result of any undue influence being exerted on the outcome of the race. This could only be viewed as a black eye for the image of racing in that country.

Despite that, Sheikh Mohammed elected to announce the drug positive. He probably did so for several reasons. First, it was to tell the world that racing in Dubai is honest and race-day medication is not allowed. Second, it was to tell the world that everyone is subject to the rules of racing, even Sheikh Mohammed. Third, it was to send the message that horses are tested after races.

Trainers sending horses for the impending races on World Cup day on March 25 better pay heed.