As long as Zippy Chippy is not in danger of injury, let him run

Journalists can be cynical people. It's the nature of the profession. So when we heard that there was going to be a match race at harness track Freehold Raceway on March 17 between professional Thoroughbred maiden Zippy Chippy and an unidentified pacer from the barn of Standardbred trainer Chris Marino, we had some obvious questions about the whole thing.

Like, why? And why wasn't the pacer's identity being made public? What was Zippy Chippy's trainer, Felix Monserrate, accepting as an appearance fee? And was no one concerned that Zippy Chippy could seriously injure himself over a hard limestone surface not made for flat racing?

No one at Freehold was willing to answer these questions.

At first blush, the match race appeared to be a carnival sideshow, designed to get as many people to the track as possible so they could sell programs, hot dogs, and beer. Well, it worked. At least twice as many people who normally attend Freehold on a Saturday night in March showed up.

As most everyone knows by now, Zippy Chippy, a ten-year-old Compliance gelding, is winless in 89 starts with earnings of $29,167. He was soundly beaten more than 32 lengths in his last official start at Penn National Race Course in February. He has been barred from racing from almost all Thoroughbred tracks.

Zippy Chippy appeared on the track at Freehold with a lead pony after the 11th race and began to warm up. He is not a good-looking horse-as if anyone cared-but he did not appear to be lame or sore.

As Zippy Chippy passed by the stands, many fans, particularly children, leaned up against the rail with cameras clicking away.

The "match race" was a farce. Harness driver Catello Manzi, winner of over 8,500 Standardbred races, was given a 20-length head start with the mystery pacer, while Zippy Chippy was ridden by Philadelphia Park-based jockey Eugene Olmo Jr.

Zippy Chippy was lethargic at the start. After a quarter-mile in :29 3/5, Manzi pulled back to throttle down the pacer's speed. Olmo said he never thought he'd catch Manzi, but putting on a good show, he shook the reins and hit the horse on the hindquarters several times. Zippy Chippy responded while Manzi never asked his pacer for anything. Zippy Chippy was able to win by a long neck in a time of 1:02 for a half-mile.

Monserrate, who had to almost choke Zippy Chippy to stand still in the unfamiliar surroundings of a winner's circle, wanted to hop into a waiting truck and head back to the barn to assess his horse's condition, but the cynical journalists dragged him back for questioning.

Monserrate said he equipped Zippy Chippy with pads underneath his shoes to protect him from the pounding of the limestone track. He admitted the race was for fun and this victory really didn't count because it wasn't against Thoroughbreds. Yet, he is not about to enter Zippy Chippy for a claiming tag because he refuses to lose the horse to "crazy" people.

"He's mean, he bites me, and he kicks me," Monserrate said. "But, I love him like a son. He has a home with me and my daughter forever."

Monserrate seems to mean what he says about Zippy Chippy, and it is obvious he cares for the gelding.

Monserrate intends to run Zippy Chippy in a six-furlong maiden special weight race at Penn National again. "Even if he finally breaks his maiden, he may still run," Monserrate said. "He's not the kind of horse who likes to stay in the barn."

After hearing Monserrate talk about the horse, we came away with some altered opinions on the race and the trainer. First, we think that as long as Monserrate is not putting the horse in any danger of injury, he deserves to make some money with the horse.

Second, an inordinate amount of children were in attendance at Freehold for the event. If just one out of every ten of those children grows up to be racing fans as adults, the event was worth the effort.

The horse clearly has made a name for himself-even if it is a name for futility-so Monserrate may as well make the most of it while he can.

Let us hope, however, that Monserrate has the common sense to realize when Zippy Chippy is no longer sound so the horse can be retired to the upstate New York home he has been promised.