Horses One, Druggers Zero

Since my new novel He Trots the Air is about drugging horses, I'm particularly sensitive to the fact that doping horses persists in The Sport of Kings. My eye was caught recently by a news item about the Breeders' Cup board of directors, who work toward protecting both the Thoroughbred athletes and the integrity of the sport.

To keep rogue trainers from drugging their horses, Breeders' Cup officials approved a policy in September 2010 that gives horses a chance to run drug-free in the fourteen-race Breeders' Cup World Championships. (The 26 million dollar event will be at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky, on November 5 and 6.) The policy will take effect in 2011. In strengthening previous resolutions, the Breeders' Cup board should take pride in punishing any trainer who tries to subvert ethical standards in horse racing and endangers his or her horse. The policy is about Class 1 and Class 2 drugs.

The Association of Racing Commissioners International oversees a number of racing organizations, crafting model rules and suggested penalties. RCI defines Class 1 and Class 2 drugs as those that affect a horse's performance, but have no justifiable therapeutic value. Examples are blood-enhancing drugs, opiates, amphetamines, depressants, stimulants, powerful painkillers, and blood-doping drugs.

The resolution bans any trainer from participating in the Breeders' Cup if his or her horse tested positive for Class 1 or 2 drugs in the preceding year. The trainer cannot start any horses in the Breeders' Cup while he or she is serving out the suspension. If a horse tests positive for these drugs three times, the trainer will be banned for life from the Breeders' Cup races.

Many of us wish that rogue trainers could be banned for life for just one infraction.

DuMaurier, Walking and Me

Having read Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier and loving every gothic paragraph, and then seeing the old film of the book with Laurence Olivier and Joan Fontaine, I went on to read about the author's life. She had a good solution to the problem of writer's block: simply leave your home and take a long walk. For du Maurier, it was a brisk walk along the beach as she straightened out the writing problem with her current book.

I adoped walking a long time ago to solve problems, writing and other kinds, before Americans became obsessed with being fit. Nowadays, I walk regularly on a trail that starts behind the place where I work out and winds through a subdivision of upscale homes. It is more than just a walking trail: Children, teen-agers and adults run or ride their bikes on it and exercise their dogs. As I walk along, a new character might appear in my mind demanding to be used in the novel, or I think of an incident to bridge a gap in time. I look up as other people approach and say "Good Morning!" Even though it is quite early--in my part of the country you have to exercise early--almost everyone replies cheerfully. Little do they know they've entered my mind, too, all grist for the mill.

This morning I saw a mother striding along and carrying one of those tiny dogs so much in fashion, preceded by her two children on bikes; a large sweating man who just managed to nod wearily to my greeting as he galumphed along; a couple chattering happily as they ran; an elderly lady sitting on a bench by the trail reading a book before resuming her walk; a town employee cutting the grass; and a large dog on a leash bounding toward me followed by his owners, also running. All three were in perfect rhythm.

Writers' Fun in Franklin

Every year in September, the Council of the Written Word sponsors a writers' workshop in Franklin, Tennessee. This year it will be held on Saturday, September 18, 2010, at the Williamson County Public Library, and will feature three writers with stellar achievements and honors. Ted Swindley will speak on "Narrative Play: Stories My Grandmother Told Me;" Caroline Alexander on "Telling True Stories: The Art of Non-Fiction;" and Dr. Lorraine M. Lopez on "Contrapuntal Conversations: How Dialogue Works." For more information, see http://www.cww-writers.org/events/FallSem2010/FallSem10main.htm.

Beaker Street Blues Band

Last Saturday night I went to a wonderful event: a music festival benefitting Page High School's prize-winning marching band. It was a feast of music all day. But by far the best event on the program was the finale: The Beaker Street Blues Band. Sitting under the spectator's tent in the hot, humid night about nine 0'clock or so, I had just finished a dish of homemade peach ice cream and was looking forward to the last act. I was glad the weather had at last cooled a little bit. I watched while the band members climbed on stage and carefully prepared their instruments, the mics and the rest of their equipment. Then they started to play their R&B and what a group of talents! Steve Smartt, trumpet and vocals, tells what kind of music the band plays: "I like the classic two-horn sound of sax plus trumpet and the variety and versatility of using the horns either out front and in your face, or way down low in the background. I'm always learning something new with this band and that's what makes it fun." I'm a person who likes this kind of music "in your face," and I wasn't disappointed. By the time they had played several numbers, the audience was clapping, cheering, grinning, taking pictures, and dancing. The highlights of the evening were, for me, their version of BB King's famous "Everyday I Sing the Blues;" the sax man playing two saxes at once as he played along with the trumpet; and the last number: the sax man jumped down from the stage playing furiously, strode over to a group of teen-agers dancing, pushed his way into the middle, still playing, and then made his way back to the stage, where the band finished for the night in a blaze of glory. To read a lot more about this band, go to http://www.beakerstreetbluesband.com/. And if you live around Nashville, find out where they're playing and GO!