by Trey Nosrac

Over-the-top people mesmerize us because they do what we only dream of doing or would never dream of doing. Quiet reflection and somber face-to-face discussions are rare these days. People don’t ask for attention. They take it and fight hard to keep it, sometimes gently but more and more, with a touch of menace.

Playing this attention game for our creaky sport seems impossible, but if it is possible, last night, I encountered the type of person who could fit the casting call.

Trey occasionally mingles with an artsy crowd. The energy of poets, actors, singers, writers, artists, and directors can be fascinating. Tonight, a group of 50 characters assembled in the bowels of a 100-year-old downtown church, used by the Cleveland Playhouse to perform, display, and discuss various works in progress.

Driving home, I reflected on the stranger next to me this evening.

He boldly extended a hand with long, thin fingers and introduced himself. Startled, I didn’t catch his name. He was tall and in his mid-20s, his long dark hair parted in the center. Despite frigid temperatures outside, he wore black and yellow pajama pants, high-topped black and red tennis shoes, a well-worn white tee shirt, and a denim coat with beads.

My new acquaintance spoke rapidly, emotively, nonstop, precisely, and jumped from subject to subject. To my mind, he was brilliant. Although he considered himself a writer, he took to the stage later and performed an unrehearsed scene from someone’s screenplay. His confidence and acting chops were dazzling.

Pajama pants had an effortless charisma that drew attention and kept attention as he riffed on theater, Shakespeare, and politics. Now, why is this anecdote in a horse racing column?

Can you think of one character we have in harness horse racing that is brash, fearless, theatrical, bombastic, and perhaps intimidating to the point that we love or hate them, but they command that attention must be paid?

In our game, we have people who announce the races and prognosticate. We have bright, thoughtful people. We have solid writers. We have superb presentations like Creekside Chats and a few podcasts. We have hosts of wonderful people. We have plenty of things, but we do not have outrageous characters. We have not produced attention-demanding maniacs because nobody will pay for nonstop, hyper, performative, provocative characters.

In today’s world, people find footholds in niches and niches of niches. Any stray performance artists have an untapped, albeit tiny niche audience, ripe for filling with our ancient, creaky sport. People in the content creation business are on the lookout for unmined territory. They know a few thousand clicks can be profitable, and a few hundred thousand clicks can be gold.

Let us return to Pajama pants. He shared some dreams/plans during our few hours together. In his mind was a Murder Mystery Dinner Theater Show that he would take to wealthy party hosts looking for unusual entertainment; writing a play titled Guildenstern and Rosencrantz are NOT Dead that uses the Shakespearean characters correctly; and hosting a podcast for struggling artists.

Projects and ideas from people in the arts are more plentiful than losing trifecta tickets. These daring doers in the theatrical business make people in our harness racing community look risk-averse. Pajama pants fired me up. I would join the audience for any of his dreams and ventures. I hope he hits a home run. But I especially like that he seemed to have a twinge of business in his pleasure pursuits.

With podcasts, substacks, and other self-produced money-making communication gambits, there should be a place for a breakout niche show for our horse racing people. Better still, this landing site for our trotting and pacing enthusiasts is the base, and new people find us a unique diversion.

The success of “catching on” in the viral world usually depends on the lead horse. A wildly entertaining host can draw a crowd to the niche of Georgian chants.

A brilliant harness racing horse expert who speaks in a monotone using statistics and data is not going far. An entertainer might have a future because our host will have gambling and conflict as a few of his subjects. He (or she) can say that they will always predict winners and have the answers to all of our problems in the sport. They have the inside scoop, overpromise, and do whatever it takes to build an audience.

Our sport could use a site where a few lifers are the base and new visitors stick. Let’s find a few folks ready to pull on pajama pants, buy audio equipment, and draw a crowd.