A brief ‘Thanksgiving’ is ‘Thanks-living’ yarn
by John Berry
It’s Thanksgiving time.
To me, “Thanksgiving is Thanks-LIVING” since I am so fortunate to be sharing life with all of you these days; the odds of that being 99 on a tote board even 20 years ago.
But here I am, yes, on dialysis now but, still, able to contribute a bit to our grand sport, hoping for its survival centuries from now.
Some things that have survived over the years are the many grand stories that began in the days of the Narragansett Pacer back about three centuries past.
And one of the grand gentlemen of our sport, sadly, now gone, was the great Phil Pines, who shared many of those stories with me during his years as curator of our Hall of Fame in Goshen, NY.
Now that it’s “turkey time” here in the U.S., it’s the perfect time to retell Phil Pines’ “foul” story — er, make that “fowl”— story about this grand holiday.
This goes back over a century-and-a-half — 1860 — when, if someone wanted to enjoy a fowl dinner, it was necessary to hustle around looking for a turkey, or similar being, at a nearby farm.
Squire Tom Bingham and John H. Decker believed there might just be a lucrative future in the turkey market and they, indeed, put together a team of horses to buy as many as possible to, as they say, corner the market.
They considered Goshen, NY their headquarters and planned to cover an area from Orange County, NY to Sussex County, NJ, some 32 miles south and west.
John H. Decker was the “money man” and, during their journey, arrived at his uncle’s farm — John B. Decker — where they rested for the night.
John H. was a great judge of horseflesh and his uncle, John B., had some horses out in the field.
John H. wanted to get a closer look and saw a mare that he really liked.
The mare was wild and untouchable, but at breakfast the next morning, John H. offered to buy her.
Uncle Johnny kind of poo-pooed the suggestion saying the mare was worthless, and indeed, was known as “Decker’s Worthless Mare” throughout the County.
John B.’s wife then chimed in and told her husband to sell John H. the mare — and he agreed — if John H. could catch her.
Squire Tom and John H. chased the mare for an hour, and finally, got her into her barn and put a halter on her — the final selling price being $260.
On the way back to Goshen, John H. sold the mare to Jersey Bill Thompson for $360; a quick $100 profit, but with no turkeys!
Jersey Bill subsequently sold the mare to one Alden Thompson for $600 and brought the mare over to the Historic Park in Goshen and she won her first start for a purse of $100.
After that, her name was changed to Goldsmith Maid and raced for 11 years, having broken the world record on seven occasions with her earnings being an astronomical $364,000, about $10,940,000 today.
You could buy a few turkey farms for that much money back then.
And they owed her fame and fortune to two gents who gave up looking for turkeys, and instead, got a trotter that made someone else a fortune.
Thanksgiving is Thanks-living.
May The Horse Be With You!
