A cherished friend lost

by John Berry

Every second we are alive is a second closer to when we will capture our last breath.

For newborns, it may be a century or more away, but for many of us in our (g)olden years, it could be any day, or minute, or second.

I — make that we — lost a treasure a few days ago when my — our — great friend, Tom Merriman, lost his battle with cancer at the age of 85.

Merriman was one of Michigan’s proudest — having been foaled in Dearborn in that great state on April 20, 1940 and raised there, as well, leaving a budding past in his wake where he took his footprints to greatness in harness racing with every long stride of life.

His father and two brothers were involved in harness racing, as well, and his legacy in our grand sport began humbly in 1957 at the Marshall County Fair.

His four drives that year netted $131, but, as he later said, “It was a start” in a sport that he had an unencumbered love for, that only ended with that last breath, a few minutes after one-in-the-morning on Aug. 24.

The year, 1957, was even a year before he had graduated high school — Romulus High, where his athletic prowess was no less than amazing.

In his senior year at Romulus, he was a star quarterback on the football team, guiding his team to a near perfect season.

He was also noted on another type of track as Tom “lettered” in track and field events, specializing in quarter mile events.

Spending summers gathering a “degree” in stable management with his family, years ago, he lamented, “Hey, people go to Harvard and get degrees in law and medicine and stuff like that, and this was my Harvard, learning the trade from the ground up with my family and other horsemen… same Harvard education, just a different vocation.

“I really learned from the day-to-day stuff, but I got lucky when the great trainer Dick Buxton hired me as second trainer for his stable. To me, he was the consummate horseman.”

Prominent at Pompano when that track opened in 1964, Tom Merriman was among the top horsemen in South Florida.

“I was rubbing shoulders with [George] Sholty, Chappie [John Chapman], Bruce [Nickells], Loosh [Lucien Fontaine], and so many others,” Merriman said. “It was a great experience down there at Pompano.”

In that same year, 1964, Merriman won 63 races — a new high for him — and over $70,000 in purses, also a record up to that time.

That was the beginning of the greatest era for our sport and 63 wins was enough in earning one’s way to the top 100 in driver wins — Merriman being well implanted in the list at 72nd in a tie, ironically with another Pompano early combatant, Billy Pocza, and a couple of others.

“Not many guys got over 100 wins in a season,” he said of the accomplishment that only 31 did. “So, I was pretty proud to be on that top 100 list, even with 63 wins.”

Over the many subsequent seasons, his circuit was from Florida, in the late fall and winter months, to Michigan, when the chill of the winter finally left its grip up north, where he always had a Ty Cobb batting average in the sulky and as a trainer.

Merriman made a strategic move to move his base to the Yonkers-Rosevelt circuit in the mid-’70s, with his purse earnings soaring to new heights with the move.

Noted horses like Civil Action, Monte Hall, and Energy Burner were just a trio of great horses he handled during his grand career but he always gave credit to the other ones that put him on the roadmap to success, whether it be at Hazel Park, Northville Downs, Wolverine or, outside of Michigan, The Meadows.

Years ago, when Merriman was inducted into the Florida U.S. Harness Writers Association’s Hall of Fame, when asked about his key in his enshrinement, he said, “It takes great horses, great luck and great people to help you through the thick and thin of this business.

“Personally, in my case, one person, in particular, has blessed me with the strength to get through it all.

“That is my life partner, Anne [Schlichtig]. For well over 40 years, she has been the reason for any success I may have achieved in this business.

“Through all of my horses — the champions and the overnight stock — she’s been with me every step of the way.”

One of those steps was over 4,000 miles across the ocean — to Italy — with fate playing the role in a move to that great country.

Noted designer Robert Cavalli, the iconic fashion designer and inventor — noted, by the way, for creating the sand-blasted look in jeans — owned horses with Howard Beissinger.

As Beissinger began lessening his rigorous routine, both he and Doug Ackerman recommended these “life partners” to train for Cavalli Stable, known as la Scuderia Degli Dei.

Landing in Montecatini, the most famous of Tuscany’s spa towns, Merriman and Schlichtig, spent 1991 and 1992 racing at 14 different venues with two of their most notable Cavalli pupils being Orata Dei, a winner of the prestigious Coppa d’Allevamento, and Nottare Dei, who was a success in many Grand Premio events.

The pair left Italy with the final days of Merriman’s father approaching, agreeing that this time with his father was more important than any time on the racetrack.

Before he hung up his colors, Merriman helped other trainers develop their future champions, as well.

In recent years, Merriman incurred some serious health situations, and, though we had been close friends over the last 40 years, when both he and I faced our individual health issues a few years back, we really leaned on each other’s shoulders for encouragement and solace.

While his body was weakened and ravaged, his mind was like steel and he remembered his horses like nobody else.

Just last fall at Sunshine Meadows, where he and I had our binoculars and stop-watches always ready to help put on the FSBOA Stakes show, Merriman said, “Great horses are one in a thousand. They are the icing on the cake. The other 999 are the racehorses that keep you and your owners in the business and I tried to take great care of every one of those, as well.

“A couple of examples of that were Patch Patrol, Doberman, and Tarport Abbey. And it’s horses like that that keep your owners in the business.”

Of course, those were the days when the 2:00 mile was relatively rare.

For Merriman, there were plenty more as time went by.

I asked Merriman about the true highlights of his career and his answer was, “I absolutely loved this business but, in truth, like I said before, the highlight was about 45 years ago — 1977 — when I met what was to be my life partner, Anne. Everything else is a furlong behind.

“That was the luckiest day of my life and really put me on a track to complete success in life.”

As you Mane Attraction readers know, I usually close out with May The Horse Be With You.

But this “Mane” is different.

Since my first writing appeared in the Horseman and Fair World on Feb. 4, 1964 — the day Pompano Park opened — I have been very fortunate to have made an incalculable number of friends and have grieved as many have been claimed by their years.

With Merriman’s passing, a few have said, “He’s in a better place!”

I look at it another way: They took away a gentleman that made our world a better place.

And how do they know that he is in a better place? Has anyone ever received a postcard, letter, text or phone call from someone now gone? Anyone saying, “Yeah, it’s really great up here.”

It doesn’t matter if it’s the Pope, rabbi, lamas, priest, pastor, minister, bishop, ayatollah, sheik, or swami, they are all beliefs, and we are fortunate enough to live in freedom to believe in this arena.

I — and so many others — are grieving today because we have lost one of the great horsemen of our ages — Tom Merriman.

But, as great of a horseman as he was, he was even a greater MAN.