A pair of bittersweet memories

by John Berry

I have witnessed a lot on the many racetracks I’ve seen over the last 67 years since Aug. 22, 1959.

Most remembrances have been happy ones, a few have been tragic ones, and two have been tragic and happy as time marched on, depending on which side of the track as the “witness” I resided.

The first tragic and happy coupling was at Sportsman’s Park back in 1961.

The pacer Tense Moment, a pretty decent pacer that could go a 2:03 mile back then, was in competition and the gentleman, Luke, who initially brought me to SPk way back when, had made a $10 wager to win on “the six horse,” Tense Moment.

“He can fly once they straighten away,” Luke said. And, on this night, Tense Moment was, indeed, closing like a rocket to take the lead a sixteenth from the wire.

Seconds later, tragedy struck as Tense Moment fell lifeless, right at the wire.

The photo finish sign lit up in bright red.

The question was whether Tense Moment’s nose had pierced the wire for the win, or whether he was a “ns” short and “out of the money.”

Turns out that Tense Moment had crossed the wire, by the mere tip of that nose.

The tragedy was just that — a tragedy — as a lifeless 1,000-pound, four hoofed athlete lay on the track waiting for the heavy equipment to arrive to transport the fallen horse off the “beaten track.”

The “official” sign then lit up and Tense Moment paid $16.20.

Tragedy and triumph all decided by a photo finish camera.

All accidents on the racetrack, whether they be during pari-mutuel events or qualifiers, are tragic at the time, but some turn out to have conclusions where survivors are thankful to still be alive, and not just alive “in the double,” if you know what I mean.

The rest of this story is also about the luckiest man alive, and it isn’t about any pari-mutuel event or qualifier.

It’s about the unseen, untold, unnoticed part of the business at the time of day that begins before the sun rises to keep our equine stars — past, present, and future — ready for competition.

Myles McNichol has been in several mishaps — many call them wrecks — over his grand career stretching well over a half century, but he considers himself the luckiest man on earth.

Now 78, McNichol, of course famously known as Mickey, is a “New Yawker” now residing in Florida these days after having etched his name in our sport as one of the greatest drivers ever.

He’s won many of our sport’s most prestigious races from “A” to “Z” — Adios to Zweig Memorial — with the Hambletonian, a few Breeders Crown events, the Kentucky Futurity, and several dozens of others sprinkled in throughout his career.

It all started more than a half century ago — give or take a few years — when Mickey, along with then partner Joe Caraluzzi, “effectively inherited” a stable from a Canadian gent named Berrigan, who had immigration problems with authorities.

It could have ended on March 24, 2026 over at Sunshine Meadows Equestrian Center with an as yet un-raced 2-year-old named Gobstopper.

As yearlings become 2 years old on Jan. 1, the tedious task of teaching the lessons of  the trade to these colts (and the few geldings) and fillies, begins, slowly, but surely, showing their owners and trainers whether they have world champion blood in their genes or whether their investment has been — or will be — a profitable one or a bust.

Few trainers can handle the load all by themselves, just ask Mike Deters, for example.

Trainer Mike Deters, himself a long-time top-notch horseman with a sizable stable every year, will bear witness that it takes an army to handle the chores of building a top stable, so he relies on the “expertise of the experts” to slowly, day-by-day, second-by-second, develop a competitive stable, hopefully one with a future champion to help soften the many disappointments that are inherent in the sport.

Deters had the expertise of McNichol this day to help in that regard and, again, on March 24, 2026, it could all have come to an end — both an equine career and a human one.

Hanging in the balance this day was the unknown future of one standardbred, Gobstopper, and, most importantly, the life of an elite horseman named Myles “Mickey” McNichol.

McNichol was back of one of Deters’ 2-year-old students, the above referenced juvenile, Gobstopper, a son of the great stallion Sweet Lou.

Gobstopper was just learning the trade but showing promise as all 2-year-olds are working their way, hopefully, to the tall standards of becoming a formidable major league player in harness racing.

On the Sunshine Meadows track this morning, McNichol was in the jog cart in back of Gobstopper when something caused the colt to swerve and trip, with the horse doing a somersault and unseating McNichol with the result being Gobstopper landing on top of Mickey with the consequence leaving him very seriously wounded.

Trainer Deters was on Sunshine Meadows smaller inner track at the time and heard the commotion.

He looked over and said to himself, “That looks like my jog-cart,” and hustled over to the scene to find, Gobstopper sitting “like a dog” on top of McNichol, noticing his excruciating pain, but further noticing the precarious position that horse and driver were in, with one single move by Gobstopper putting McNichol’s very life in danger.

Gobstopper didn’t move a muscle for, “probably five or six minutes,” said Deters, and the bloody scene was just about “too much to handle.”

McNichol described it as “the longest five minutes of my life” as he was in “fragile” condition but Deters was able to, somehow, remove him from under the horse and then rushed him to Delray Medical Center.

Dr. Ronald Young, a 30-year veteran specializing in brain and spinal injuries was on the scene and found that McNichol had suffered severe damage to 12 vertebrae and began the laborious task of inserting screws where necessary “to try and put him back together” with additional work done on his nose, which was left grievously injured, as well.

As McNichol began to slowly heal, one day he began to pee blood and wondered if that was from any internal issues from the Gobstopper accident.

After a trip to his “regular” doctor, Dr. Mark Copen, a highly respected internal medicine physician (and, by the way, horse enthusiast), McNichol was back in the hospital with another bit of good luck on his side — well, good luck and bad luck.

No, the pee wasn’t from the accident, it was from the observance of bladder cancer, which was subsequently removed with the hope that it will never return.

It had not spread.

“I truly am the luckiest man on this earth,” McNichol said.

As for Gobstopper, he has turned out to be a hero in more ways than one.

After the Deters’ crew readied Gobstopper for the wars of racing, he thought he might be able to tangle with the big boys in his class and sent him down to the Bluegrass State — Kentucky — to test his mettle there.

Waiting for the colt with open arms was trainer Tony Dinges, now in his 25th year in the sport banking over $1,000,000 each of the last three for owners concentrating on just a few horses.

Rocksy and Funky Buddha are a couple of others under Dinges’ care and they, too, have added to the blossoming resume’ of the trainer.

Not only did Gobstopper play a significant role in saving a life, he’s turned out to be one of the champions of his division, winning five of eight starts thus far, over $330,000 while recently winning the $400,000 Kentucky Sire Stakes final, to go along with his 2-year-old mark of 1:50.

Owner Rick Berks has long paid his dues in the sport and has owned some great ones, among them Boston Red Rocks, Boston Rocks, and Doo Wop Hanover, to name a few to go along with Gobstopper.

“He was just one of the crop of 2-year-olds,” Berks said, “but, as time went on, he started to show some promise.

“Early in his racing career, after he won a start, I was told that Gobstopper was ‘green as grass.’

“You can take that a couple of ways but I kind of thought it meant that he had a lot of promise to become a great one.

“I’m just hoping he stays healthy because he’s got a good relaxed personality — he showed that by staying cool, calm, and collected when he landed on top of Mickey!”

I wanted to do a story about “the luckiest man on earth” for HRU and, though his reluctance as a humble gentleman was obvious, he agreed and he volunteered to take this journalist out to lunch.

We met, enjoyed a bowl of noodle soup together and a Chocolate New York Egg Cream and he spilled the beans on a very enlightening horse “tail” — make that “tale.”

The bill came and McNichol said, “I got this one, JB. I got this one. I got plenty of points to cover it.”

“Wow! A free lunch,” I thought. ”Wonderful.”

So, we’re getting up from the table and he said, “Hey, JB, got any cash on ya?”

“Sure, whaddya need?”

McNichol said, “Just the tip. I left my cash upstairs.”

So, that’s the finish line to this Mane Attraction.

I got a free lunch on behalf of one of the greatest drivers ever, Mickey McNichol.

And it only cost me $10.

May The Horse Be With You!