I love the O'Brien Awards. LOVE THEM. My adoration of this gala event grows each year, as I come to know more of the nominees
. It's no different, I suppose, than the Oscars; when you've seen the films, you root for those which gave you a return on your emotional investment in the characters and storylines.
It's this type of connection and kinship with the sport's participants that bonds people to our industry. The San Pail experience is an excellent illustration. The collaboration between his connections and Standarbred Canada's I Love Canadian Harness Racing Fan Club has enabled a relationship between hundreds of racing fans and one of the sport's finest steeds. When San Pail takes home his O'Brien(s?) on Saturday night, those throngs of fans will feel party to his success, and that's the type of connection that builds the sport.
Several harness racing participants understand this dynamic, and go out of their way to accommodate the bother and extra work required to make it happen. Over the years, I've asked Jody Jamieson to fulfil many of these sometimes bizarre requests and he's never turned me down. (OK, I've twisted an arm occasionally, but never had to break anything.) In fact, when we released details earlier this year of our RACE DAY documentary, he called a mere 20 minutes later to sign up.
Jody and 19 others recorded their race days on Saturday, August 6, 2011, and from that 10 hours of footage we crafted a 23-minute short documentary which will premiere at the O'Brien Awards this Saturday night.
So, as Jody vies for his third O'Brien Award and makes his big screen debut all in the same night, the RACE DAY crew figured we should tag along for the exploration of what to wear. Many thanks to Jody and Steph, and the very accommodating staff at Collins Formal Wear in Kitchener, ON.