I was recently in Florida with my son and my nephew, and as usual, I took the opportunity to talk horses with most who would listen. And because it’s so expensive to rent a car these days, that included at least a dozen Uber drivers who were trapped behind the wheel and couldn’t escape.

Most, when told one works in the horse racing industry, are very interested. “That’s so cool” and “Wow, very interesting” are common replies. People never say things like “Oh, that must be boring.” People are truly interested in learning about us.

And then there’s my new pal Howie, who works at The Home Depot on Glades Rd. in Boca Raton. My nephew noticed that this guy was actually wearing a Saskatchewan Roughriders hat on backwards, and when I mentioned it, Howie quickly became my new best friend - that I couldn’t shake even if I wanted to.

A native of Long Island and a huge Islanders fan, he immediately picked up on my ‘Canadian accent’ and I was pelted with his plethora of hockey knowledge. And even though I more than held my own in return, I flipped the script to the trotters at my earliest opportunity, and learned that Howie knew plenty about the old Roosevelt Raceway days - he had been there with his dad. It was also discovered that, in-fact, his dad had actually taken his mom to Yonkers Raceway on their very first date.

Yes, even people that don’t attend our racetracks these days, often have some connection to us. We’re part of the landscape and have been for decades. Even just listening to radio and watching TV, it isn’t hard to compile a list of horse racing jargon used daily by many in the mainstream - whether they attend the races or not. Here’s just a small sample of what I mean:

“Abraham Ancer… he’s not finding the track to his liking a lot today.” ~ Ian Baker Finch, Masters telecast.

“And the German goalie throws a shoe behind the net.” ~ Ray Ferraro, TSN hockey telecast.

“Whoever came up with that analytic ain’t going to be picking my horses for me at Santa Anita.” ~ Al Michaels, Sunday Night Football telecast.

“It’s like the whole F’in world is wearing F’in horse blinders.” ~ Drew Barrymore on ‘The Howard Stern Show’.

“You’ll be breaking your maiden on Tim & Friends.” ~ Jeff Blair to Stephen Brunt on The Fan 590.

“And down the stretch we come.” ~ Chris Cuthbert on HNIC (Leafs vs. Jets).

“Mickelson has the bit in his teeth at the PGA Championship.” ~ pgatour.com

“We’ve got two horses in the race.” ~ Donovan Bailey, speaking of a Men’s 100m final on CBC Sports.

“There really are horses for courses.” ~ Nick Faldo, FedEx St Jude Classic telecast.

“I guarantee you there’s some players chomping at the bit right now.” ~ Justin Leonard, Ryder Cup telecast.

“Maybe we just backed the wrong horse.” ~ jail guard in Season 3 of ‘Prison Break’.

“We’re at the starting gate now and we’re off and running.” ~ Ben Affleck on ‘The Howard Stern Show’.

“It’s going to be a three-horse race tomorrow.” ~ Nick Faldo, Masters telecast.

“That’s what a change-up is supposed to do - throw them offstride.” ~ Pat Tabler, Blue Jays telecast.

“Hold all tickets!” ~ Joe Buck, ESPN Football telecast.

“That’s a dead heat." ~ Dan Shulman, Blue Jays telecast.

“I’m looking at the runners and the riders for Thursday.” ~ Paul McGinley. “Well you might want to look for a mudder.” ~ Brandel Chamblee, The Golf Channel.

“Holy F@#k Ricky… you came in there like Seabiscuit.” ~ Bubbles, on ‘The Trailer Park Boys’.

Yes, there’s no doubt that even though our sport has shrunk, we’re still a part of the everyday lexicon of millions. Do they know why they use the phrases they do? Maybe. Maybe not. But I really think that it’s our job to keep spreading the word about our great sport, and do our best to help keep the connections that people have to us, albeit slim ones in many cases, alive.

You don’t like the fact that your local racetrack may not market itself much? Good - market us yourself. You’ve got a mouth. Use it.

And don’t be shy. There’s a bit of a myth that most people find horse racing ‘mean’ or ‘cruel’. Yes, there’s a bit of that out there, no doubt. But the large majority, from my experience, think we’re an incredibly interesting thing.

Take our South Florida Uber driver, Mario, for example, another native New Yorker - from Brooklyn - whose dad had also taken him to Roosevelt years earlier. When he learned what industry my son and I are in, while driving us to the airport, he stated:

“That's so cool! Now I’ve had two really amazing and interesting pick-ups in my car today.” When asked to elaborate, Mario explained that earlier in the day he had driven former World Heavyweight Boxing Champion Evander Holyfield to the airport as well. Yes, the man who had his ear bitten off by Mike Tyson in front of millions of viewers. That’s who Mario sincerely compared his two new horse racing buddies to - one of the most famous athletes of the late 20th century!

Please - don’t sell us short. We know that we have a lot to offer, and it seems like many others out there couldn’t agree more.

Dan Fisher [email protected]