The stories of many legendary racehorses — Dan Patch and Seabiscuit, to name a couple — have been immortalized in book form in recent decades. This spring, a pacer who captivated Canada a mere 13 years ago will receive a similar tribute.
Author and journalist Marjorie Simmins, a British Columbia native who now lives in Cape Breton, N.S., was shocked to learn from trainer Brent MacGrath that the Atlantic-based pacing dynamo Somebeachsomewhere — who stole the hearts of racegoers across North America during his two seasons on the racetrack — had yet to have his story told in book form.
"I still wasn’t convinced, in any way, there wasn’t any kind of book done," Simmins told the Halifax, N.S., Chronicle Herald. "Just because you can’t find it online doesn’t mean it isn’t out there, and Brent nearly gave me a heart attack. He said, 'Oh yeah, there is a book.' But what he was referring to, of course, was the beautiful coffee table book. I said. 'There has been a book?' and he showed it to me and I said, 'But this is mostly photographs, not the story.' He said: 'Oh no, the story hasn’t been done,' and I said, 'Thank God.'"
Simmins' book, titled Somebeachsomewhere: The Harness Racing Legend from a One-Horse Stable, of course delves into the legendary on-track career of 'The Beach,' but also the unique bond that the horse and MacGrath developed with each other.
"It’s the story of Brent and Somebeachsomewhere, it just is," Simmins said. "He fell for that horse hard and what I love about the story too is that he didn’t give a damn about winning; he wanted that horse to be the best it could be."
Of course, Somebeachsomewhere beat everyone he faced on the track except for Art Official in the 2008 Meadowlands Pace — and even then, he proved gutsy in a narrow defeat. And while the statistics and records 'The Beach' achieved made this project the "most complicated" nonfiction book Simmins has written, the bigger challenge for her was to share the gallant champion's story in a way to achieve the broadest appeal possible.
"My job is to create a book that is totally exciting for a horse person to read, in particular a harness racing person, and completely accessible for somebody who doesn’t even know what a sulky is," she explained. "It’s a real writerly challenge to get that right tone where you’re not going to bore the harness racing person and you’re not going to lose the person who plays golf."
In achieving that delicate balance, Simmins went far beyond the box scores to tell 'Beach's story. His presence and power attracted Simmins' attention in particular, as did the grace shown by trainer MacGrath — also one of six partners in the Schooner Stables — in handling the attention and press Somebeachsomewhere commanded.
"He was just a genius at presenting the horse to the public and media ... there is just no other way of getting around it," Simmins explained. "As a spokesman, he couldn’t have been better."
The Chronicle Herald reports that Simmins hopes to hold a launch event for the book, perhaps at MacGrath's home base at Truro Raceway, but the viability of such an event is dependent upon COVID-19 restrictions. The book is due to be released in May.