The competition at Saratoga Casino Hotel is fierce. If you need proof, just ask Wally Hennessey.
After more than 50 years in the business and a lifetime of experience, the 69-year-old dual Hall of Famer is still experiencing firsts in harness racing.
Last Sunday (Sept. 28), Hennessey's on-track rivals escalated the phrase champing at the bit when he himself was bitten midrace by a horse.
In the $25,694 Open Pace, Hennessey dropped favoured Blue Lou down to the rail from post five as the field headed into the first turn. As Blue Lou cleared Transparency, Hennessey seemingly received a message from that pacer as the horse reached out and bit him on the left shoulder.
"I had a nice horse, he had the outside, you know, a lot of speed, everybody's early speed, so I was just getting a nice little spot there going to the eighth pole," Hennessey told Trot Insider in a recent conversation. "It wasn't where I wanted to be in the race, but I had no other choice."
Clearly, Transparency didn't want him there either.
"So I was just dropping down in, and when I dropped down in, it was just like shock... I didn't know what happened."
"I went from, say, shock, to back into the race, and thinking of how lucky was I that he didn't clamp me," Hennessey continued. "He opened his mouth, he had my whole shoulder, the whole shoulder blade, everything, but he didn't clamp it. Whether he could or he couldn't, I don't know...how would you know if he could or he couldn't? But thank God he didn't, because when he did let go, he didn't stick his toes in, but he made a break with some really bad missteps. He'd have hauled me right off the bike."
Colourful language forgiven under the circumstances, Hennessey is thankful he can look back on this incident with a smile on his face knowing that it could have turned out much worse. He also added that he drove Transparency for the first time at The Spa a few starts back.
"I haven't driven him since, I didn't know much about him and I still don't. Hopefully they can do something to correct him equipment-wise so that doesn't happen again."
Transparency is entered to race on Sunday, Oct. 4 at Saratoga in the afternoon's ninth race. Hennessey isn't down to drive any of the seven horses entered.
(Standardbred Canada; videos courtesy Jessica Hallett)