WHAT IF SOMEBEACHSOMEWHERE HAD RACED AT AGE FOUR?

Most of us know the story of Somebeachsomewhere, the champion racehorse with roots in Atlantic Canada who destroyed his competition on the track

at ages two and three and then retired to a hugely successful stud career at Hanover Shoe Farms before his untimely passing due to cancer. But what if that wasn’t exactly the way it had happened? What if the racing world had gotten together in 2008 and made it more lucrative for The Beach’s owners to race him in 2009 - at age four? How might our sport possibly look different today if that had been the case? By Justin Fisher.

In Phillip K. Dick’s, The Man in the High Castle, the reader is introduced to an alternate universe of a 1960’s North America where the Allies had lost World War II and where North America is controlled by Nazi Germany in the east and the Japanense Empire in the west. In a much less dramatic fictional piece, TROT wondered how the world of Standardbred racing would have looked if the great Somebeachsomewhere hadn’t retired to stud at Hanover Shoe Farms at the end of his sophomore season, but instead had gone on to race at age four.

So what if...

JUNE 15, 2019: North America Cup night at Woodbine Mohawk Park. ‘Captain Crunch’ is still just a brand of cereal and ‘Workin Ona Mystery’ is only a line from a Tom Petty song. They’re not champion race horses because their sire, Captaintreacherous, as part of what would have been Somebeachsomewhere’s first crop, had never been born. Bettors Wish wins the North America Cup in stakes record fashion enroute to a $2 million sophomore campaign. Hippodrome Montreal still hosts live racing to large crowds every Sunday and racing in British Columbia has a clear future, all because one horse, a decade ago, raced 17 times at the age of four. That horse was Somebeachsomewhere.

In an alternative universe, in which ‘The Beach’ returned for his four-year-old campaign, to what magnitude would the world of harness racing differ? Obviously, the Beach’s first crop of foals ceases to exist, so the likes of Sunshine Beach, Somewherovrarainbow, and the aforementioned Captaintreacherous never line up behind a starting gate, and nor do their offspring.

But how did we get here?

In reality, while spearheading a charge to get ‘Canada’s Horse’ some recognition from the committee that would be voting on the Lou Marsh Award in late 2008, Standardbred Canada’s Darryl Kaplan did ponder what it might take to get The Beach’s connections to bring him back at age four. Could it be possible to have racetracks and associations across both Canada and the U.S. add enough purse money to Open pacing events, and maybe create enough four-year-old Invitational events, that the Schooner Stable could make more money by racing their superstar in 2009 than by breeding him?

The problem turned out to be that before Somebeachsomewhere could get his name on the list of Lou Marsh finalists, Chair of the Lou Marsh Committee Silken Laumann had a rule passed that ‘only a human could win the award’, and before Kaplan could even begin to try and gather the support for extra races and purse money, it was announced, in October, that The Beach would indeed retire to stud at Hanover Shoe Farms.

Much like in The Man in the High Castle however, if you can open your mind and accept a simple twist of fate...

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2008:
It is announced, to the shock of many, that after months of negotiations with racetracks, provincial governments, horsemen’s associations and race sponsors, Somebeachsomewhere will return to racing for his four-year-old campaign.

NOVEMBER 2008:
With the confirmation of The Beach’s return, a private investment firm from Montreal purchases the property that is Hippodrome Montreal and guarantees at least one more year of racing, along with a revived $500,000 Prix d’ Ete for aged pacers. The storied racetrack that was set to close forever following the November 30, 2008 card of racing, seems to have been given a reprieve.

WINTER 2008/09:
While Brent MacGrath has his star pupil training back in Florida, it is announced that Old Home Week and The Gold Cup & Saucer will be moved to the week of Canada Day this year to accommodate The Beach’s schedule. Along with the date change, the Prince Edward Island government would allocate upwards of $450,000 towards the purse. Two days later, the Nova Scotia government followed suit and granted $300,000 towards a ‘Somebeachsomewhere Retirement Pace’ at Truro Raceway to take place in December 2009 so long as the race could be confirmed as his final career start. It is also announced that Beach’s schedule will take him from coast-to-coast with Telus sponsoring a race at Fraser Downs and the Alberta Government along with Horse Racing Alberta allocating the funds for a $300,000 Invitational Pace to be held on the same day as the Western Canadian Pacing Derby.

MAY 2009:
After wintering in southern Florida, The Beach returned to Ontario to qualify in preparation for his first start of 2009. A specific Facebook Page for The Beach is created to keep fans up-to-date, and has 10,000 followers inside of a week. Somebeachsomewhere and Paul MacDonell qualify handily around Mohawk in 1:50.4, in front of approximately 1,000 spectators and news crews from all across the GTA.

MAY 29, WESTERN FAIR RACEWAY:
It had been earlier announced that due to The Beach’s presence in the Molson Pace, race sponsor Molson Brewery added an extra $250,000, bringing the total purse up to $533,000. Doubting all naysayers who didn’t think he was ready to face aged competition right away, The Beach would set a track record of 1:50.1, that still stands to this day, in front of approximately 10,000 adoring fans.

JUNE 13, MOHAWK RACETRACK:
After triumphing the week prior in his elimination, SBSW continued his winning ways in the $440,000 HPIBet Classic Pace, setting a Mohawk track record, that also still stands to this day, of 1:46.4. The crowd, who gladly each paid $20 to attend that night, with the extra money helping to fund the purse, numbered 17,232.

JUNE 21, RIDEAU CARLETON:
To accommodate The Beach’s schedule, the Des Smith Classic Pace is moved up a week, and the star of the show dazzles in the nation’s capital to the joy of thousands, setting his third track record this season after stopping the clock at 1:48.4. The trophy and blanket are presented by Prime Minister Stephen Harper who was in attendance with other members of his Cabinet. A picture of The Beach, the Prime Minister, and the horse’s connections appears on the front page of multiple major Canadian newspapers the next morning.

JULY 3, CHARLOTTETOWN DRIVING PARK:
Following a Gold Cup & Saucer triumph in front of a reported 30,000 fans, and another track record, TSN begins a ‘Beach Watch’ weekly segment on Sportscentre to keep the nation’s sports fans up-to-date with the super horse as he heads south for a planned five-race tour of the U.S.

AUGUST 22, THE MEADOWLANDS:
The Beach completed his American tour going five-for-five, winning the William Haughton, Ben Franklin, and U.S. Pacing Championship, and in his final start south of the border setting a world record of 1:45.4 in the Breeders Crown final at the Meadowlands. The victory in the U.S. Pacing Championship took place on Hambletonian Day and was featured live on NBC Sports in front of what was thought to be the largest crowd to ever watch a harness race at the East Rutherford oval.

AUGUST 23:
It is announced that upon conclusion of his campaign, Somebeachsomewhere will be standing stud at Hanover Shoe Farms for a fee of $30,000 USD (a whopping $10,000 more per foal than what he actually did stand for in reality in his first year at stud).

AUGUST 24:
Following his U.S. sweep, where he earned $1,114,000 and lowered his own all-age world record twice, Somebeachsomewhere accomplished something not done in more than 40 years. For the first time since Nevele Pride and Stanley Dancer did so in 1968, a Standardbred will grace the cover of Sports Illustrated.

SEPTEMBER 1:
Under immense pressure nationwide, the controversial Silken Laumann-led decision of the year prior is reversed, and the Lou Marsh Award committee announces that non-human athletes are in fact eligible for the award. The Somebeachsomewhere Facebook page hits one million likes.

SEPTEMBER 5, MOHAWK RACETRACK:
An improbable 35,000 patrons crush into Mohawk, with somewhere in the vicinity of 10,000 of them in the infield, to watch The Beach continue his perfect four-year-old campaign, winning the Canadian Pacing Derby in a stakes record time of 1:47.1.

SEPTEMBER 18, HIPPODROME MONTREAL:
Due to an aggressive marketing campaign, increased handle and attendance, and anticipation for The Beach’s appearance, it is announced that racing will continue in Montreal for the foreseeable future. Nearly 25,000 fans were on hand to watch the revived Prix d’ Ete and another dominant victory from Canada’s super horse.

OCTOBER 24, WOODBINE RACETRACK:
In what will be The Beach’s last start in Ontario, a sold out Woodbine Racetrack, on Breeders Crown night for two and three-year-olds, watches SBSW take the Woodbine Gold Cup to roars from a crowd that makes it sound more like a European soccer match than a Canadian Standardbred race.

NOVEMBER 21, FRASER DOWNS:
The Beach makes his only career appearance at Fraser Downs, in the Telus Invitational Pace, and although he wins comfortably by 11 lengths, he still sets a new track record - one that would eventually be topped. The crowd is the biggest in the history of British Columbia horse racing, and with the buzz created around the Vancouver area his sole race there plays a big role in putting racing in the province on stable footing for years to come.

NOVEMBER 28, NORTHLANDS PARK:
Due to the excitement created by The Beach, both before and after his start at Northlands, where he set a track record of 1:49.1 that stands unbroken still today, construction on the new track in Calgary is accelerated, and Century Downs opens there in May of 2011 - not in May of 2015.

DECEMBER 14, 2009:
Somebeachsomewhere is named as one of Maclean’s Magazine’s 2009 Newsmakers of the Year and is featured on the cover of that issue.

DECEMBER 15, 2009:
Shocking many in the world of mainstream sports it is announced that Somebeachsomewhere is the 2009 recipient of the Lou Marsh Award as Canada’s best athlete, narrowly beating Sidney Crosby for the title.

DECEMBER 20, TRURO RACEWAY:
Ending where it all began, on the track where Brent MacGrath drove Somebeachsomewhere in the first three charted lines of his career - all qualifiers - Paul MacDonell and the son of Mach Three capped their 17-for-17 four-year-old season by winning by the length of the stretch in front of thousands of adoring fans at Truro. It was one final ‘Beach Party’ for what almost all, and no longer just many, call the greatest Standardbred to ever look through a bridle.

After retiring to the breeding shed following the 2009 season, rather than the 2008 one like in our world, Beach’s first crop would hit the track in 2013. As previously mentioned, Captaintreacherous, as we know him today, simply does not exist in that world. Is Worldly Treasure still bred to The Beach in 2010, resulting in a Captaintreacherous that’s one year younger? Maybe, maybe not. The same can be said about Somwherovrarainbow - is Rainbow Blue still bred to The Beach a year later? It’s impossible to say, but we do know that neither were born in 2010, that’s for sure. The landscape of racing, if Beach raced at age four, would be drastically different than what we know today. With the exclusion of Captaintreacherous alone, the 2013 North America Cup winner becomes Twilight Bonfire, a horse that in our world went on to sire just 12 foals who have earned a total of $49,402. Impossible to say but maybe as an N.A. Cup winner his stallion career may have been a touch better?

There are countless imaginary scenarios like that one that you can dream up for fun if you’d like to. Tony Alagna, Myron Bell, et al surely wouldn’t appreciate this scenario, but it’s one they don’t have to dream about, or rather have nightmares about, anyway.

Bettors Wish for one, has had an amazing career, but if there is no Captaintreacherous just how much better could it have been? In our world, as a three-year-old, he went 13-6-0 from 19 starts, finishing runner up to Captain Crunch in the North America Cup and Cane Pace. But if The Beach races at four and there is no Captain Crunch (don’t tell Nancy Takter) Bettors Wish wins both of those races along with another in the Messenger. The 2019 Messenger was won by American Mercury, whose dam is a first crop Somebeachsomewhere as well, so if The Beach raced at four she would never have been born.

Another one of this endless case of differences for example, is ‘Who would have been the dominant three-year-old pacing filly of 2020? If there’s no Captaintreacherous, there’s no Lyons Sentinel, Reflect With Me, or Party Girl Hill either.

The only way in which Somebeachsomewhere would have raced at aged four was if it was financially prudent for his ownership group to have done so. People say that it wasn’t possible, but was it? In our world, he retired and went on to sire 125 and 120 foals over the next two years, at a stud fee at $20,000 - that’s $4.9 million. In the scenario above, he would have made nearly $3,000,000 on the track with the added purses of 2009, and if he still sired 125 live foals in his first year, with a stud fee of $30,000, they would’ve had $6.75 million in revenues over the same two year period, while promoting our sport ten-fold continent-wide.

This is all what we said from the start however - purely fiction. Our alternate universe is one of a perfect-world scenario, and obviously one that didn’t happen. No one is second guessing the connections, or suggesting that it would have made sense for them to have done any-thing differently. They raced the horse through an almost perfect two-year career on the track, and Hanover Shoe Farms helped make him one of the greatest stallions of all time - even with his untimely passing in 2018.

There is no doubt, on the other hand, that another year on the track for The Beach would have created a lot of excitement in our sport, and could have given the game a lot of exposure in the mainstream media. Will there ever be another Somebeachsomewhere? Let’s hope so. And if there is…