And, if he does, will he choose to be open and candid or might he trade compromise for sealed lips?  There are myraid problems in this state and for some of us; the racing industry is an item of huge concern.  We are in desperate need of transparency and leadership.  I felt it was important to let the new governor know that we have had enough of smoke and mirrors; we are fed up with political rancor and have seen enough of power being employed as a vehicle toward personal agendas. I wanted to announce to the governor that we refuse to be led, not by the fore-lock and not with a lip-chain in obsequies directions.

The news of today offers relief; past performances which could have been leveraged against Paterson have been revealed.  We learn that he has moved on from some errant behavior.  He is a good bet to carry us to higher ground.  Let that be the goal and he can expect to have a whole herd of supporters.

In the meanwhile, thanks to a friend, I learned something else about the governor.   WMHT aired a re-run last week of a New York Now interview by Susan Arbetter of then Lt. Governor Paterson. I traveled to the offices of WMHT in Troy for the DVD of that interview and with excitement spotlight one small portion of it.

The interview took place on February 22, 2008.  Not so long ago in real time, but for the state of New York what was then and what is now has changed significantly.  Some lives will never be the same. The main thrust of the interview was about the difficulties black people in America have tracing their genealogy.  It was through research that the now Governor discovered a fascinating bit of information about his mother’s family.

Governor Paterson’s great grandfather on his mother’s side was a blacksmith.  Like many blacks of his era, he worked with horses.  He put shoes on them and one of the horses he shod was Upset. Upset delivered Man O’ War his only lifetime defeat, right here in Saratoga, in the Sanford Memorial on August 13, 1919.  Upon recognizing the significance of defeating “de mostest hoss that ever wuz”; Upset’s owner, H. P. Whitney staked all of the people responsible for the horse.  It was not the usual stake; he bought the trainer, the breeder and three or four stable-hands houses.  One such house was for the blacksmith, Patterson’s great-grandfather. 

The new house enabled Governor Paterson’s ancestors to move from, “not necessarily squalor, but certainly a giant step forward.”  The brownstone was in what is now the Fort Green section of Brooklyn.  It is the home where Governor Paterson returned after his birth.

Now, these are the kinds of stories that exist all through this great sport.  Horses can and do change lives everyday.  If it were not for horses and some of the acts that people with horses perform there are a lot of us who would be differently placed.  Whitney’s generous acknowledgement to Upset’s blacksmith may well have been the conduit which provided opportunity for Basil Paterson, the Governor’s father to forge his own illustrious political career. 

The kick-start that the proper housing Upset initiated has produced THE GOVERNOR of NEW YORK!  

It’s a wonderful feel good story and in fact probably has more bearing than we can see on the surface. Strong roots grow strong shoots.  It is a great thing that Paterson has first hand understanding of what it is to be an underdog, a long-shot.  Long odds do not eliminate possibilities; they simply make things statistically less likely.  What a great opportunity this is for the world to see a man, a legally-blind, black man with an imperfect past performance rise to such a high level.

It is a politically interesting side story that he arrived there through disqualification.  Our elected governor won in a landslide.  He had everything to win for himself and for the state but failed both miserably.  Ex-Governor Spitzer became the Green Monkey (purchased for $16 million and never won a race) of politics!

The reins are in Governor Paterson’s hands.  I am betting that he moves us from the position of having the most dysfunctional state government in the nation.   How proud it is that racing played a part, a big part in this man’s story. His roots back to racing should help us to gain his attention to our plight.  God knows, we need it.

A special thanks to the staff at WMHT for providing me with the DVD which furnished the incentive for this article.

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