Posts Tagged ‘Matthew Straight’

After having visited Michael Straight and his exceptional parents during our Breeders’ Cup or Bust fundraising drive, it fills me with much excitement and hope to find out that the twin brother of Matthew Straight has reported the ability to move his toes. While we’re nowhere near being out of the woods for his recovery, this is unquestionably a good sign for Michael and his family.

Click here for the Blood-Horse article

Then come back to the Paulick Report and let us know what you think.

- Bradford Cummings

By Bradford Cummings
Just four and a half years ago I was working as a barista at a Starbucks in Louisville, Ky., trying to get a break after an acting career cut short and yet just a few days ago I had the pleasure of finishing a 13-day, 7-“city” tour with who I believe is one of the preeminent thinkers in the Thoroughbred industry. As they say, only in America.
 
And it was our beautiful and remarkable country that served as an appropriate backdrop to a trip that so easily could have gone wrong. The idea for a fundraising “drive” across country to the Breeders’ Cup was hatched two weeks prior to our visit with Keeneland, the first stop on the tour to raise money through Breeders’ Cup Charities to benefit the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund and The V Foundation for Cancer Research. In that time, five of six racetracks, TVG and the Breeders’ Cup all quickly rallied around the cause and captured our vision. Tens of sponsors were called and agreed to shell out $2,000 each. And two guys who have a general liking for each other but have opposite views on the world (what type of person continues to root for a team that hasn’t won the World Series since Teddy Roosevelt was President?) successfully completed 13 days in a car together and are still on speaking terms and managing a growing business.
 
Each day was an adventure. Spending part of our day with Tom Leach, while not a big deal for this Louisville Cardinals fan, served as great fodder for my many poorly misguided University of Kentucky friends. Getting to meet the father/son duo of Randy and Brandon Meier at Hawthorne made it clear that when this sport is in the family, it stays in the family.
 
The pain in my thighs two days after the bouncy ball race at Remington Park did not last as long as the emails I still receive laughing about the YouTube video featuring that giant man racing people half his size. The drive to Hobbs, N.M., was a long and arduous one (on a side note, don’t stay at the Motel 6 in Amarillo) but led us to a perfectly small racetrack not pretending to be anything more than it is.
 
Going from the outhouse to the penthouse, we finished the stretch run of our trip through Phoenix and to Las Vegas where the truly spectacular Wynn Hotel accommodated us. We were unsuccessful in our betting there, but our nights of rest there were much needed.
 
And of course, the Breeders’ Cup was topnotch. I’ve been to several major sporting events yet this event was by far the best. The racing was dramatic, the corned beef sandwich was delicious and I got to meet Bo Derek. Oh, and as one of our Facebook followers said, the mare that won the feature at Santa Anita on Saturday gave quite a performance, too.
 
But the real magic was in meeting the jockeys at each stop and hearing their stories. They ranged from the tragic to the inspiring, often depending on where they were on their journey back from the brink.
 
I can’t remember a more heart-heavy day than when we visited Michael Straight’s hospital room in Chicago. To see a young man who was on his way to accomplishing his vision for his life get it all stripped away, crushed the dreamer in me. He was understandably emotional about what had happened to him with even the idea of moving hospital rooms setting off his ire. And yet through my tears and heartache, I left his room knowing things would be okay for Michael because he is blessed to have such an amazing set of parents by his side. And though I didn’t meet his twin brother Matthew, I know that relationship will never be strained. Whether he walk again, whether he ever rides a horse, Michael Straight will come out of this tragedy with a strong purpose for his life.
 
In Oklahoma City, we met Jo Hays, who will most likely be in her wheelchair for the rest of her life. She was paralyzed in an accident at Remington Park so for her to revisit the scene of the accident must cause her to go through emotions you and I will never understand. And yet she too is blessed with a supportive family network including a strong, quiet husband and several beautiful children. You could see the spirit in her eyes and just how grateful she was for what she had. And yet there was the pain of knowing she could never get back on a horse, at least not a fast one (her words). But pain is not entirely a bad thing for I imagined it is pain that keeps her going on some level, keeps her motivated to enjoy the life she has been given.
 
Dennis Keehan, who we had the pleasure of meeting at Hawthorne in Chicago, may not have had the support system of others on our journey but his spirit and love for humanity was clear. (Of course, your opinion of someone you share fried green beans and cheese balls with will always be slanted to the positive.) A 64 year-old man, Dennis had already gone through the struggles of accepting the cards dealt to him in his life and had come out the other side a person our industry can be proud of. It is my sincere hope that he has a chance to talk with jockeys like Michael Straight and Julia Brimo, recently injured at Keeneland, as they work their long road back in recovery.
 
And of course, who could forget Stacy Burton and Jan Hortyk in Phoenix. Turf Paradise management was less than supportive for the fundraising cause, though they did buy us lunch. We decided to reimburse them for the cost; perhaps they can use that money to improve the backside we heard nightmares about. 

These two dynamos—Stacy and Jan–were enough to put a smile on any face. Stacy defines fighting spirit, having worked her way back from a brain injury and paralyzed lower half to walking on her own again. She spends seven days a week in rehab, still working to get as close to all the way back as she can. And despite a slow speech pattern suffered from a stroke she had during the beginning of her road back, she has a sense of humor and quick wit that was both surprising and uplifting. But her recovery could not have been possible without the love and support of Jan, who has been there every step of the way in Stacy’s recovery. While I found it disappointing Stacy’s parents weren’t more involved in her life, Jan serving as her caretaker is truly a divine intervention. Our country would be better off if we were all a bit more like her.
 
But any story about the PDJF should begin and end with a tribute to Nancy LaSala. Few organizations are fortunate enough to have her brand of talent and energy leading their cause. Whenever we needed something to make our trip easier, Nancy was on the spot. Every disabled jockey we spoke with sang her praises without hesitation. Dennis Keehan put it best when he referred to her as ‘lightning’. Having someone like Nancy in charge should reassure all who want to give to this cause that their money will be used as effectively as possible.
 
The stories of these disabled jockeys along with the 60 or so others we did not get the pleasure of meeting need to be told. We as an industry must shine a light on these permanently disabled athletes who willingly participated in a dangerous sport—because they loved it, and still do. Sadly, one consistent theme we noticed throughout our trip was how the jockeys felt like second-class citizens in horse racing. When discussing synthetic tracks, several stated that while people thought about the well being of the horse, no one considered what it would be like for a jockey to land on what some of them said was a hard and unforgiving surface.
 
Ultimately, this is why we chose the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund as one of our charities. We believe the horses need to be taken care of and found homes after their careers in racing are over. We hold horse welfare issues close to our hearts. But things have gotten a little backwards in our thinking as of late with over 50 horse related charities and only a handful of groups concentrating on the jockeys that risk their lives every day. We have forgotten about the people on the back of the horse and what happens to them if tragedy strikes. In an ideal world, there is enough support to go around but if given the choice to only help animals or concentrate solely on people, I will pick a human being every single day of the week.
 
They are our brothers and sisters.
 
They deserve our support.
 
They received it over those thirteen days.
 
And that, my friends, is very good news.

Copyright © 2009, The Paulick Report

Savvy businesses recognize value. Advertise in the Paulick Report.

Sign up for our Email Flashes to get the latest news, analysis and commentary from Ray Paulick

By Ray Paulick
Every kid should be so lucky to have parents like Sandy and Beth Straight.

“They are very inspirational people,” said Nancy LaSala, executive director of the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund.

The Straights are parents of 23-year-old twin sons, Michael and Matthew, who were living out their dream together as professional Thoroughbred jockeys until that dream turned into a nightmare in a split second on Aug. 26. That’s the day Michael Straight suffered severe spinal and head injuries in an Arlington Park racing accident. The lives of the family from Albany, N.Y., took a dramatic and tragic change.

Sandy and Beth Straight were watching the race at the Albany OTB parlor. Matthew was riding in Kentucky. All of them knew immediately that this was a bad spill. Arlington Park chairman Dick Duchossois dispatched his private jet to New York to bring Michael’s parents to the hospital. Matthew didn’t need to be told. He got in his car and began driving to Chicago within minutes of the accident.

Sandy and Beth Straight put their lives on hold and have remained with their son in Chicago since August. Every day they come to the hospital, first at Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge and now at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, where Michael was moved Oct. 11 and is now undergoing occupational, physical and speech therapy. They are there from nine in the morning till seven at night many days, offering support, love and hope to their son. “It’s one day at a time Michael,” Beth Straight said.

The Straights aren’t wealthy people; they work for the state of New York’s labor department—or used to until Michael was injured. But thanks to fellow riders, friends, family, people in the horse industry and organizations like the Jockey Club Foundation, the Don MacBeth Fund and the Jockeys’ Guild, they are getting able to stay with Michael. Right now, the situation is grim. “No one knows,” Sandy Straight said. “The spine is a mystery. You just can’t give up hope.”

Matthew has been there for his twin, too, spending as much time with him as he can. “He likes us to be around,” Sandy said, “but there’s nothing that lifts his spirits as much as seeing his brother.” Earlier this week, Matthew took Michael out for lunch and cruised the Magnificent Mile on Michigan Avenue, not far from the Rehabilitation Institute.

Michael and Matthew Straight have always been best friends, and they both grew up dreaming of becoming jockeys. Sandy Straight talked about how as young boys he’d seen them straddling the back of a couch, using pillows for saddles and crouching low while driving their mounts to the wire in an imaginary race. When they were nine, the boys went from riding the couch to practicing on an Equicizer, the simulated riding device developed by jockey Frank Lovato and used by professional jockeys to get back in riding shape after taking time off. At 12, Michael and Matthew learned about an organization started by the late Trudy McCaffery, “Kids to the Cup,” which offered expense paid visits to tracks hosting major races around the country including the Breeders’ Cup. Getting a close-up look at their sport through the “Kids to the Cup” program cemented their desire to ride.

Eventually they went to the North American Riding Academy that Hall of Fame jockey Chris McCarron established at the Kentucky Horse Park, Matthew graduating in 2007 and Michael the following year. As required by the NARA curriculum, Michael served an apprenticeship, working in the stable of trainer Wesley Ward. He launched his career earlier this year, winning with his first mount at Tampa Bay Downs on March 6. He had 39 career wins when Im No Gentleman, the horse he was riding Aug. 26 apparently clipped heels and fell, throwing Michael to the Polytrack surface awkwardly. The horse, which apparently died from a broken neck, did not fall onto or roll over the jockey.

One of the Chicago-area owners Michael rode for, Dan Sullivan, organized a fundraiser for the jockey and his family on Oct. 25 at a restaurant Sullivan owns in a Chicago suburb. “Dan Sullivan has been incredible,” Sandy said. “He’s done so much for us. One of his kids wrote that letter up there on the wall,” he said, pointing to an over-sized, hand-printed letter signed by all of his classmates.

“Bill Thayer (Arlington Park racing executive) just loves Michael and he’s devastated over what happened. Guys like Wesley and Chris are being really hard on themselves, thinking they somehow are to blame for this, but it’s not their fault.”

Sandy and Beth said it was tough to watch Matthew when he rode at Arlington Park for the first time after Michael’s injury, and they watch his races from a completely different perspective today. “We always said ‘just get around the track safely,’” Sandy said, “but now…” He didn’t need to finish the sentence.

We had the opportunity to visit with Michael and his parents, along with the PDJF’s Nancy LaSala on Friday morning, while in Chicago on the second stop of the BREEDERS’ CUP OR BUST fundraising drive from Kentucky to California. The drive, in partnership with Breeders’ Cup Charities, is benefiting the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund and the V Foundation for Cancer Research. We’ve had some fun raising money for the charities, but today’s visit really hit home what these seriously injured riders go through.

Everyone in racing is hoping that Michael Straight will not have to become the next rider to benefit from the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund—certainly not his parents. But the PDJF has to be there to help these riders when there are no miracles and prayers are not enough.

Michael and Matthew Straight will turn 24 years old in a couple of weeks, on Nov. 12. The best birthday present for them would be an improvement in Michael’s condition, but the odds are against that happening so soon. A donation to Breeders’ Cup Charities to benefit the PDJF and V Foundation would be an appropriate way to recognize their birthdays. Please click here to make a donation.

If you can’t give, please consider sending a birthday card to lift Michael’s spirits. (It can be sent to Michael Straight, c/o Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, 345 E. Superior, Chicago, IL 60611.) It might also lift the spirits of Sandy and Beth Straight. They have shown incredible strength over the last 10 weeks, but the stress they are experiencing and the pain they are feeling is taking a toll on them, too.

Copyright © 2009, The Paulick Report

Sign up for our Email Flashes to get the latest news, analysis and commentary from Ray Paulick

Liberation Farm celebrates the many horsemen and horsewomen who strive each day to make things better for horses and those who work with them.  To learn more about Liberation Farm, click here.