Parental POV

“I’ve been worried about him since he was fourteen and left to visit your brother for the summer then ended up shipwrecked on that island for months. I don’t think there’s been a minute since when I’ve not been thinking about what could happen to him. You know that what he does he scares me to death.”

“Now Belle…”

“It’s the truth and I wish you and Henry—and Alec, too, would just stop patronizing me. I’m not over reacting and I’m not being hysterical—what he does is dangerous and he’s been hurt—seriously hurt more than once and you know it.”

Alec Ramsay’s parents were sitting on their front porch, dinner was over and they were enjoying the cool evening air. Their son wasn’t with them and this had become more and more common over the past few years. Tonight he was down in New York getting ready to ride Raven in the Belmont the next day and the ongoing argument was whether or not his mother would be in the stands to watch him ride for the possible second Triple Crown victory of his career. If he managed a win tomorrow he’d be only the second jockey in history to repeat, he’d be the only rider since Eddie Arcaro pulled it off back in 1948, sixty years before. So, yes; of course Belle Ramsay knew that she’d go to the track in the morning. A large part of her even wanted to be there to cheer him on if he won and help console him if he lost. He was her son, her only child; she loved him beyond words and was more proud of him than she was capable of expressing. She’d be there, she just wasn’t sure she’d actually watch what was going on down on the track.

The list of successes Alec had, both professional and personal were impressive for someone twice—three times!—his age and his career kept getting more and more amazing every year. But, and this was the part she had trouble with, it was so dangerous and more than that; Alec now lived in a world she simply wasn’t comfortable with. He’d become, through no desire on his own part, a celebrity. He was famous.

His fame seemed to be not even all that much about his riding and wasn’t confined to the sports world anymore. It seemed to her that he’d somehow become a kind of symbol—of perseverance, coming of age, following a dream, succeeding against incredible odds and setbacks while managing to stay the same down to earth youngster he was when he started out. He led what a lot of people though was a fairytale life with moments of nightmares he had the strength to overcome. He’d survived that horrible shipwreck, two different plane crashes, won countless big stakes horse races where he and the Black or Satan or Black Minx or some other horse set records for speed or his youth. Now he’d found what had every appearance of true love with Pam, his bride of barely six months. When Alec dealt with the press or the public he was still, somehow, polite, modest and patient. He was considered one of the best riders in the country, was assumed to have a continued brilliant career ahead of him. He was successful and popular; his competitors liked him and he had their respect.

He was also—and this might have been the mother in her talking—handsome, genuinely kind and unfailingly considerate and thoughtful. She’d even heard him referred to as the most famous rider in the world and she couldn’t really put that fact together with the boy who left his dirty clothes on the floor of his room and usually forgot to make his bed.

No one outside of his family or his closest friends ever saw the effort it took for him to remain on top, to keep his weight where it had to be or to simply get through his overscheduled days. No many knew about the ulcer he was diagnosed with at sixteen or the residual pain he felt from riding injuries.

Whenever Alec was working, especially when he was someplace other than on their own farm, he would be approached by all sorts of people. When he was at a track or at the yearling sales or even at one of the big award dinners he had to attend a couple of times a year he was often the center of attention. People came up to him asking for autographs or to have their picture taken with him and it was just so, well, it was so odd. She knew that he was sometimes recognized walking down the street and it wasn’t uncommon for him to be interrupted while eating a meal in some restaurant, or even just a roadside diner. Reporters came up to Hopeful Farm all the time to interview him and look around. Just last week those men from Time magazine were here, spending all day and taking pictures for an article in case Alec won the Triple Crown again. They even suggested that, so long as a bigger story didn’t come along and providing that Alec actually won, of course, he would probably be on the cover.

Good Lord.

It had never occurred to her or to Bill for that matter, that any of this would ever happen to any of them. When Alec was younger—which was an odd thought because he was barely twenty-one now, for goodness sake—she’d just assumed that he’d go to college since he was just too smart not to. Then…well, she thought he’d find something he enjoyed and get a job in whatever that field was, find some nice girl and settle down. He’d probably work a normal Monday through Friday week and live a nice quiet life just like his parents.

But instead there had been that trip to visit Bill’s brother in India and the shipwreck on the way home. He found the Black and all their lives had been turned upside down.

They’d ended up moving up here to their own horse-breeding farm a few years ago. Alec had been through things that had—quite literally—turned her hair gray with worry.

“I worry about him, Bill.”

“He’ll be fine tomorrow.”

“…I know, that’s not what I mean. I was talking in the larger sense. I worry about him coping with all of this, all the attention and intrusion.”

“He thrives on it. You’ve seen him—he’s taken to it like a duck to water. He’s fine, he’s like a kid in a candy shop with it all—at the top of his profession, successful, popular. He loves this. And now that he has Pam, all you have to do is look at him to see how happy he is.” He leaned over to kiss her cheek then stretched as he stood and just like that dismissed her concerns. “It’s getting late, are you coming in?”

“In a few minutes.” She knew Bill got a real kick out of the whole thing while she was terrified. “Pam is riding down with us tomorrow, isn’t she?”

“No, there’s been a change of plans. She’s leaving earlier to get her parents at the airport. Don’t stay out here too late.”

“I won’t.”

Pam. That was another thing; the sudden marriage a few months ago. Belle had realized that Alec liked the girl and was spending more nights with her in the apartment over the training barn than in his own room last summer and fall. She wasn’t happy but hadn’t said anything, assuming that the affair would burn itself out of it’s own course or that the girl would just move on to another job somewhere when she tired of either the work or of Alec. Then, just after Christmas, they had eloped, returning to the farm to set up their own home in that small studio apartment over the training barn. She’d first thought it might have been a shotgun wedding but time had proven that fear unfounded and as far as she could tell, it was a genuine love match.

Yes, Alec seemed happy and that was all she’d ever really wanted for him but…she had reservations about how the marriage would go. Oh, Pam was a sweet girl and clearly loved Alec but... Bill was convinced that everything was fine and that ‘the kids’, as he always referred to them, were destined to live in bliss.

Well, that would be nice but she had her reservations. Oh, Pam was a sweet young woman and it was obvious that she and Alec adored one another but they were too different for her to think they’d have a smooth path. For one thing, Alec was as competitive as any professional athlete has to be to achieve the kind of success he had. Pam disliked competition and seemed to simply prefer when people all got along without waves or problems. Rather than racing she preferred trail rides or walks along a beach with her mare. Alec worried constantly about finances and money to keep the farm solvent. Pam was happy with enough money in her wallet to buy saddle soap or a bunch of carrots for her horse. Alec had an ulcer. Pam meditated and did yoga. Alec loved to stay here at the farm and live a quiet life when he could get away from the racing scene. Pam seemed to need to go, to travel and find new adventures.

They were two very different people.

Right now they were still in their honeymoon phase, but in a year or two, maybe sooner, they’d wake up one morning to the realities of what they’d gotten themselves into and that was one of Belle’s fears. If, or when that happened she knew Alec would be desperately hurt if they couldn’t work it out and she dreaded that happening.

“Belle? Can’t you sleep?” Pam came up on the porch, probably after a walk. She tended to wander the fields in the evening.

“I was just about to go in, dear. What time do you have to leave tomorrow to pick up your parents?” They were flying in from Florida to watch Alec ride the Belmont. The plans were for Pam to pick them up at Kennedy airport then take them straight over to the track. As owners of one of the Belmont entrees, the Ramsay’s had reserved seats up in the clubhouse and reservations for a late lunch at the restaurant so they’d have something to do before the race. The two families hadn’t met yet and Pam’s parents were making the trip to tie the Belmont Stakes in with a weeklong visit here at the farm so they could all get to know one another.

“I should be out of here by ten or so. Their plane doesn’t come in until one thirty but they’ll have luggage and the traffic may be bad.” She sat in the rocker next to Belle’s. “I was just talking to them—they’re so excited! They’ve only seen Alec race on TV but they’ve never seen a really big race like this in person and they’ve sure never sat up with the owners and all of that.”

“I’m sure they’ll have a good time, it really is fun to go to these things.” So long as no one gets hurt or Alec doesn’t make any mistakes so Henry yells at him the way he does sometimes.

* * *


 

“Pam, are you sure that you have the tickets?”

“I have them, Mom—will you please relax?” Pam and her parents were pulling into the VIP parking area at Belmont Park. It was almost four in the afternoon, they were supposed to be meeting Alec’s parents before the race and everyone was a bit on edge. That was in addition to the stress of Alec riding Raven for the Triple Crown. Pam had assured them that Alec’s parents were nice people but it was just such a weird thing—being introduced at a racetrack’s upscale restaurant. It wasn’t helped that they knew Alec wouldn’t be with them since he was busy prepping for the race. They all had plans to meet up later, hopefully in the winners circle but, if not, then back at Raven’s stall.

Pam’s parents had met Alec when he and Pam had spent two weeks with them soon after their elopement, but that hadn’t been real life, it had been well—it had been strange. It had started out awkwardly but by the end of the visit they were all a lot easier with one another. This was different. This was a workday for Alec and aside from the media frenzy and tumult about the Triple Crown, the two newlyweds were concerned the two sets of parents wouldn’t have all that much to say to one another after they finished with the pleasantries. Alec’s parents were older and conservative. Pam’s parents were at least twenty years younger and vocal liberals. Alec’s parents seemed to enjoy living a quiet life up at the farm; Pam’s parents were always either returning from some trip or about to leave for a new adventure. The Ramsay’s let Alec deal with the horses; everyone in Pam’s family owned their own mount. Belle was worried about everything that could go wrong today, Pam’s parents were excited about seeing their first big race in person and pretty much assumed that Alec would win.

“It really is exciting, isn’t it?” Jim Athena was looking at the crowds, the flags flying and the beauty of Belmont’s park like setting. There was live music playing, flowers everywhere and when they showed their passes at the gate they were welcomed like royalty.

They made their way up to the Garden Terrace Restaurant to find the Ramsay’s waiting at their table, right up front by the windows overlooking the track.

Jim and Pat were a little surprised to see that Alec’s parents were quite a bit older than they were—Alec hadn’t mentioned it. The Athena’s had married young, had their four children quickly and were still in their early forties. The Ramsay’s looked like they had to be in their sixties with graying hair and an old-fashioned air about them. Her father touched her arm as they were walking across the room “Pam…?”

“I know. Alec told me that they married late and he thinks his mother had trouble having kids. He was born almost two months prematurely and she was told she was lucky he’d survived and to stop when she was ahead.” Well, that explained why he was an only child and might answer why they’d done a lot of the things—up to and including selling their house and moving to a farm so Alec could follow his dream to raise race horses. The Ramsay’s turned away from looking out the big windows as soon as they heard Pam’s voice, standing, hugging her and shaking her parents’ hands. They exchanged introductions, placed their drink orders and moved over to select their lunch.

There was a special buffet set up today, the food was in abundance and elaborate in its richness and variety. Busying themselves with filling plates after the introductions, they all settled in for late lunch and getting acquainted.

“Have you ever seen Alec race?” Belle was smiling at Pam’s parents.

“Only on TV, but we’ve been talking about almost nothing but this for weeks now.”

“But I thought he rode that race—what was it William—the Flamingo Stakes when he was down staying with you last winter.”

Jim and Pat looked a bit non-plussed about this. “Well, he did, yes but we were getting ready for that big party we had for the kids—a congratulations party so everyone could meet Alec and all the people who know Pam could stop by. And the race came up very last minute, caught us all by surprise.” Jim sipped his water. “We saw it on TV, though and then when he got back to the house along with some of his jockey friends we got the entire blow by blow from gate to wire.”

“Oh.” Belle seemed a bit deflated by that. “Well, you have your chance now; I’m hardly the expert but everyone tells me that he’s really quite good.” That was a bit of an understatement. “I’m just so glad that we’re all getting a chance to get to know one another after all these months!”

Th Athena’s brought out some photos of their other kids and their home, told stories about Pam growing up and generally exchanged small talk while they passed the time—the excitement of the upcoming race all around them in the noisy room.

Just as they were all about to start on the rich desserts Pam’s father stood up, a smile on his face. Alec, in his usual worn jeans and tee shirt and looking about fifteen was over by the restaurant host who was shaking his head ‘no’ and looking condescendingly negative about something. After a minute or two the restaurant manager hurried over to the front desk, shook Alec’s hand while squeezing his shoulder with the other then personally escorted him over to where his family was sitting, apologizing profusely. “Alec, please—you really have to excuse David; he just started here and doesn’t always—of course you can come in here Alec, any time you’d like, you know that. We’re always thrilled to have you join us, especially on a day like this!…I can’t apologize enough—now what can I get you folks? Maybe some champagne for a toast? The Dom and the Moet are cold…in fact, I insist!”

“Thanks, Philip, that would be nice for the table, but I’ll have to take a rain check till later. I just wanted to stop up here for a few minutes before I have to get ready.”

“Of course, of course you did. David?” The hapless host was there immediately. “These people will have whatever they want as our guests, all right?” Seating in the Garden Terrace on Belmont day ran almost $300 per person and reservations had to be made months in advance. It was the best seat in the house to watch the race and space went fast at even that price. The bill for the five people eating at the Ramsay’s table would have been almost $1,500, plus tip if they hadn’t just been comped.

“Yes sir. I’ll see to it. ‘Whatever they want, absolutely, yes sir.” He scurried away to get their waiter, just in case they wanted something right this second.

“I’ll let you folks have some privacy, but we all know you’ll make us proud Alec. We’re counting on you today.”

“Thanks Philip, I’ll do my best—and you’re not going to fire that guy or anything, are you? It really wasn’t a big deal.”

“…Of course not, not if you don’t want me to.” Alec smiled his thanks as the manager left. The man was just doing his job, after all. Pat stood up, giving Alec a full body hug before passing him over to Jim, who shook his hand, both happy to see him. He leaned over to kiss Pam and kept his hand on the side of her neck, gently and unconsciously caressing her skin but remained standing beside her.

Pam’s father had watched all this, slightly amazed. Yes, he knew Alec was a big deal in racing but the man had practically been groveling. “Alec? What was that about?”

“He wasn’t going to let me in because of my clothes, that’s all.” In addition to his usual work clothes, he had a definite air of horse smell about him as well. The dress code for the restaurant required slacks and a collared shirt for men, preferably with a jacket over it and a tie wouldn’t be out of place, either. But Alec could skirt the rules today because he was Alec and he knew it. It wasn’t often he took advantage, but this was one of those rare times. “I can’t stay but I wanted to make sure everyone made it here all right. Everything good? You get enough to eat?”

His mother gave him a stern look. “Have you eaten? Bill, get him a plate. I know you, you don’t eat enough. You look like you haven’t had enough sleep, either. And you could have put on a clean shirt to come up here, Alec, and those ratty old sneakers—really!”

Alec smiled at the old conversation his mother had with him at least once a month. “I have to change into my silks in a few minutes anyway, I slept fine last night, had a big breakfast and I can’t eat before a race, Mom, you know that. I’ll have something after—I promise.”

“Yes, you will. Win or lose, you’re getting some dinner after this is over. In clean clothes.” He’d heard that before, too.

“Alec, shouldn’t you be busy doing something with the race?” Pat was also a mother, even if she wasn’t his.

He laughed, “Everything’s done. I worked Raven early this morning and just warmed him up again; he’s resting in his stall with Henry standing guard. All that’s left is for me is to get changed and I have plenty of time for that. Besides, I’m hiding from reporters; they’re not allowed up here.”

A total stranger came over and put his hand on Alec’s shoulder. “Good luck—bring it home!” Alec smiled at the man who then went back to his own table, immediately forgotten by Alec but all four parents noticed how almost every eye in the room was on him and the buzz in the room was all directed at their table. Alec was either ignoring it or hadn’t noticed. This was the side of his life the others didn’t really understand and one he downplayed as much as he could. This was the part he went to the farm to get away from. He glanced at the clock on the wall. “I should get going but I’ll see you all later, okay?”

Alec wasn’t just riding the favorite horse today for a possible second Triple Crown victory, but he was a hometown boy. This was New York; Alec had been born and raised just a couple of miles from here. As far as the powers that be were concerned, he couldn’t set a foot wrong. He was young, handsome and personable, he was a local kid and he won races. The main office kept a box going for the fan mail he received and either handed it over to him when he was here or forwarded it up to the farm. Every track he rode at did the same thing, just as they had for the last young, personable Triple Crown winner back in the 1970’s; Steve Cauthen. The track management knew he helped business and that was the bottom line. Today he and Raven were such heavy favorites that there were even odds that they’d win. 1 to 1 odds. If he didn’t win that would be the upset. Alec and the other horsemen all knew better, of course—they knew that there wasn’t a sure thing in any race but it added to the pressure he was under.

But somehow, despite everything that was going on, he seemed to be completely at ease and relaxed…much more so than his parents were. It was all surface, though. Inside he was as coiled a s a spring and both Pam and the Ramsay’s, along with Henry all knew it. When this was over he’d earned himself a good vacation with no demands on him other than to unwind.

“We’re going to move over to the owner’s box for the race so if you look up, you’ll see us.”

“I’ll try but I might be busy.” Alec was smiling—he’d have his hands full and they all knew it.

“You be careful, Alec.”

“I’ll be fine, Mom. Don’t worry.” He smiled at her, kissed Pam again, said something to her the others couldn’t hear but which made her smile then walked away, headed down to the Jockey bungalow to get changed. They wouldn’t see him again until he reappeared in the saddling area in an hour or so. Pam’s parents exchanged a glance; when he’d stayed with them in Florida he was modest and completely down to earth. He watched TV lying on the floor like the other kids all did. He made his own breakfast in the morning, helped mow the lawn and was quiet, reserved, polite and self-effacing.

Today they were seeing the other side of his life.

Today Alec had silenced the entire room just by walking through the door. On the way out he’d had to stop and shake at least five hands and have his back slapped by another half dozen people—everyone from competing owners to total strangers. Granted this was a room loaded with professional horsemen who knew him, but still…

Stopping by a well-dressed man seated in a wheelchair, Alec paused to sit in an empty chair at the man’s table. Obviously the two men knew one another and Alec seemed to be listening intently to what the other man was saying to him, nodding his head and looking serious. Finally he stood up, shaking the man’s hand and seeming to thank him for something before going downstairs.

Bill Ramsay answered the unasked question. “He used to be a jockey, he was a top rider and is one of the four surviving Triple Crown riders. Alec is in the club since he won the Crown on Satan, but he’s the youngest by about thirty years.”

Jim turned to Alec’s father, “What happened to him?”

“Racing accident at this track about ten years ago. He broke his back in a fall.” There was no answer to that and an awkward silence fell on the table for a few minutes.

Pat brought up something that had bothered her when Alec and Pam were down in Florida with them. “Belle, I don’t want to speak out of turn or anything, but when Alec was down staying with us he hardly seemed to eat enough to keep a cat alive—is that...I mean to say, well, is that normal for him?”

“Mom—you promised you wouldn’t say anything.” Pam looked furious, this wasn’t her business and her mother knew it. Alec did eat, he was simply careful and didn’t overdo.

“He’s never been a big eater and has always been thin, it’s just his natural build but today I think he’s probably feeling a little nervous. I know he tries to take it all in stride but…” Alec’s mother sighed a bit and shook his head. “Luckily Alec doesn’t seem to have a problem with his weight, though a lot of the jockeys do, of course. Before a race he might back off his feed a bit but today I suspect it’s just all this.” She vaguely gestured around the entire area of Belmont. “I’m sure he’ll eat when we go out later.” At least she hoped that he would. Since he’d started riding he’d been through puberty and had grown several inches but somehow he stayed at around 110, though she sometimes wondered how much effort he put into it.

“All this attention must be exciting at first, but I would think that it must wear on him after a while.”

Belle’s expression seemed more sad than anything. “Yes, it does. He doesn’t talk about it too often, but I know it makes him uncomfortable and now I think he just tries to block it out. It didn’t used to be like this. A few years ago he could have walked all over New York and no one would have given him a second glance.” She looked out the big windows down to the track where the horses were in the post parade for the next race. “One of the reasons he wanted the farm was so that he could get away from this sort of thing but then Henry started after him to keep race riding and now…” She stopped, there was no reason to finish the sentence. “I don’t think he ever wanted to be famous.”

A man approached their table, tall and gray haired. “Charlie! Good Lord, we haven’t seen you since…”

“Since your son was riding his first Belmont on Satan and won his first Triple Crown, if I remember correctly. I think he’s going to do it again, Bill—he’s got the goods and I’m not just talking about the horse he’s riding. He keeps getting better and better; the longer he rides, the more I’m convinced he’s going to be one of the real greats before he’s through.”

“You’ve always been in his corner and I know he appreciates that, we all do. Oh—I’m sorry…Pat, Jim, Pam…this is Charlie Volence. He owns Sun Raider, one of the two horses that ran against the Black in that first match race all those years ago.”

“—Handed us a lesson in humility, too. It’s been a real pleasure watching how Alec had come along, he’s a phenomenon and that’s no lie. And this beauty is your new daughter in law, Bill? Pam, is it? I’ve been hearing very good things about you, young lady. I understand you managed a win on Black a few months ago—you have people talking, you know.” He looked over at his own table. “I’ve got to get back to my guests, but I’d like to come up to the farm this summer, if that’s all right, see what you’ve built up there.” He left, leaving the Ramsay’s and Pam’s family alone again.

* * *


 

The weather was clear and sunny, the track dry and fast as over one hundred thousand people watched the horses come onto the track for the post parade. Alec appeared completely composed and Raven moved calmly, his strides coming easily as he galloped his way up the homestretch on his way to the start. He allowed the number five gate to close around him without any trouble at all and seemed as professional as his rider. They had a job to do and it was as if neither wanted to disappoint.

Alec and Raven broke from the gate a half length ahead of the field and never relinquished first position throughout the entire race. There were only seven horses in today’s race; the break had been clean and Alec had kept Raven on the outside to avoid problems with the bumping and crowding around the first turn. They’d stayed with the field, though half a length in the lead until Alec made his move in the backstretch, effortlessly showing their heels to the rest of the field. They entered the home stretch alone, the rest of the field still navigating the final turn as they straightened for the final push, increasing the gap between them and the field with each stride as Alec let Raven have his head. By the time they went under the wire they were twenty-seven lengths ahead—not quite the record thirty-one lengths Secretariat won by but still about as impressive as you’d find against a top rated group of horses like the ones they’d trounced today. Standing in his stirrups, Alec raised one fist in victory as the race ended, allowing Raven to slow as he pleased. The thousands of people in the stands were on their feet, the sound of the cheering deafening during the entire solo stretch run and continuing as they rounded the first turn again as they went through the run-out.

Up in the owner’s box, the Ramsay’s were silent as they watched the race, terrified that something would go wrong, afraid that Raven would break down, that Alec would fall off or be thrown. The Athena’s were too excited to shout or yell and Pam was just wishing it were over. She knew what he’d been going through during the Triple Crown campaign and she was relieved that after this he could go home and sleep in and forget about all of this for a few days—or take the time he’d need to relive it and savor every moment. If the reporters would leave him alone, that was.

The cameras caught every expression and comment, ready to broadcast their reactions, win or lose.

It was only when Alec crossed the finish line more than two dozen lengths ahead of the number two horse that his family finally exploded into shrieks and hugs, all telecast around the world.

By the time Alec had Raven in a slow canter and had reversed direction to head towards the winner’s circle the reporters mounted on horseback had caught up and were asking questions. Alec tried to be polite but Billy Watts riding his mount up next to him distracted him, their arms going around one another’s shoulders, both mounted on their horses, cantering and laughing. The other jockeys and their horses were gathering around, the riders shouting their congratulations, high-fiving and giving him an escort back to the winner’s circle before leaving the track. They were friends, Alec was as respected as a rider got and they were happy for him. Of course they’d all tried their damnedest to win the race, but Alec claiming his second Triple Crown was a once in a lifetime thing for all of them and the party afterwards would be a good one. They knew it would be starting as soon as the awards ceremony and the TV coverage were finished and the Belmont management had the cases of champagne cooling and ready to go.

Alec’s parents, along with Pam and her parents were trying top make their way through the tremendous crush to the winner’s circle. Henry was already there, the smile on his face as big as anyone could remember. The Belmont management had provided security for the owners to get through as quickly as possible and they were on their way—the noise from the stands and infield still deafening, the cameras in their faces and the entire thing exhilarating and just plain more exciting than could be believed.

Alec rode Raven into the crowded Winner’s Circle a minute or two later, posing for what seemed like ten thousand pictures as the blanket of white carnations was placed over the horse’s withers, police holding back the crush of well-wishers. Finally and with relief, he got the signal to dismount and weigh out. The scale registering 126 made the race legal and they were officially Triple Crown winners.

Down by the opening gate to the Circle, Pam was showing a guard her pass when Alec broke off an interview mid sentence. He pushed his way over to her, pulled her into the enclosure, put his arms around her and gave her the kind of kiss they usually reserved for when they were alone. It was caught by the cameras and made dozens of papers the next day.

His parents tried to talk to him, but he was being questioned by two different reporters from ABC while the ESPN crew was cooling their heels with none too good grace. There was a press conference already organized and set to go in the large meeting room while the Governor was waiting to present the Belmont trophy. The representatives from Triple Crown Productions wanted to give Hopeful Farm the five million dollar Triple Crown bonus and the officials for Belmont wanted to hand over the trophy and their first place money of six hundred thousand dollars. As Hopeful Farm’s owners, the Ramsay’s and Henry Daily were brought to the raised platform, Alec was directed over and Raven was stationed just to the side and in view of the cameras. The big trophy would stay here at Belmont with the horse’s name inscribed with the date. The winners—owners, trainers and jockeys, were all given smaller copies to take home and keep—the same deal most major races had.

Just outside the enclosure Pam’s parents watched the chaos with a mixture of happiness, excitement and trepidation. This was a big deal—a very big deal and Alec was right at the center of it with Pam right beside him. There were so many people in the enclosure they wasn’t sure how the poor horse stood it, but they knew Alec wouldn’t allow anything to happen to the animal—not in this lifetime. There were TV and still cameras seemingly everywhere and reporters in logoed blazers with microphones talking to anyone with any connection to the winners that they could find.

Doing some quick math, Jim figured that with the bonus, Hopeful Farm had pocketed over nine million dollars from the three Triple Crown races. All right, that was before taxes and expenses, but it was a bit chunk of money no matter how you counted.

He also instantly knew that Alec and Raven would be on the cover of Sport’s Illustrated, Blood Horse and Thoroughbred Times next issues and very likely a few other magazines as well. This would be on the front page of a good many of the newspapers in the country come morning and the phone up at Hopeful Farm would be ringing off the hook for a while.

Twenty minutes later the presentations were over and Belle Ramsay was beside Jim and Pat, gesturing to a waiter to bring over a tray of champagne. They were in the reception room the track had set up for the owners and various other worthies who had reason to wait around for the Belmont’s victors as they sipped the perfectly chilled Moet. “Good Lord, I didn’t realize that it would be quite like this! I was here the last time Alec won the Triple Crown, but it simply wasn't this much of a madhouse!” Bill was still over with Henry talking to some reporter and Alec seemed to have disappeared for the moment. “As soon as I can get a hold of my son we’ll try to get away from all this and have a nice quiet dinner. I hope he’s gone to get cleaned up and change. Good Lord, you should have seen him when he rode Satan in the Belmont—I told you it was raining? The mud was an absolute nightmare and I never did manage to get the stains out of those breeches he was wearing that day; thank Goodness the farm’s colors were almost solid black back then.”

Jim gave her an odd look. “Uh, Belle, I heard a couple of the other riders telling Alec that the party was moving to the jockey room as soon as he got there, but I think he’s still inside at the press conference over there.” He gestured to the Clubhouse and drained his drink. “Maybe we should see if he wants to meet up later or something. His friends seemed pretty excited for him.”

“Yes, I suppose they are.” Belle seemed a bit put out about the news. She remembered the last time they’d been through this when Alec was only seventeen and barely past his apprenticeship. It was hours before he joined them over at Satan’s stall, rain pouring down as it had been all day and there were reporters still hanging around getting in the way. He’d seemed depressed despite the big win, but today he was on the same high everyone else was and he had Pam alongside of him to share it all with. Last time he’d been alone other than for Henry and his parents, now he was twenty-one, married and considered one of the top riders in the world. Last time he was still a minor and, in public, had made due with soft drinks. Today she knew that the champagne was flowing like water.

“Mom?” Alec had fought his way over to where they were standing. “I have to go down to the jockey room. I think I’m going to be a while; there’s a pretty big party going on down there so maybe you guys should just go ahead without me.” Pam appeared at his side, hugging him hard and giddy with triumph as his arm went around her, people still slapping him on the back. “We’ll see you tomorrow, okay?” It was obvious he wanted to celebrate and a sedate dinner with the older generation wasn’t going to cut it right now. “If it goes too late we’ll just get a hotel room and drive back up to the farm tomorrow, okay? So don’t worry about us.” He kissed his mother on the cheek, took Pam’s hand and they disappeared in the crowd.

“Well, perhaps we should try to collect Bill and go ahead on our own since it seems that we’ve been abandoned by our children.” They had made reservations at one of Alec’s favorite restaurants and then planned to drive back up to the farm with everyone, even if they had to take two cars. She made an exasperated sound. “Well, maybe we should just leave now? He has his jeep here and you and Pat must be tired and it is a two-hour ride home. For goodness sake, I know this is a big win for him and the farm, but Alec really could be a little more considerate.”

Pat and Jim exchanged a look. Alec was in the middle of one of the biggest days of his professional life and really—dinner had to be the last thing on his mind. “That would be fine, Belle.”

They were on the road within half an hour, minus Pam, Alec or Henry who was looking after Raven. The horse had cooled out just fine, but the reporters and photographers were still hanging around and wanting still more pictures and quotes. Tomorrow the horse would be loaded into the van and trucked up to the farm.

Tomorrow would be family day. Today was to let off the steam that had been building up since Raven took the Derby by six lengths.

* * *

 

On the drive up to the farm Belle was disappointed. This wasn’t at all the way she’d expected the day to go. Oh, she knew there was a fair chance that Alec would win the horse race, but to then just take off the way he had…it was rude and she planned on speaking to him about it as soon as he made it home. And there was another thing… “Bill, did you have any idea about how much press would be there today? I knew there would be coverage but that was almost out of control.”

She still didn’t understand just how big a deal Alec had become. He wasn’t a movie star, he hadn’t found a cure for cancer and he wouldn’t ever be a candidate for sainthood. He was a jockey—a very good jockey, but he was just a rider; that’s what he was. It was everyone else who made such a big deal about him.

To her he was just Alec. He was her son and she loved him with everything in her but he was just a normal young man. Yes, he was smart and he worked hard and all of that but—good Lord, today had been more than she’d expected.

It was almost as if all those strangers felt like they owned a piece of him and knew that he wouldn’t disappoint them. It was almost as if he owed it to them. Ridiculous. She wondered if that was part of the pressure he was under—to do what everyone else seemed to expect of him.

“Bill, did you have any idea what today would be like?”

“Alec is...” He trailed off. No, he hadn’t and it had overwhelmed him as much as it did her. “Our son won the Triple Crown again.”

“Yes, he did. But, my goodness—it’s just three horse races.”

Jim and Pat were in the back seat, it was too dark now to see anything out of the windows and it seemed like the Ramsay’s were overwhelmed by the reality of their son and the silence was becoming long. Jim spoke up. “It’s not the races or winning the Triple Crown, not really. It’s what he represents to people; he’s what other people want to be. He’s young and good looking, popular, successful despite tremendous odds and has survived things that have killed other people. And he’s managed all of that while barely out of his teens and while seeming to epitomize the boy next door—and now it looks like he’s found true love with a pretty young woman who clearly adores him. It’s the whole fairy-tale we’re all raised to strive for—don’t you see?”

There was a silence from the front seat. “But he works so hard, none of it has come easily to him…”

“But it looks effortless, even if it isn’t.”

Belle was silent, Bill busy driving. Finally Belle said, almost as though she were speaking to herself. “I feel like we’ve lost him, though. It’s not like the other times when he was reported missing—he was even declared dead twice and somehow I knew it wasn’t true, so I knew he’s becoming back to us but this isn’t the same—it’s so…it’s bigger somehow.”

“But Belle, we always knew he’d be making his own way, getting married and all of that. He’s not a child anymore, he’s…”

“I know all that, Bill. That’s not what I’m talking about. Of course I knew he’d get married someday and make his own way but this is almost like he isn’t even ours anymore. Its like he belongs to, I don’t know—it’s like that mob of people at the track today thought they have some claim on him.”

“Only temporarily. The kid’s’ll be home tomorrow. You’ll see—you know Alec; all this stuff rolls off him.”

She knew her husband was trying to cheer her up but things had changed and that as of about six-thirty this afternoon, ‘normal’ had a new definition for them.

7/10/07
 

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