SONG OF THE WEEK – “QUICK AS DREAMS”

A tragic event occurred in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, on September 22, 1927.  A 16-year old jockey named Earl “Sandy” Graham was riding a horse named Vesper Lad, leading the field when the horse stumbled and his rider was thrown to the track and trampled by the horses behind him.  He suffered a broken back, injuries to his chest and internal injuries.  He was carried by other jockeys to the tack room, but there was no medical treatment available and no ambulance service.  His friend and fellow-jockey Tommy Luther begged racetrack officials to take Graham to the hospital, but they refused.  Other jockeys may have wanted to help, but all were without funds and under contract to ride in later races.  If they did not ride, they would lose their only means of livelihood..

Tommy Luther took up a collection for cab fare, but those present did not have enough money between them to provide Graham a ride to the hospital.  Instead, he lay in the tack room for hours until the day’s races had all been run.  Only then was he taken to the hospital, where he died 10 days later.  As a jockey, he had no life insurance or other benefits.  His family could not afford to bring the body back to his home in California, so the final resting place for Sandy Graham was a pauper’s grave in Winnipeg.

Tommy Luther continued to ride.  The following year, he won what was then the world’s richest race, the Agua Caliente Handicap.  When he retired a quarter of a century later, he trained thoroughbred racehorses for another 26 years.  Tommy Luther did not forget Sandy Graham, though.  They had been best friends – and Tommy had been scheduled to ride Vesper Lad on that September afternoon, but his mount was changed at the last minute.

In 1940, Tommy became one of the founders of the Jockeys’ Guild, a professional trade association, which was ultimately able to bargain with the owners and racetracks to secure safer working conditions for the jockeys.  His involvement resulted in his being banned from racing for one year.  That’s how it was in those days.

I first heard the story about Tommy Luther and Sandy Graham when I read Laura Hillenbrand’s book, Seabiscuit:  an American Legend, back in 2001 or 2002.  A singer-songwriter named Slaid Cleaves, who is part of the Austin, Texas, music scene read the same book and wrote a great song about the incident.  “Quick as Dreams” was released on his 2004 album, Wishbones.  I listened to the song today for the first time in several months, and decided it should be the Song of the Week.

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