I have a dream that he will be the horse that I fondly remember as I reach my latter years in life. I have a dream that one day men, women and children of all walks of life will flock to The Meadowlands, The Red Mile and every track that Somebeachsomewhere races to witness harness racing’s great superstar.

As Barack Obama continues his historic run for the presidency and fulfills some of the dreams which Mr. King spoke about on August 28, 1963, every harness enthusiast should say a little prayer for Somebeachsomewhere and hope that he can make an historic run of his own for harness racing.

Of course, comparing the issues which Mr. King fought for to harness racing is foolish, and I mean no disrespect. But wouldn’t it be nice, for the first time in what seems like forever, for the harness industry to have a superstar; for a horse to capture the imagination of “Joe Public” the way Barbaro or Funny Cide did for the Thoroughbreds.

For the uninitiated, Somebeachsomewhere is a special son of Mach Three-Where’s The Beach. He has won every time he has stepped onto the track – 9 for 9 in his career. He paced the fastest mile in history by a 2-year-old (1:49.3 – Metro Final). He has won almost $1.6 million in his brief career. His popularity drew over 10,000 people to Mohawk Racetrack in Canada for the North America Cup; a race he won convincingly.

Somebeachsomewhere has received the highest of praise from his competition. Driver David Miller told Harness Racing Communications, “He definitely ranks with the best horses to come along in a long time.” As I have previously stated, one trainer told me he could be the best horse ever.

On July 12, Somebeachsomewhere will race in the United States for the first time in his life. I will be on hand to witness the young freak of nature with my own two eyes. How many of you will be joining me?

As I read Charles Leerhsen’s book (Crazy Good – The True Story of Dan Patch, the Most Famous Horse in America), I can’t help but wonder if Somebeachsomewhere can be that special horse, like Dan Patch; a horse which people care about, want to see and go out of their way to do so. By the way, reading isn’t my cup of tea – I’m a past performances guy – but this book is a must for any harness fan.

I’m only up to chapter seven, but I have already seen the devotion that fans had back in the late 19th century. Leerhsen wrote that reports had the attendance for Dan Patch’s first race at 8,000 people, with many traveling far and wide to watch him. Even more amazing, this was Dan Patch’s first career race. That’s right, all he did was train and word of mouth alone caused this windfall of people to show up.

Obviously, to think that this could happen today is foolhardy.

If Somebeachsomewhere was actually able to remain undefeated into the fall and set a world record, how would anyone even know? Word of mouth is nice when you are dealing with the local Italian restaurant, but it simply will not be enough for racing. With mainstream on-air coverage of the sport limited to the Hambletonian, Somebeachsomewhere could do something amazing and no one outside of the industry would ever know.

So, here is what needs to happen: Somebeachsomewhere needs to win the Meadowlands Pace and break the stakes record of 1:48.3 (Rocknroll Hanover – 2005). He needs to enter the Oliver Wendell Holmes at The Meadowlands on Hambletonian Day. The Holmes needs to be prominently displayed on NBC television along with the Oaks and Hambletonian.

The National Broadcasting Company needs to do one of those heartwarming features on the horse which could capture a nation. Last but not least, Somebeachsomewhere needs to step out on the track on August 2 and do something spectacular.

Are any of the above likely, or even possible?

The harness industry needs it to be possible. We need hope that the sport still matters. I’m tired of hearing about the demise of harness racing and tired of unproductive committee meetings.

Somebeachsomewhere has a chance to be the great harness hope.

Can he do it?

I don’t know, but I have a dream.

Derick Giwner, reprinted with permission from Harness Eye