A good friend of mine, Tom Foley, who also just happens to be an extraordinary writer and rider, has written a book about his life as a jockey which is due to be released on October 8, 2010. He is currently on his book tour and will be at Joseph-Beth Booksellers at the Lexington Green Mall on Saturday, Oct, 2nd from 2-4 PM for a signing where he will also be speaking about the book, his life, and his experience starring in the new Disney blockbuster “Secretariat” as Jimmy Gaffney, Secretariat’s exercise rider. If you’ve ever wondered what life as a jockey is like, please join me at Joseph-Beth from 2-4 PM on Saturday! While you will have an opportunity to purchase his book, “The Simple Game,” at the signing on October 2nd (and, of course, get it signed), you can also order it at http://www.caballopress.com/TheSimpleGame.html or through Barnes and Noble. Below is a small excerpt from Chapter One of this amazing book:
There were no tears in his eyes. Tobey Maguire, the actor, raised his head and looked into the mirror. Sure, he had the distressed look on his face, but there were no tears; trust me there is always tears. Maguire was playing the part of jockey Red Pollard in the movie Seabiscuit and was purging himself of his last meal in an attempt to lose weight.
What Maguire was doing is sadly enough my area of expertise and has been a ritual I have performed many times a day for the last few years. I am an expert at the rite of purging so I can tell you that there should have been tears.
Watching Maguire, I felt cheated. I mean, here was a guy getting paid millions to play this part, and I felt for that kind of money he could have at least shed a few tears. Hell, myself and sixty-percent of the jockeys riding in this country do it everyday, we do it and brush back the tears just to get our shot at riding a winner or making a decent paycheck.
Our tears are not shed in pain or anguish, our tear ducts tear up in order to clear themselves out as you do this to your body. We call it “flipping” or “heaving” and it runs rampant and unchecked throughout every horse track in the world. The practice is not even frowned upon; it’s catered to.
Most jockey quarters have a special toilet that is square and has handles on both ends. They’re called “flipping bowls”. This toilet is solely there for performing the act. Most jock room toilets will have four stalls. One through three will have a sign posted inside reading “no flipping in these stalls,” yet magic door number four will get all the action.
It’s not uncommon to see riders lined up waiting to use that certain stall one after another and making jokes about the guy inside who is making ungodly noises. I’ve made these jokes myself as a way to keep my mind off of what I was going to do when my turn came. The odd thing about it was that we would just stand in line waiting and not use the other toilets. Looking at it now, it’s funny when I realize that we even had rules for bulimia.
So how do you become a flipper? For me it was easy. I was at dinner with a few riders, and at the time I was trying to do it right and stick to a diet and use my head. I noticed that most of the other guys were tearing into these huge meals. They didn’t seem bothered by the fact that they had to make weight the next day. My curiosity grew to the point that I had to ask, “How can you eat all that and keep your weight in check?”
Big mistake, as the answer I was about to hear would change my whole world and lead me down a road that eventually meant the loss of my passion for racing, a passion I am now trying to desperately rediscover.
“I don’t keep it” was the answer.
“What do you mean you don’t keep it? What do you do with it?” I asked.
“Easy,” my buddy said smiling at me, “I flip.”
As with most things in life, one question lead to another. “How do you do it?”
This got a few laughs from the five jocks at the table as it’s not exactly rocket science, but the answers I was about to get revealed that there was a lot more to this than one would think. Hard lessons as well as trial and error had made this simple procedure of flipping an art form, and I was about to be given the crash course version.
“First thing, kid, drink plenty of soda. You’re going to need it to push everything in your belly back up.”
This introductory statement was followed by one lesson after another. Things like never eat chunky solid food as it hurts coming up, or avoid spaghetti as it can stick in your throat. As these facts started flying at me from all sides, I made a mental checklist. Pretty soon, one of the older guys took over and laid it all out.
“Eat ‘til you feel like popping,” he said pointing his fork at me, “as it will help when you reach for it. You drink your sodas and when you’re loaded up hit the john and get yourself in a crouch; kinda like your riding position and just reach in and push on your tonsils a bit and the rest will happen.”
Even though all the jocks seemed fine with the idea of flipping some part of me wasn’t. I knew it was wrong.
I didn’t grow up in a household that tolerated wastefulness and really that’s all flipping was; wastefulness.
Before the night was over, however, I decided to give it a try. I didn’t feel comfortable having my first time trying it to be in a crowded restaurant so I decided to wait until I got home.
Leaving dinner, I stopped at a gas station and armed myself with the tools needed to perform the act. I didn’t want to try anything solid because you never know how it will turn out, and God forbid I didn’t drink enough soda and choked on something. Ice cream seemed the way to go. Two quarts of the stuff and a few sodas, and I was on my way.
Like most things in life, you never forget your first time. I downed all the supplies and headed to the bathroom. Assuming the position, I reached in and did as instructed. For some reason it came up easy and the idiot kid in me realized that I could have the best of both worlds: I could eat what I wanted, and all I needed to do was flip. It was like you see in cartoons when a good idea is had; a giant light bulb lights up. It was very much like that; the sad part is that the light bulb would burn out, as would I over the coming years.
[Copyright Caballo Press of Ann Arbor, 2010]
Tom Foley’s words will make an impression upon your heart and soul. Since Tom has been a close friend of mine for years, I’ve heard some of his stories from the track here and there, and this book takes those experiences and makes them come to life… putting you there as though you were experiencing them yourself. Don’t miss out reading this book. It will give you a look into a life that many of us wonder, dream and often romanticize… So be sure to spread the word about this book, it isn’t one to miss!
Also, if you’re able to make it to the signing at Joseph-Beth Booksellers on Saturday, October 2nd, Keith Austin and Grant Whitacre, two other actors from the new Disney feature film “Secretariat” that starred in the movie with Tom will also be on hand to talk and answer questions. So, please join us! It’s going to be a blast! If you have any questions, feel free to contact me at lindsey@nantuafarm.com… And make sure to invite your friends, the more the merrier!
