Prologue

 “Year after year, Boston seems to be the focus of some of the world’s top sports stories –some sweet and some bittersweet. Usually, it’s one of our teams that gives us our most memorable moments – the ecstasies and the agonies. But this year . . . the top story of ’82 was provided by three men and a horse.

They did this without winning the big one. They did it by accepting misfortune with grace . . . and looking ahead to tomorrow. The horse I speak about is Timely Writer, and the men are Francis and Peter Martin, who live in Boston, and their trainer, Dominic Imprescia, whose career has flourished in our city.

Together they captured the imagination of every sports fan across the country, and they did this by sharing a dream …. and not giving up on that dream when things went wrong. The good times for the Martins came last spring. Here they were, two Boston men who worked themselves up the hard way in the meat packing business, now heading with Timely Writer to the Kentucky Derby, which is to horse racing what the World Series is to baseball and the Super  Bowl to football.

Here were two of the one-time “little guys” of the world on the brink of one of the world’s most famous pots of gold, a winning “run for the roses” in the Derby. And no one ever thought they could lose, because their horse was the fastest and best young thoroughbred in the universe. The Kentucky Derby favorites are commonly reserved for horses from Kentucky and owners who are well-to-do corporation executives, not for horses out of the East Boston stables and city fellows from Boston. The Martins brought Boston into the Derby picture.

Francis and Peter found that once-in-a -lifetime horse in Timely Writer. . . . But just as everything appeared “all roses,” Timely Writer was stricken with a very untimely case of colic three weeks before the Derby. The ailment was so severe that it not only scratched Timely Writer out of the Derby, but surgery had to be performed to save his life.

The dream was shattered. The number one rated horse in the country was beaten not on the race course, but by sickness. It was a difficult and disheartening moment for the men. And although they never got their chance to win the big one, they remain winners none the less. They portrayed championship class and made us proud to have them represent our city at the most prestigious horse racing event in the world, even though their horse couldn’t run. Those waiting to see Timely Writer circle the race tracks again probably won’t be disappointed, I understand the Martins vow he will be back this summer – healthy, strong and ready.

Timely Writer is more than just a horse trying to win the Kentucky Derby. He is a symbol of three men who followed a dream, worked hard, and despite setbacks, they never said quit. That’s the Martins’ way. I like to think that the Martins’ way is Boston’s way.”

Kevin H. White, summer of 1982Mayor of Boston, Massachusetts (1968-1984)