Chuck Simon

As most of you have heard, Charles Simon passed away yesterday at age 57. 

Although a lot of you knew Chuck better than I, I still felt a strong kinship with him. 

Conversations with him over the years were always what we want conversations to be - enlightening, learned, respectful, and most of all fun. 

I think back on my time with Chuck fondly, and absolutely loved chatting with him for his very good Going in Circles pod a year or two ago. 

On the blog, and on twitter I continually joked with Chuck, relaying that I wanted to to make him "President of HISA". Like most of the satire and goofiness here, there's more than a grain of truth to it. 

For Horse Racing Commissioner I'd want, in no particular order -

Someone smart, who understands the game. One that knows the difference between banamine less than 48 hours out, and a real needle; one that understands lasix; stable management; one that knows trainers who are good and no damn good. 

Someone with a wide range of experience. Mucking stalls, betting, the business of the sport. One that could talk with the same respect and brevity with the recent immigrant groom of the three horse in the sixth as he or she does with Jim Gagliano of the Jockey Club. 

Someone that understands the politics of the game. And has the skill and personality to navigate it. 

Someone that gets along with others to get things done. Someone we can all say "that's my horse racing commissioner" about. 

Like I said, there was more than a grain of truth to it. 

Chuck had this marvellous way about him. When you disagreed with him it was never a shut door and you still felt listened to. This worked to his advantage with me personally more times than not, because I usually ended up on his side of the argument after stepping back and thinking about his point of view. He was ridiculously sharp. 

Twenty or thirty years from now I sincerely expected Chuck to be arguing about the use of a rabbit in the Sword Dancer; why this new synthetic lasix adjunct was good or bad for the game; why that jockey or driver made a brilliant or bonehead move. But sometimes life doesn't work that way, and sadly we were reminded of that yesterday. 

I hope there's an afterlife where this good man - Charles Simon - could look down and read what's being said about him today. It's been all true. 

Please allow me to extend my deepest condolences to Chuck's closest friends and family. I will very much miss him. May he rest in peace.