Win with class, lose with class

Photo Credit: AP/LA Times/Benoit

Attendance at this weekend’s 146^th running of the Belmont Stakes was the third largest in the race’s history, packing more than 100,000 people into the 109-year-old stadium. Add to that a TV viewing audience of 21 million and you’ve got an epic sporting event. The reason for the international attention on this second or third tier sport? California Chrome, the product of an $8,000 mare owned by an unlikely partnership with the much ballyhooed name of Dumb Ass Partners. After seemingly easy wins at the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness earlier this spring, California Chrome was among the favored to win Belmont. But he didn’t. He finished a disappointing fourth place in a dead heat, nonetheless, and his owner went on a rampage.

Steve Coburn hadn’t been quiet leading into Belmont, complaining about how some horses are more rested than others who have run Triple Crown races, obviously lessening his horse’s chances of taking home the elusive three-peat trophy. If you’re a horse racing fan, you may have seen the coverage. But I’m guessing that most of the 21 million people watching the race on Saturday were in it because history could have been made, not because they’re fans of the sport.

So… fast forward to the end of the race when Tonality is crowned the victor and California Chrome trots off the track with an injury, and all eyes are on Coburn. And what does he do? Express disappointment and hope for the future? Not so much. He says on live TV that the industry is filled with cheats and cowards and that there won’t be a Triple Crown winner in his lifetime because the system is flawed. On one hand, millions of people learned something about the politics of the sport. On the other hand, they were greeted with anger from a guy who’s been affable, humble and almost star-struck in every other interview, and they’re confused.

In 60 seconds, Coburn went from being “hero of the every man” to a bumbling sore loser. In a heartbeat, his aw-shucks demeanor turned into an on-camera rant that permanently scarred his reputation and overshadowed the valid points he may have made. To prevent raw emotion from sullying his image, I would have counseled as follows (which his PR person may have done):

•  Take a deep breath before you speak. It will give you a chance to calm down from the raging emotion of seeing your thoroughbred lose to well rested competitors
• Remark about the fantastic journey you’ve been on and express your disappointment that the quest for the crown has ended
• Show empathy for the horse and jockey and what they may be feeling
• Tell us what happens next for California Chrome…rest, recovery, relaxation, next race
• Repeat points 2, 3 and 4 over and over again
• Oh, and don’t yell at your wife on camera

Had he kept his remarks brief, while still expressing the emotion of loss and the class of the sport, he wouldn’t have come across as something resembling his company name.