Letter To The Editor: A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

[Wandering Eyes]

“Your Mr. Bassett doesn't come to Japan because of the war,” said a junior executive of the Japan Racing Association in late August 2004. It was close to midnight in Sapporo, where I had accompanied Rogers Beasley on my first trip to Japan. We had dined with Masayuki Goto, a very sharp man, then a general manager of corporate planning, who the same junior executive whispered would in time ascend to the top job. Gotosan insisted on karaoke after dinner, and I learned later such occasions bring out candor, laughter, and camaraderie. The trip was memorable as Hideyuki Mori attended the Keeneland September Yearling Sale weeks later and purchased an $8 million son of Storm Cat from the Lanes End consignment.

At the time, I was just beginning my career in Thoroughbred racing and already knew of Ted Bassett. Over the years, I got to know Mr. Bassett well, especially when he and Bill Mooney were writing Keeneland's Ted Bassett: My Life. Mr. Bassett took a real interest in the market development initiatives at Keeneland, and I would be summoned to the cottage to provide background statistics on commercial parts of the book. The first of these involved Jim Williams or Karen D'Ambruoso asking for specifics to prepare and I would run up. Eventually the 'Bassett, James E.' would flash on my phone, and for some reason, one felt they needed to stand up straight from a seated position when answering.

Mr. Bassett was a kind and intensely curious man, and seeing the stream of visitors to the cottage, you learned he was open to reciprocity with knowledge, wanted to learn about those visiting him, and inquired about their loved ones and their lives. His time in service was of immense importance, as you could always see the U.S. Marine Corp logo on the middle of his ZZ 77 license plate, on his lapel if wearing a coat, and around his office.

Despite his openness, one had reservations of asking about his experience in World War II. When crossing the Pacific from California or Seattle, you fly over Midway. If flying to Australia, Guadalcanal, and flying north from Australia to East Asia, the Marshall, Palau, Volcano and Marianas islands. After Pearl Harbor, the Empire of Japan established a defensive perimeter that started north of the Sakhalin Islands, descended east along the international date line, swung west from the Gilbert Islands to New Guinea, now-Indonesia, to the Burmese peninsula, with occupation of the Korean peninsula, parts of China, British territories of Singapore and Hong Kong, and the Philippines. The distances are staggering.

In 2010, HBO ran their series, “The Pacific,” following the 1st Marine Division in its land battles in Guadalcanal, New Guinea, Peleliu (Marianas Islands), Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. I saw Mr. Bassett in the track kitchen one morning and asked him if he had seen it; he had. He was open to discussing it, and we did. Mr. Bassett watched “The Pacific” every week when it aired with interest, and said it was accurate. The Battle of Okinawa was the deadliest in the Pacific War, where American soldiers, sailors and Marines fought alongside allies from Great Britain, Australia, Britain, and New Zealand. Ted Bassett was one of these extraordinary individuals.

America is a young, complex country, whose complexity grows as we age. When General Douglas Macarthur signed the Instrument of Surrender on the USS Missouri as she lay at anchor in Tokyo Bay, the United States was 169 years old. We proceeded to do the most extraordinary thing. After prevailing with our allies over Japan, we worked to rebuild them. Japan is a steadfast ally, our business partners and friends.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. On August 12, 2018, Masayuki Goto and his entourage are leaving The Jockey Club Round Table, and in a scrum, a group of us including Mr. Bassett and Roger Beasley strike up a friendly conversation. Mr. Goto was four years into his job as CEO and accomplished important goals which benefitted Japanese and American racing mutually. One of the younger JRA representatives with Mr. Goto mentioned something to me like what our karaoke friend said in 2004, and I smiled, thinking of Mr. Bassett, our two countries, and suggested taking a photo for posterity. This photo speaks to old friends, Mr. Goto's excellent command of the Beatles, the memorable Beasley rendition of Bobby Darin's Mack the Knife, and a very, very remarkable man, part of the Greatest Generation whose victories and sacrifice will outlive us all.

Farewell and thank you, Mr. Bassett.

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