Letter To The Editor: Vic Carlson’s Legacy Will Live On

[Wandering Eyes]

As another Santa Anita Opening Day is in the books, it's with a heavy heart that I write to the TDN about the extraordinary life and times of Vic Carlson. Vic died a couple days ago peacefully with his wife Seira and family by his side, but the legacy he leaves in Thoroughbred racing is far reaching.

As a reminder, Vic reached the pinnacle of the racing game when a little $15,000 horse named Musket Man ran third in the 2009 GI Kentucky Derby. More on that in a minute. To say Vic's life was extraordinary would be an understatement.

Vic grew up in Boise, Idaho where, at a young age, it became apparent he would become an outstanding football player. He played linebacker in college and then turned his education degree into a coaching career. Later, in Portland, Oregon, Vic became the athletic director at Jefferson High, an inner city school located in North Portland. That is where I met Vic. In 1987, he hired me as Jefferson's head baseball coach.

Vic and I became fast friends. Not too long after I met him, he introduced me to horse racing. I can't tell you how many afternoons we snuck out to go to Portland Meadows. That is where I fell in love with the game and that is where Vic bought his first horse, a $2,500 claimer named Colt Called Sue. As we messed around with cheap horses, we both had aspirations to reach higher. As such, 1995 was the first year we attended the Kentucky Derby together. By the time that trip was over, we both decided we wanted a chance at the big-time.

Vic was an imposing figure. At the age of 40, he still looked like he could start at linebacker. Those who got to know him recognized he was a fierce competitor. Besides football, he had two passions in life–horse racing and golf. I remember like it was yesterday when we won the Rosauers Spokane Open Pro-Am back in 1991. The team was me, Vic, college baseball star Fred Lea, hockey phenom Pat Schmautz of the famous hockey family and baseball star Ron Sloy. After two days, our team was on track to set a tournament record. As is often the case in golf, the other teams were skeptical we were playing that good. So, the tournament director, Dale Johnson, and some of his staff started following us around on the front nine the last day. Vic was steamed they were checking on us, so he gave us a pep talk for the ages. On hole number 8 from about 80 yards, Vic holed his third shot on that Par 5. While the rest of his team was celebrating, Vic walked over to Mr. Johnson and said, “Yes sir, this team is that good.”

After Vic's first trip to the Kentucky Derby, he made the decision to spend more money buying nicer horses. That decision led Vic to Kieran Dunne of Ocala pinhooking fame. Vic and Kieran became close friends, with Kieran traveling to Oregon to play golf and Vic often traveling to Florida to join Kieran for his member-guest golf tournament. That relationship led to a lifelong friendship, many pinhooks and eventually led to Musket Man.

Vic, his wife Seira, and Kieran are responsible for one of the most hilarious horse racing stories of all-time. Vic decided to sell Musket Man in the 2008 Fasig-Tipton 2-year-old sale. When the horse didn't reach his reserve, the team retreated to the bar to decide what to do next. With Kieran and other friends hanging out, they decided to race the horse.

The rest of the story goes something like this:  Seira and Vic were a fairly new couple. After hanging out for awhile, Seira suggests to Vic that they go back to their hotel to “have a little fun.” Vic looks her in the eye and says in front of everyone:  “Honey, we had a little fun this morning. I'm not a Gatling gun and I'm not a six-shooter. I'm a one-time a day musket man.” Thus, the name and the rest is history.

Musket Man won the GIII Tampa Bay Derby, the GII Illinois Derby, then ran third in the Kentucky Derby and the GI Preakness. Later, as a 4-year-old, the horse ran second in the GI Metropolitan Handicap and third in the GI Whitney Handicap.

I have not seen Vic for a few years. The last time was at Santa Anita four years ago. Vic's health was declining because of a bad back, so he moved to Mesquite, Nevada with his wife.

A few weeks ago, I saw Vic's Carlson Family Racing had a horse entered at Del Mar. I called a friend of ours, Steve Anderson, to see if he had talked to Vic lately. He too hadn't heard back from him. Now, he is gone, and what we have are extraordinary memories of an extraordinary life.

There are a lot of things you can say about Vic Carlson. How he loved his sons; how he loved the kids at Jefferson High School; how he loved golf; how much he loved and admired Seira; how he often times seemed bigger than life.

But, know this to be true too. Vic loved horse racing, he loved the people on the backside and ultimately he made horse racing fun for everyone his life touched. His legacy in horse racing runs from Oregon to Florida and from California to Kentucky. I promise you I am only one of many who will keep Vic's legacy alive.

–Steve McPherson
Irvine, CA

The post Letter To The Editor: Vic Carlson’s Legacy Will Live On appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

View the full article