"Even fat men deserve to win a race, even if it has to be in a category named after overweight horses"

CLYDESDALE CONTROVERSY CONTINUES Accusations of Racism; The Competitors Speak Out

by, Roberto Mercado:  2007 Clydesdale Champion (not currently picked as a top three finisher for 2008)      It now appears that the Patch Sprint Aristocrat's (PSA's) are trying to destroy the truly non-elite class of Clydsdale.  You and I know that this is the one true category of the racing non-elite, and now it appears to be infiltrated by someone who is actually "racing the race" (which Ken Ryba and I both know is in bad Clydesdale form).

If you are reading this, it is in the hopes that you join L.A.R.D. (Latinos Against Running Discrimination) forces and take action on behalf of all Clydesdale-ites around this great nation.     Through this awareness raising campaign we hope to stir conciousness, evoke thoughtful debate, and lower the interest rate of 30 year mortgages.          So we implore you to visit this website:   http://www.geocities.com/nyclard/ (seriously, someone wasted a whole day of work time and made up a web site) .  Recently featured on the TODAY show and next month a brief article in Readers Digest Large Print version) .    CLICK HERE TO SEE THE L.A.R.D. MISSION and a SCATHING ATTACK

LARD Personified

Remember, as Obama says, "Si se puede" .. which roughly translated means, "Even fat men deserve to win a race, even if it has to be in a category named after overweight horses" We thank you for your support through these trying times.

In solidarity, Roberto Andres "Che" Mercado 2007 Clydesdale Champion Cynthia Calkins "Mahatma" Mercado 2007 Open Female:  3rd Place PS:  Free all Tibetan Clydesdales !

The extended Mercado family and friends have donated over $120 to scholarship

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING

"I am outraged that anyone is questioning my Clydesdale status or commitment.  Robert Mercado has betrayed the first rule of the code of the Clydesdales, which is that Clydesdales stick together.  I was trying to elevate the entire class and increase Clysdedale solidarity with my recent comments and it is absurd that he is against that.  It is especially bold for him to question the status and commitment of a previous CLYDESDALE CHAMPION.    "I would like to say I will be officially submitting my libel complaint against LARD to the committee next week, at which point I will be seeking a specified amount of damages.  Until then, thank you for your patience in this very trying time for me and my family."  -BEN STANLEY:  2005 Clydesdale Champion

"I may have jeopardized my chances of winning this particlar race.......but nobody can carry as much weight as long and or as far as i can....nobody!      "The only real winner is the ADK Scholarship fund." -KEN RYBA:  2006 Clydesdale Champion and event's "Biggest Loser"

"I think that we need to raise the weight cut-off for Clydesdales to 238, which is what i weigh right now and then i'd finally win 'cause i think that means nobody else qualifies.   "And you have to have facial hair and asthma"  -JOSH BORNT:  Creator of the Clydesdale handicap system

"I have a dream that one day all patchsprinters will be treated with equal dignity.  That and world peace."   -CYNTHIA MERCADO

"Don't talk to me, mon.  I may be Latino, but do I look fat?    "And I'm not bitter that they won't let me race because they do let me carry supplies up the mountains." - ALBERTO MUIR:  Patch Sprint volunteer since 2000

"I see some valid points on all sides.    "In the past I have been a “stable” and the buzz around this division is so inviting that gaining the extra ten or 12 pounds of adipose to re-enter Clydesdales this year will be easy. "To Mercado Jr. : For::  I agree that an elite runner like Stanley should not be allowed in Clydesdale. Point En Case: I don’t see Herbert entering Clydesdale. Against:  Have you ever seen what’s under Stanley’s shirt? That guy has a jello roll that Bill Cosby would be proud to hawk. Anyone that fat, who can run that fast should be able to enter Masters Women’s Clydesdale if he wanted.                                            ------------- For:   Hispanics will soon make up a very large percentage of the U.S. My sister, for example, is Bolivian. Race Organizers should “muy rapido” put “Racers on Road” signs up in multiple languages, along with other invitations to this sector of society, (e.g. “El Bano por Hombres”.) Hey Patch Sprint: Wake up and “Olor las Rosas!” Not to mention that a lawsuit could cost the Patch Sprint a lot of money, possibly affecting the quality and diversity of  food offered at the Friday Carbo Load Dinner. Against:   I think this “The Race Organizers are being Unfair to Latinos Claim” is more of a kind of Woody Allendezish neurotic paranoia of single contestant rather than a true depiction of race ethno-centrificalness. After all, Mercado The Elder has been homaged to the point of Canonization It is only Mercado, the Junior, who was intentionally left out of any Patch Sprint written documentation. I think we can see this is about the man, not about an entire race of people.

"I think it is important that everyone, especially brother Clydesdales unify together in Peace and brotherly (sisterly) harmony.  To jumpstart this feeling of goodwill, and to bring forth moderate thought, I will run this year in a slightly stained blue cocktail dress." -anonymous racer, Chazy, NY

33 DAYS UNTIL PATCH SPRINT 2008....     Nine days left to REGISTER at the lower fee

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