The picture of Robert B. Cohen was obviously not of him at 86, but rather a cheerful looking man in his 50s. The other picture is one of a typical newsstand in a transportation facility; fully stocked candy counters, along with cigarettes, snacks, sodas, and many editions of different newspapers and magazines. Anyone who has been traveling somewhere, has probably bought something at a Hudson News.
I always wondered who owned Hudson News. I remember prior newsstands in Penn Station were run by Union News. Both names are counties in New Jersey. I always figured someone in New Jersey found a way to stock these outlets with merchandise that literally changes every day. And do it well.
Turns out Mr. Cohen only really started doing what he built his fortune on in 1987, when he opened an outlet at La Guardia airport. His father had owned a newsstand in New Jersey, then a newspaper/periodical distribution company. It was from this distribution business that he would also create the ubiquitous newsstand empire. He also owned racehorses, once having a horse named Hudson County, who finished second in the 1974 Kentucky Derby.
Still no light. I remember Hudson County, a bit of a sprinter I believe, but did forget the horse was second to Cannonade. It was a long time ago. Still, no light went off.
My path at the racetrack rarely puts me near thoroughbred owners, and rarely puts me in the Trustees Room, an exclusive dining enclave reserved for owners who are starting horses on the card, and track Trustees, whose names can read a bit like 'Who's Who.'
But On May 26, 2008 I was a guest of the New York Racing Association and found myself and two of my friends smack on the window in the finish line cat bird seat in Belmont's Trustee dining room. It was the day of the Metropolitan Handicap, so it was a quality racing day. How this transpired is a tale for another time, but it's worth saying that writing skills can get you places.
The Trustees Room has a strict jacket and tie dress code for the guys. You never saw so many males in blue blazers. My two friends, not used to wearing ties, held up nicely, but did squirm a bit. No matter, we were guests, the meal was free, and the view was great.
Two tables away from us, on the glass as well, a family was seen wheeling in an older guy, very nicely dressed, who didn't seem to have much mobility. He didn't seem able to talk, and didn't seem to move his head much, but he was attentive. And they were attentive to him. Greatly. There was someone we pegged for a son, a wife, and perhaps the son's wife, and maybe some others. He was known to the staff in the dining room, unlike the gang of three who was there for the day.
We had no idea who the guy was, but figured he must have done well, because he was so well known. His family knew exactly want to do to situate him so he could watch the races and eat. There wasn't much he seemed he could do for himself. It wasn't their first day on the job of being nice to the old fellow.
The fourth race produced a winner that was a bit of a long shot, something called Justinline, trained by a very low percentage winning trainer, Heriberto Cedano. From my saved program I see I used the horse in an exacta, but didn't hit the exacta. I also didn't have the horse to win, so there was no reason to exult.
It took a while, but we came to realize a little after the race, that the fellow in the wheelchair was the horse's owner, Robert B. Cohen. The party had moved off to an adjoining room to watch the race. My friend recognized the trainer when he came by the man's table to share congratulations.
That didn't tell us anything about how the man had made a what we all figured must have been a few dollars, but it did tell us what the owner looked like and who his trainer was.
Every since that day, whenever Ive been at the track, I became aware when Mr. Cohen had a horse entered, and Mr. Cedano was the trainer. One of the Daily Racing Form's statistics has to do with how well a trainer is doing: how many starts for the year, firsts, seconds and thirds, at the meet, and overall; their winning percentage.
To have said Mr. Cedano is a low percentage winning trainer is to give away too much. Easily, a quick review of stats would reveal that he hadn't had a horse win a race in nearly two years, but Robert B. Cohen was still using him as his trainer.
The outset of the obituary stated that Mr. Cohen suffered from progressive supranuclear palsy, a Parkinson's-like neurological disorder. Certainly what we saw him suffering from that day in May.
He may not have pulled away with many winners, but he was around what he liked, and certainly a family that loved him was around him.
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