I didn't watch the Kentucky Derby live yesterday but I watched it on YouTube this morning after hearing that The Longest Shot (started the morning off at 99-1 odds) won the Derby. It was an amazing race and afterwards I watched a YouTube video of the press conference held afterwards with the owner, trainer, and jockey.
This was one of those stories of a trainer and jockey who were life-long low-middle stakes guys who were experiencing their first taste of a bigtime, national race. Their ultimate dream was TO MAKE the Kentucky Derby field for the first time. At the presser, we learned Eric Reed, the trainer, had been involved in the business since he was six-years old from his trainer Dad. We also learned a big fire destroyed nearly all of his stable a few years back. The tragedy almost caused him to leave the business but his love of horses kept him going.
The horse, Rich Strike, was on the waiting list for the Derby and was a long-shot to make the field. But the trainer recieved an eleventh hour invitation when another horse withdrew this past Friday. The whole team was thrilled beyond belief -- they'd made it at the very last moment -- Rich Strike was going to 'Run for the Roses.'
I have been blessed to have been around to witness some miraculous moments in sports. But I've come to appreciate them all the more in recent years because I realize they are exceedingly rare. Yesterday's Kentucky Derby was one of those magical moments. What made it all the sweeter is the feel-good underdog story that's behind it. We live in a crass era of horseracing with its millionaire trainers and owners and horse-doping scandals. So it's heart-warming to see that sometimes the little 'good guys' can still win -- and in this case, against all the odds!
This was one of those stories of a trainer and jockey who were life-long low-middle stakes guys who were experiencing their first taste of a bigtime, national race. Their ultimate dream was TO MAKE the Kentucky Derby field for the first time. At the presser, we learned Eric Reed, the trainer, had been involved in the business since he was six-years old from his trainer Dad. We also learned a big fire destroyed nearly all of his stable a few years back. The tragedy almost caused him to leave the business but his love of horses kept him going.
The horse, Rich Strike, was on the waiting list for the Derby and was a long-shot to make the field. But the trainer recieved an eleventh hour invitation when another horse withdrew this past Friday. The whole team was thrilled beyond belief -- they'd made it at the very last moment -- Rich Strike was going to 'Run for the Roses.'
I have been blessed to have been around to witness some miraculous moments in sports. But I've come to appreciate them all the more in recent years because I realize they are exceedingly rare. Yesterday's Kentucky Derby was one of those magical moments. What made it all the sweeter is the feel-good underdog story that's behind it. We live in a crass era of horseracing with its millionaire trainers and owners and horse-doping scandals. So it's heart-warming to see that sometimes the little 'good guys' can still win -- and in this case, against all the odds!
