Matthew 24:13. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.
Last year, a two-year-old colt finished dead last in his first race. Disappointed, his owners
placed him in a "claiming" race where anyone could take the ownership for a fee. An older man purchased the colt after missing the chance to claim another horse he wanted. He said it was his last attempt to find some success in the racing industry.
The colt won by 17 lengths, and his new .~wner was encouraged. But, in the races that followed, he finished third twice, fourth once, and fifth once. His owner, however, still believed in him.
2022 was the colt's only chance to race in major thoroughbred races, which are limited to three-year-olds. The day before the Kentucky Derby, the field of horses was already full, but then, at the last moment, a famous trainer scratched (withdrew) his horse. The colt took that place in a field of twenty horses, just 30 seconds before the entry deadline. Suddenly, he was in the game. He had a chance.
All the metrics and predictors were ag:1inst him. Neither his owner, his trainer, nor his jockey had ever been associated with any horse in the Kentucky Derby. His jockey had never even won a major event. They were decidedly outsiders and newbies in an extremely elite arena. On the morning of the race, his odds of winning were set at 80 to 1, the second longest odds in Derby history.
Halfway around the track, the colt was 16 horses back from the lead. He couldn't even be seen in the field of view of the drone camera flying above the race. He was a nobody, a throw-away, an inconsequential participant.
But then, he made his move.
He began working his way through the crowded pack, finding a few narrow, fleeting opportunities to improve his position. As they headed toward the finish line, he had miraculously moved up to fifth, then fourth, but still, no one had noticed him. Everyone's attention was firmly focused on the battle between the two famous front-runners.
Only seconds before the finish, he suddenly, almost magically passed the two front-runners. The announcer struggled to identify him and say his name in time. He said, almost in a single breath, "Rich Strike is coming up on inside…. Oh my goodness! The longest shot has won the Kentucky Derby!"
Where there is life, there is hope.
Anything is possible.
Don't let anyone count you out.
Persistence and determination beat the odds.
HIT Cyd Cowgill
placed him in a "claiming" race where anyone could take the ownership for a fee. An older man purchased the colt after missing the chance to claim another horse he wanted. He said it was his last attempt to find some success in the racing industry.
The colt won by 17 lengths, and his new .~wner was encouraged. But, in the races that followed, he finished third twice, fourth once, and fifth once. His owner, however, still believed in him.
2022 was the colt's only chance to race in major thoroughbred races, which are limited to three-year-olds. The day before the Kentucky Derby, the field of horses was already full, but then, at the last moment, a famous trainer scratched (withdrew) his horse. The colt took that place in a field of twenty horses, just 30 seconds before the entry deadline. Suddenly, he was in the game. He had a chance.
All the metrics and predictors were ag:1inst him. Neither his owner, his trainer, nor his jockey had ever been associated with any horse in the Kentucky Derby. His jockey had never even won a major event. They were decidedly outsiders and newbies in an extremely elite arena. On the morning of the race, his odds of winning were set at 80 to 1, the second longest odds in Derby history.
Halfway around the track, the colt was 16 horses back from the lead. He couldn't even be seen in the field of view of the drone camera flying above the race. He was a nobody, a throw-away, an inconsequential participant.
But then, he made his move.
He began working his way through the crowded pack, finding a few narrow, fleeting opportunities to improve his position. As they headed toward the finish line, he had miraculously moved up to fifth, then fourth, but still, no one had noticed him. Everyone's attention was firmly focused on the battle between the two famous front-runners.
Only seconds before the finish, he suddenly, almost magically passed the two front-runners. The announcer struggled to identify him and say his name in time. He said, almost in a single breath, "Rich Strike is coming up on inside…. Oh my goodness! The longest shot has won the Kentucky Derby!"
Where there is life, there is hope.
Anything is possible.
Don't let anyone count you out.
Persistence and determination beat the odds.
HIT Cyd Cowgill