Down The Stretch He Came :: My Striking Similarity to The Derby Winner

Important and meaningful plans kept my wife and I from watching The Kentucky Derby live this weekend, but thanks to DVR, we were able to fully experience all the drama and excitement about 3 hours late. And believe me, it was exciting! I honestly was going to take a week off from writing, but this has moved me so much, I had to write.

I’m often amazed by all the odds, betting and forcasting that lead up to The Kentucky Derby. As a child I remember grown-ups discussing odds and favorites and office pools and other things I couldn’t understand before this race. I remember all the buzz that seemingly integrated itself into every part of the fabric of society, from the elite to the lowly. I remember stopping for a couple minutes to watch horses run around a track and being swept away by all the excitement when the announcer bellowed, “And down the stretch they come!” I remember working a couple Derby’s as a fund raiser for marching band, being surrounded by 150,000 people and just wanting to go home. I remember lots of Derby’s and lots of winners and lots of excitement. I remember Big Brown’s triumphant win just last year that ended in let down with a poor performance in the third leg of the Triple Crown. I remember many things about The Kentucky Derby. But I doubt I’ll remember anything about the Derby as fondly as I will remember this year’s iteration. 

Mine That Bird, the winner of the 2009 Kentucky Derby, pulled off the 2nd most improbable win in 135 years. The second largest upset in 1 and 1/3 centuries. The second largest payout in Kentucky Derby History. That’s a big deal. It’s history right before our eyes. If you haven’t seen the race, YouTube it…you will be amazed. This horse was in nobody’s favorite list. He was not the sought-after draw in the office pools. He was rarely bet on. He was just another horse. Yet, when in dead-last after 3/4 of the race was over, he and his jockey, Calvin Borel, managed to stage one of the greatest comebacks I have ever witnessed. Weaving through the field, he turned on some sort of afterburners and passed each and every other horse as if they were just sitting still. It really was a sight to behold!

And when it was all said and done, they pulled away from the field by just under 7 lengths for a massive, Big Brown-like blowout. (I’m obviously a Big Brown fan!) No one was even close!

Upon seeing it for the first time, I really wasn’t that shocked. It’s difficult to track all 19 horses on the first viewing of a race. I had no clue exactly what happened or who this horse was. I honestly hadn’t heard the name of the horse at all. My focus was on some of the favorites, wondering if any of them had the ability to impress, win big, and actually have a run at the Triple Crown. So when this no-name horse blew out the field, I didn’t process it. I had no clue what he had just done. I had no clue what the scope of this victory was.

But as I continued to watch, seeing the playbacks and interviews, I was drawn into the story.

I watched Calvin Borel weep with excitement and heartache, wishing his parents were there to see all he had accomplished. His enthusiasm was tangible, his authenticity contagious. I found myself on the border of tears hearing him speak, seeing the humility that was all over him. My wife then told me that he had a tough life, dropped out of school after the eighth grade and has no formal education…a little known fact about Calvin. Seriously? You didn’t go to high school or college, have no educational “status”, and now you are the winner of not only the Kentucky Oaks, but the Derby also? And all in one weekend? Not just improbable…impossible!

And instead of being haughty and arrogant in the face of two huge victories, he was humbled and saddened that his parents weren’t there with him. Overwhelmed by the scope of his success, he wept. And I honestly wanted to weep with him.

You see, I saw myself in this guy. I saw myself in this horse. Unlikely. Unfavorable. In last. Hopeless. All until I came across my victory. All until my day in the sun came. And in the midst of that day, in the shine of all of God’s glory, I found myself humbled. God found me. Jesus saved me. His Spirit is with me to this day. When I couldn’t have been any lower, God saw fit to reach down and lift me up. Where I was, I was a long-shot. Where I stood, I was alone in my failure. Where I fell, no one could pick me up. I wasn’t even betting on me. But God was! He saw the finish line. He saw my inability, my poor odds, and my relative obscurity and knew that I was worth His love. I was worth His time. I was worth His Son. And I haven’t been the same since. It changed my life forever.

And I see this everywhere when I see people. They are lost in their own valley of worthlessness. They buy into the lie that they are just another person taking up space. They have no chance of pulling off the upset. They have no hope. And it’s not true! There is hope! There is worth in Christ! God has a plan for each of our lives. It may not be the perfect picture we want, but He has purpose. We are all worth saving. We are all worth His time. We are all worthy in His eyes because of Jesus! What good news!!! What a God we serve! Incredible!