“The greatest test of courage on Earth is to bear defeat without losing heart.”---Robert Green Ingersoll
There are twenty fairy tales fabricated each year in the minds of the owners, trainers and caretakers of the score of thoroughbred horses who go to the post for America’s favorite equine imbroglio, the Kentucky Derby. For many of these people, the race is a once in a lifetime opportunity, a rare elevator ride to the stratosphere, their Days of Wine and (hopefully) Roses. No matter what the oddsmakers tell them, deep inside their elevated psyches they feel they have a chance to grab the storied brass ring. Didn’t Donerail shock the world at odds of 91-1 in 1913? Didn’t 21-1 Gato Del Sol come from dead last to upset the applecart in 1982? Who foresaw Mine That Bird, a 50-1 shot, thumping the field by 6 1/2 lengths in 2009? Irrational Optimism is the occupational disease of horse people, an illness which precludes their taking up more sensible activities like curling or collecting milk bottles.
For others, trainers like Chad Brown and Todd Pletcher, the dream is a lot more realistic. Pletcher won the Derby last year with Always Dreaming, and has reached the uppermost echelon of thoroughbred racing with an ongoing barnful of contenders; so many, in fact, that he saddled four colts---one-fifth of the field---in this year’s Run For The Roses. Brown, two-time defending Trainer of the Year, has risen swiftly through the ranks and seems to have a knack for bringing his horses to a peak just in time for the Louisville sweepstakes. This year’s candidate was Good Magic, training like a champion, his odds shrinking by the day. The fairy tale comes true, of course, for but a single dreamer. Only one story ends with the cast of characters living happily forever after. This year it was the preeminent Bob Baffert and his brilliant favorite, Justify, who may turn out to be a horse for the ages.
After the race, just one contingent celebrates lustily and heads for the Winners Circle, but what of the others, fantasies shattered, hopes denied? In all creation, is there any other extravagant high which dissipates in a mere two minutes? It’s a loud and cataclysmic ride from the penthouse to the outhouse by bullet train, a resounding crash to Earth, death by wild elephant stampede. In other sports---baseball, football, quoits---the hopeful cry is “Wait til next year!” In horse racing, there may be no next year. There is only one Kentucky Derby, and for most people, just one horse-of-a-lifetime. What do they do when the dream is over?
It’s All Over But The Whispering
Mendelssohn looked like a superhorse in his previous race, an 18 3/4 length trouncing of the field in the United Arab Emirates Derby. No European-based horse had ever won a Kentucky Derby and UAE shippers had a notorious proclivity for slumping on return to The States, but Mendelssohn’s crew was dizzily optimistic. He had, after all, won a Breeders’ Cup race at two in California, always traveled well and seemed to be at the top of his game. Despite the red flags, Mendelssohn was bet down to 6.80-1 and was many the expert’s favorite. Then the gates opened. Here’s what the Equibase chart had to say: “Mendelssohn was bumped and forced in at the start, was banged around in traffic, moved up under a hand ride into the first turn, steadied but was pushed along to remain in contact past the five-eighths to the second turn and stopped, was eased to the wire but walked off.”
Ryan Moore, Mendelssohn’s jockey, commented: “He got beat up out of the gate and proceeded to check on the first turn and was never in a good place. The race was over then. The track condition (sloppy) did not bother him. He had a rough trip early on.”
Trainer Aidan O’Brien saw it this way: “He just got knocked over coming out of the gate and then he got knocked over again going into the first bend, but he’ll be fine. He was never used to getting that much kickback (mud in his face). We’ll take him home and give him a break and come back for the Breeders’ Cup Classic.” Stiff upper lip, those British. Smacked in the mouth but still talking about returning for the toughest race in the world. Then again, that’s what won them the Second World War.
Todd Pletcher Goes 0 For 4, Eschews Suicide
Last year, Pletcher set the town on fire with Always Dreaming. This year, adopting the philosophy that four must be better than one, he brought along the winners of four major stakes on the Road To The Derby. Audible impressed in the Florida Derby at Gulfstream, Magnum Moon knocked off the Arkansas Derby, Vino Rosso captured the Wood Memorial in New York and Noble Indy won in Louisiana. Audible had the superior stats but the Pletcher camp was known to consider Magnum Moon their best hope. Here’s what the charts said on all four:
“Audible, between foes early, gathered momentum leaving the three-eighths pole while removed from the inside, altered toward the rail midway through the second turn, steadied soon after in traffic, continued toward the rail and found room entering the lane, finished up nicely and just missed nailing Good Magic for the runnerup spot.”
“Vino Rossi lacked speed while four wide and outside rivals leaving the seven furlong pole, remained wide and finished with mild improvement.”
“Noble Indy contended five wide under a snug hold, was pecked along after a half, failed to stay on after seven furlongs and gave way steadily.”
“Magnum Moon came in at the start, stacking up three rivals to his inside, was in tight and jostled near the wire the first time, ridden along between rivals, was banged around in traffic when My Boy Jack jammed through past the five-sixteenths and showed little thereafter.”
Pletcher said, “I thought Audible finished the best of everyone. Doesn’t seem like too many horses closed all weekend. He was one of the few horses to put in a big late run. I just wish we could have gotten a little better position early on.”
While it would seem to many that Audible deserves another chance in the Preakness and that Magnum Moon’s connections might want an opportunity to redeem the poor effort, Pletcher is known to dislike bringing his horses back in two weeks, the date of the Maryland classic. Despite a couple of Derby noncombatants lurking in the Baltimore bushes, the Second Gem of the Triple Crown is likely to have little better than half the field which went to the post in Louisville. Despite a mere four starts, Justify looks like a special horse in early May and barring illness, terrible luck or a major miracle, the odds-on winner of the 143rd Preakness Stakes.
Losers: The Ultimate “Oops!”
Author F. Scott Fitzgerald famously remarked, “There are no second acts in American lives,” an evaluation roundly disproved by the unfortunate returns of Donald Trump, Roseanne and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but we get the gist. A precipitous fall from the Throne Room often signals the end days for many a stumbler. Finances wiped out, confidence shot, reputation in ruins, the scarred victim drags himself through the remainder of life in quiet desperation, aching for the Glory Days, knowing they’ll never return, cursing the single moment, that one Great Mistake which turned his fortunes around.
Mike Tyson, arrogant heavyweight boxing champion of the world, was ruler of all he surveyed until he stepped into the ring against massive underdog Buster Douglas. The challenger undressed the champ, beat him up and knocked him out. Like most bullies, Tyson was never the same after his comeuppance, his cocksure attitude shattered, his flaws revealed. Iron Mike had amassed a fortune during his heyday, accumulating horrendously expensive habits and toys (including two white tigers) and supporting a lackey posse of dozens. His assets disappeared almost overnight when his career took a swan dive and the ex-champion of the world was last seen bagging groceries at a Piggly Wiggly in Dubuque.
M. C. Hammer, early rap innovator and parachute pants icon, ascended to the penthouse in the 1990s, earning over $30 million during the peak of his musical career. Ten years later, he was dead broke, his fortune wasted on mansions, expensive frills and a legion of parasitic homeboys. Hammer was a classic example of Too Much Too Soon, a naive young man inexperienced in handling finances. When the money is coming in faster than one can spend it, there’s a tendency to think the gold rush will never end. Usually, it does. When the earthquake came, M. C. eventually found Jesus (his famous initials now stand for “Man of Christ”). He’s living it up these days as a Pentecostal minister in sunny California. Nobody askes him to rap at the prom.
We’ve all read of The Lottery Boys, sudden millionaires by a quirk of fate who burn through their fortunes in no time and wind up selling pencils on the corner. None of them lost their money quicker, however, than clumsy Martyn and Kay Tott, who won a $5 million jackpot but lost the ticket, winning the proud pair the coveted Easy Come, Easy Go Award.
The National Endowment for Financial Education tells us that 70% of lottery winners (or others who collect a giant windfall) end up broke within three or four years. Yeah, we know---you wouldn’t let that happen if you got so lucky. That’s what they all say. But consider the sad tale of William “Bud” Post, who won $16.2 million in the Pennsylvania Lottery in 1988. One year later, he was a million dollars in debt. “I thought I was a smart enough, guy,” he said. “I thought I’d do just fine. I mean, SIXTEEN MILLION dollars, what could go wrong?”
Apparently, plenty. First off, a former girlfriend sued him for a third of his winnings. Ater that, his own brother was arrested for hiring a hit man to off poor old Bud. The brother figured with Bud gone, he’d inherit the fluffy Post estate. Then Bud dumped his money into various family businesses which went belly-up. He became depressed---who wouldn’t?---sank into debt and was eventually tossed into jail for firing a gun just a bit over the head of a friendly bill collector. “I was much happier before I won the damn thing.” Bud told The Washington Post.
William Post spent the rest of his days living quietly on $450 a month and food stamps. He died uneventfully in 2006. There are endless stories of lottery winners who suffered a similar demise. The ride from the top to the bottom is not so far as one may think. Here today, gone tomorrow. Ask Milli Vanilli.
The Comeback Kids
If life is often cruel, it nonetheless provides opportunities. It’s up to us to take advantage of them. After almost a century of frustration, the Boston Red Sox finally won a World Series in 2004, then repeated in 2007 and 2013. No fools they, the Chicago Cubs promptly hired Red Sox General Manager Theo Epstein and in 2016 annexed their first World Series win since 1908. Last year, the Philadelphia Eagles won their first Super Bowl ever.
Steve Jobs, by all standards, was a pretty smart guy. He co-founded Apple at age 21 and was worth millions two years later. To enhance his business, he hired an experienced Fortune 500 CEO named John Sculley. Three years later, Sculley fired him. Uh oh. But Jobs wasn’t one to mope. He started a second company, NeXT, which was ultimately acquired by Apple, and Jobs became CEO again. He didn’t hire any fancy muckety-mucks this time.
Ulysses S. Grant, the 18th President of the United States, saved the Union during the Civil War. Before that, times were rough. A West Point graduate seemingly off to a sparkling career, Grant was a big fan of alcohol. He was accused of drinking on duty one night and quit the army. He struggled for seven years, barely able to support his family. When the Civil War broke out, it was a boon for Ulysses S. He went back into the army as a volunteer, rose to colonel and eventually wound up as the top U.S. general. Not all comeback stories end well, however. After his presidency, Grant burned through his money, became flat-broke and ultimately had to write his memoirs on his deathbed to provide for his family. Some people live and learn. Others live, learn and forget.
Martha Stewart, founder of the company that bears her name, was America’s first self-made female millionaire. Martha was everywhere, in magazines, on television, her products displayed prominently in department stores countrywide. She was queen of the hill, top of the heap. Then, five years after her burgeoning company went public, she was disgraced and in jail, part of the ImClone stock case. But Martha didn’t weep and whine. she launched a comeback campaign immediately after her release from prison. Her company was profitable within a year and she rejoined its board of directors shortly afterward. Martha Stewart is now chairman.
And then there was Walt Disney. What?!? Yep, that’s right, even Walt had his problems. His first company, an animation and film studio in Kansas City, failed in 1922. Walt dusted himself off, said goodbye to stodgy KC and heeded Horace Greeley’s instruction to “Go West, young man!” Worked out pretty good. Walt opened Disney Bros. Studio in 1928, started drawing pictures of a funny mouse and soon became mayor of Orlando. He quickly converted the place from a rube-filled Florida backwater to a rube-filled City of Tomorrow.
The moral of this story is don’t drink, spend a little time in jail, hire a good General Manager and move to California. Pretty soon, you’ll be mayor of Orlando. Or at least, Brooker. Same difference.
That’s all, folks….
