True Color

There’s a horse headed for the Kentucky Derby. He’s big. He’s brown. Sort of. According to the Jockey Club, he’s technically a bay. Of course a bay, such as myself, is a Thoroughbred with black points; meaning black mane, tail, and legs (other than white markings). The colt I’m referring to has started thrice and prevailed as many. He’ll be the likely favorite for the red colored, thorn stemmed flowers that everyone seeks on the first Saturday in May.

However, he wasn’t born with a silver spoon. In fact, he’s not from the right side of the proverbial tracks. Yet then again, many Derby victors hail from blue-collar connections. While the black gold contingent, those ballyhooed merchants of oil from the Middle East, might be competing at the annual sales rings with the Wall Street greenback crowd for the fancy pedigrees, the Derby isn’t about purchase price, it’s about performance. Perhaps this undefeated colt by a known sprint sire from a less than remarkable dam might just prevail. Hold your breath and all you will turn is blue, horses don’t run on paper. Yet go ahead and don those primrose glasses when the gates close. Two minutes later, you might just be cheering Big Brown across the wire.