Leadership Lessons from the Kentucky Derby

May is my favorite month of the year and the first weekend in May is one reason why: The Kentucky Derby. As I watched the derby this past weekend and celebrated the win of Medina Spirit, I pulled one of my past articles from a few years ago and thought it would be a great article to share with you this week. Enjoy and I hope it brings you some great leadership lessons to think about.

As many of you know, I am very passionate about horses. I have loved them ever since I was old enough to ride the one attached to the merry-go-round outside of Winn Dixie for a nickel. This past week I was able to witness history and the triumph of the Triple Crown winner “American Pharoah”. It was something I had longed to see in my life and year after year I was hopeful it was going to happen but then fate wasn’t aligned…. until the right team came together.     

I remember the feeling of true inspiration and pride as I saw “Pharoah” take the last turn for the home stretch and he started to close for victory. What was it inside of him that took over? What inner strength did he find within himself to not slow down and let Frosted take his moment away from him? He owned the moment and seized it… there was nothing that was going to stop him.

When I think about it and what it takes to feel that moment it really comes down to everything around you and what or who is behind you believing in you.  

American Pharoah was just another colt heading to the auction 2 years ago. Out of the thousands of thoroughbreds that go to auction every year in Kentucky, what made him special? If you look at his pedigree, he does have good bloodlines yes; as did many of the other racehorses that have not been able to close the deal. 

When he went to auction his owner had big hopes to sell him for over a million. That didn’t transpire as planned but everything happens for a reason they say. 
 

In life, sometimes we meet people for a reason I believe. Everyone has a certain destiny and it’s what we do to act upon it that makes the difference.

Zayat, who is American Pharoah’s owner, told his agent that if he didn’t fetch at least a million dollars at auction then he would just buy him back. And he did, for the opening bid price of $300,000, which in the thoroughbred racing world is not much at all. It turned out American Pharoah had a blemish when he went to auction He bumped his ankle about a month prior and had some swelling. Zayat knew he was special and didn’t want to let him go. As it turned out, he ended up not hitting his reserve, not because people didn't love him, but because Mr. Zayat fell in love with him more than everybody else did.

 As leaders, sometimes you feel a certain “gut feeling” for someone in front of you.
 

That feeling that you can help them achieve great things in life even when everyone else is telling you otherwise? We meet people and we see them for face value but not for what is deep within them. When the biggest things we cannot teach are not visible to the human eye such as a positive attitude, drive, and grit.

Zayat believed in his horse and knew with the right combination of people he could be better than any other. He knew the time and energy it would take to invest in this horse but if he did that he may get something special. 
 

As leaders we realize that leadership is an investment in people.

It is selfless and exhausting at times but when we put the time in we may get a reward that we never even imagined.

His good friend had commented on American Pharoah as well stating “he had just this unbelievable walk on him — you know when horses kind of unhinge their shoulder and just really flow when they walk.” American Pharoah believed in himself and his confidence shined through in how the world saw him. He didn’t know what he was put here for, but he knew there was something in him and it came out in every ounce of his being. American Pharoah believed in himself.

Zayat assembled the team he believed in to create what he saw in his horse…. Victor Espinoza and Bob Baffert to start, but there are also so many hardworking people behind the scenes that attributed to American Pharoah’s success. It doesn’t take just one person; it takes a village to get behind something great and to believe in it. Everyone on that team did just that. The belief was real, it was talked about daily and the planning of this horse's racing goals was set.
 

As leaders, we are only as successful as the people around us.

American Pharoah wouldn’t have won the Triple Crown if he was alone. It was the tireless effort of a team that knew he was special inside and he had what it took to achieve greatness. It was countless hours of planning and playing to his strengths and racing him in the right races to develop him as a 3-year-old. 

How much do we put into the future leaders that surround us? Are we planning alongside them how they can run the right races to get to their success? How can they run for their Triple Crown?

But then again, it was something inside this horse’s soul. To run 3 rigorous races in 5 weeks and have to win all of them? They say this is the biggest challenge in sports. It was his fire, his passion to succeed, his attitude, and his belief in himself. He knew his purpose. His trainer, Bob Baffert once made the comment when he first met him, “there’s something about this horse that he just brought it every time. He’s a joy to be around.” Normally racehorses are very high-strung and aggressive and not known to be people pleasers. 

It’s normally about them and what they want.

As leaders and teammates, do we bring it every time or do we rely on the top performer next to us to do the work and help us succeed?

Are we a joy to be around? Do we show up every day with the right attitude like American Pharoah does or is it all about us? These are all things I have contemplated over this past week.

Victor Espinoza attempted 2 other times to win his Triple Crown. He had his last taste of it in 2014 on California Chrome. What kept him going and not giving up? To come so close to victory and watch it run right out from behind you. We have all been in similar life situations, but what did we do after we lost?

A big brown horse with the heart of a champion and a great attitude that just needed to be on the right team around the right people who believed in him, developed him, and loved him. 

Once that combination found itself, history was created. It didn’t matter that no one had done it in 37 years to the horse, the jockey, the trainer, the owner, or the millions of people rooting for this. This was all about the teamwork that came together and the belief of a goal that nothing could stop them.

In life and business, we can all learn from this historic moment. We all meet people every day. Do we take the time to look for what we cannot teach or are we just looking at them for face value? What are we doing as leaders to give those a chance and help them plan their future races? Or are we too busy worrying about ourselves or looking for that perfect moment or person?

Sometimes the greatest future leaders I have met were not the most polished and had blemishes at first. 

But someone believed in them and what they had on the inside. They just had the right positive attitude and were driven to cross the finish line no matter what it took. They became great because someone believed in them and saw them for what they had the potential to be and they felt it deep within. Not only did they believe but everyone around them believed and also wanted to see them win. They knew what they wanted and they never let a blemish or past history get in their way…. they just kept going.

I will leave you with a quote Victor Espinoza posted after his win:

“You can either throw in the towel or use it to wipe the sweat off your face.”

To your growth,
Kelly Merbler