05/05/2025
“I’m so over seeing influencers at the Derby, they don’t even know what a post position is!”
In 2006, I was seven years old on the couch watching the Kentucky Derby with my dad. The closest we were to “horse ownership” at the time was my grandpa on my mom’s side owning some standardbred racehorses. Dad wasn’t raised around horse people, but was a huge fan of watching the Kentucky Derby every year. That Kentucky Derby, I fell in love with Barbaro, the pageantry of the Kentucky Derby, the stories behind them, and the promise of a future.
We know how Barbaro’s story played out, how he captivated an entire nation through his courageous fight, but what you don’t know is how his journey changed our lives. Because of the media coverage of Barbaro’s fight, i became extremely emotionally invested in not only Barbaro, but thoroughbreds like him. Dad bought our first racehorse in August of 2006, followed two weeks later by surprising me with my own off track thoroughbred named Rise Ball. We couldn’t go to the Kentucky Derby (it’s always been out of our price range), so instead we packed the stands every Indiana Derby day at Hoosier Park or Horseshoe Indianapolis (through every naming iteration). We got involved at our local racetrack, made idols out of the gorgeous pony horses (Medical’s first pony was a stunning palomino named Sunny), and most importantly, we went from fans to owners. And that was in 2006 when there were far less ways to own a racehorse! It didn’t stop there, going from owner to breeder, to now standing Barbaro’s full brother, Lentenor, a Kentucky Derby runner up with Ice Box, a Belmont Stakes winner in Tapwrit, a rising son of Not This Time in In Due Time, and a barn full of quality broodmares producing the next generation of runners.
Now imagine if a kid watches their favorite influencers at the Kentucky Derby. Trust has already been established with the influencer, and you know just how much people rally behind feel-good stories or “their” people, including their favorite influencers. The impact is undeniable. People have been posting videos wondering why they were tearing up while watching the Kentucky Derby, or the heartbreak of Sandman trying his best and finishing sixth. That, my friends, is EMOTION. That is what we WANT for the sport, because that means people are one step closer to falling in love the same way so many of us have. These people may start to get curious and support their local tracks, may buy into their first racehorse, may adopt an OTTB, may start volunteering at their local rescue, may start working in horse racing, all because of that one influencer who covered their Kentucky Derby experience.
For better or for worse, there are thousands of little kids who were just like me experiencing the Derby for the first time. And if it takes an “influencer” covering the Derby to get them interested in the sport, then I hope we get even more for next year.
Here is our first racehorse, Medical First, who scored his forever home when Ryan Campbell bought him to start our stable in August of 2006, just three months after Barbaro's win. Who would have thought that watching one race would have had such a lasting impact on both of our lives.
