Mine That Bird and Other Inspirational Competitors

It's moments like this that remind us why the Kentucky Derby is what it is.


A $9500 gelding, driven twenty-one hours from New Mexico by his injured trainer, squeezed at the gate and starting dead last, guided along the rail by the world's most fearless jockey, winning by 6 3/4 lengths(and still accelerating as he crossed the wire).

What makes a moment like this so incredibly special, inspiring and joyful?

Could it be because we saw a real competition unfold before our eyes, in contrast to the endless manipulations of money and power that have so crippled so much of the world, and fertilized and watered our cynicism?

The best horse, guided by the best jockey, ran against the odds (50 to 1) through the mud, straight into our hearts and memories: We'll all remember where we were and who we were with when we saw the 2009 Derby.

Two weeks ago, we saw it unfold in slow motion at the Masters, as Angel Cabrera refused to give up, even when trapped behind a tree, and Kenny Perry came within two inches of the green jacket, only to watch it slide away, just like his first putt on the 72nd hole.

Perry lost the tournament, and won our hearts, as he applauded Cabrera on the putt on the 72nd hole that kept his hopes alive.

It was a real competition, played out in the open, within the strictest rules in sport.

Cabrera took the green jacket home, a most well-deserved prize, the pride of Argentina. (He admitted later in an interview that he checked his closet every day, just to make sure it was still there.)

Kenny Perry returned to Kentucky to a hug from his dad, the admiration of his wife and children, a flood of phone calls and letters, and the realization that at age 48, he's in the middle of his best years as a professional athlete.

That's what real competition does--it creates all sorts of winners, in all sorts of ways.

Please somebody, let Congress, the White House and the Captains of Industry in on the secret...