THE WINNER’S REWARD

The Kentucky Derby, 2110. The track was shiny. Slick with mud. The race began in a drizzle of gray, but by the time the handsome Thoroughbred Super Saver won, the sun was out, celebrating his feat. After the valiant field reached the finished line, in victory or defeat, most of the horses began their promenade back to the barn, except for the lucky few, destined for the winners’ circle and all the accolades. Jockey Calvin Borel was in ecstasy. Though still mounted on Super Saver, he was jumping up and down. Trainer Todd Pletcher, who got his first Derby win, basked in all of the attention, hardly able to wait for the roses and the flow of champagne. And what of Super Saver, the hero of the day? His lead pony had joined him on the track. It's the pony's job to keep him calm on the way to his mantle of red. Was Super Saver preening and expecting a reward? No way. Here was no high-stakes winner of world-renown, just a mud-covered horsey whose only wish was to nuzzle his old friend’s mane. I ask -- who is the wise one here? Man who whoops and hollers and rakes in the dough, or a horse for whom nothing is more golden than the company of his friend.