The Horse Trainer Who Rose From the Ashes

The call came in after 1:15 a.m. — and the news wasn’t good. 

A massive fire had engulfed the barn at his horse training facility in Lexington, Ky., killing near two-dozen of his most-prized thoroughbreds.

"When we drove up on that that night, I told my wife, I said, 'We've probably lost everything,'" Eric Reed said. "The next morning, when we saw the devastation... I just thought of all the years and all the stuff we had done to get this beautiful farm and to have this happen, that something might be telling me it's the end of the line."

On Saturday, six years after the tragedy that pushed him to the point of near surrender, Reed’s horse Rich Strike won the Kentucky Derby, the greatest long shot to win the race in over a century.  

Rich Strike wasn’t in the field, or even the state, a day prior. He was 100 miles to the northeast in Cincinnati and only entered Saturday’s race after another horse pulled out. 

What transpired in less than two minutes and three seconds, though, was the crescendo of a years’-long journey that explored the outer depths of purpose and mental fortitude — and it has three key lessons for us. 

1. Odds are indicators. They are not the final story

Rich Strike had 80/1 odds going in, the worst of any champion since 1913. But there are always factors at play that cannot be measured, and simply making projections based on others’ expectations has great risks.

The 2021 champion had 12/1 odds, the 2019 had 30/1. Let’s make sure that when we’re evaluating prospects and our own team members, we’re not putting boxes around them and judging them based simply on the opinions of others. 

2. Just about all of us will be tempted to quit at one point or another. But the most perilous path often has the most fulfilling rewards at the end

When do we stop our pursuits? When do we decide the energy we put into our dreams could perhaps be better expended elsewhere? When is enough, enough?

Just about all of us will agonize over these questions at one point or another, as Reed did years ago. During his darkest days, he certainly never dreamed of training a Kentucky Derby winner. 

But while our wildest ambitions may be pipe dreams, they are still often worth exploring — even if we come up short. There are frequently lessons and opportunities for discovery along the way that we never otherwise would’ve been afforded, and very rarely will we regret going all in on something that we care deeply about.  

3. No matter our present anguish, good times can still lie ahead

Reed had lost just about all optimism when the fire hit, but he turned to some external factors to get through. “Through God, all my friends, love from people I never met all around the country, they kept us going,” he said. 

To go from a horse trainer on the verge of retirement to a Kentucky Derby winner in six years is a good reminder that despite the trials and darkness of the present, great days can still lie in front of us, no matter how far-fetched that may currently seem.

What Reed's horse did on Saturday will be celebrated in racing for decades to come. But beyond the improbable win is the story of a trainer rising from the ashes, offering us a critical snapshot in courage, commitment and conviction. 

Those values are relevant on any leadership track.

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