The Derby Represents The Hopes, Dreams And Aspirations Of All Kentuckians
By: William F. Reed

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Apr. 26, 2003) - When you're born in Kentucky, you almost have an inferiority complex as a form of DNA. As you grow older, you're constantly reminded of how low our state and our people rank on most of the socio-economic indicators.

It's more difficult for those of us who were born in small towns or rural areas. We're regarded as hicks and dummies. Even if we suceed, we sometimes feel as if we're characters in "The Beverly Hillbillies."

One of the first times I went to New York City, I told my cab driver where I wanted to go. I probably had more of a Kentucky accent then than I do now. The cab driver noticed.

"Where ya from?" he asked in his own distinct accent.

"Kentucky," I said.

"Well, you talk real good," he said. "I can understand everything you say."

I was tempted to show him that I also was wearing shoes and argue that I had never had sexual relations with a member of my family, but simply thanked him.

Many of us are fiercely proud of our commonwealth, but we wonder if outsiders ever noticed or understand.

We rank low in per-capita income, but we have the majestic beauty of the Eastern Kentucky mountains.

We rank low in educational evaluations, but we have many of the most decent, caring, hard-working, talented people on God's green earth.

We have coal miners with black-lung disease, but we also have heart surgeons who are the world's best.

We have the ugly ruts of strip mining, but we also have the unique splendor of the Central Kentucky Thoroughbred farms.

And we have the Kentucky Derby.

It will be run for the 129th time, on the same plot of ground, on Saturday, May 3. It's the world's most famous horse race. It is an incomparable celebration of life, romance, mystery, fate, sentimentality, and charm.

Maybe we native Kentuckians, because of our inherent inferiority complexes, tend to take it for granted. Or we may think that the out-of-towners, much as they enjoy our hospitality, may secretly be laughing at us.

But then, every now and then, we get surprises.

We get Nick Zito, a New Yorker to the bottom of his soul, who comes to our state and falls in love with us. Whether he has a Derby horse or not, he simply wants to be on the backside of Churchill Downs -- or at Wagner's Pharmacy -- at this time of the year.

We get Tom Jurich, who grew up in Arcadia, Calif. near Santa Anita. Now the athletics director at the University of Louisville, he loves horse racing and the Derby almost as much as he loves a win over Memphis by the U of L womens' volleyball team.

We get Rick Pitino, who's as New York as it gets, but who also turned down coaching from several prominent college basketball programs to take U of L job. Why? Because he loves us. He thinks we're cool. He feels safe and comfortable and loved here.

What are we to make of all this?

Only that there must be something special about us. Only that, for all our faults and problems, there must be something worthwhile about us. Only that maybe it's time for us to get over our inherent inferiority complexes and start reaching for the stars.

The catalyst is the Kentucky Derby.

It represents the best of us. It represents our hopes and dreams and aspirations. It tells the world that our commonwealth, for all its problems, has the potential to be better. It says that we're a proud and determined band of brothers and sisters who simply are not willing to be stereotyped.

So these will be my thoughts on Derby Day. I'm so grateful and proud that individuals such as Zito, Pitino, and Jurich have found something worthwhile and compelling in our commonwealth.

We don't need their stamp of approval. But it's nice to have because it indicates that perhaps we have a lot more going for us than many of we natives might realize. Maybe we need to see in us what they seem to see in us.

And may the sun shine bright on everyone's old -- or new -- Kentucky home on the first Saturday in May.

Native Kentuckian William F. Reed has been a sports writer in various capacities for 43 years and has missed covering the Kentucky Derby a mere two times since 1966. He has been a high-profile sports writer in Kentucky for the Commonwealth's two largest daily newspapers, the Louisville Courier-Journal and the Lexington Herald-Leader and was a national columnist for Sports Illustrated, covering among other sports, Thoroughbred horse racing and college basketball. Reed currently pens a column for the Louisville Sports Report and covered Kentucky Derby 128 for kentuckyderby.com. He will be filing frequent installments for CDSN's (Churchill Downs Simulcasting Network) websites throughout 2003.

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