Today’s column is back to horse racing again. I normally don’t talk this much about horses, but recently with the Derby, the Oaks and the Preakness, there are many lessons to be learned. After all, Lexington is the horse capital of the world, right?

After winning the second leg of the Triple Crown on a different horse, Derby-champion jockey Calvin Borel said, “I’ve never ridden a horse with so much confidence!” His steed, Rachel Alexandra, was the first filly to win the Preakness in 85 years. Even after she beat all the girls in a dramatic landslide victory in the Oaks, some said there was no way she could beat the boys. Wow! It is amazing what happens when there is a lot of confidence. Haven’t you seen that with our kids?

Our inspirational Derby winner, Mine that Bird, came in second this weekend. Notably, he was ridden by a jockey who had also won the Derby in the past. There seems to be a pattern regarding these outstanding jockeys – just like outstanding teachers who foster success after success. Remember, Mine that Bird wasn’t even supposed to be there! There is just too much coincidence here!

Let’s think about all of this for a minute. Everyone said that Mine That Bird should not have even been at the Derby – he didn’t look like the other horses, there was not as much money invested in him, he arrived by trailer instead of plane, and he was from the other side of the tracks. No one thought he had a chance, yet he was a success. How does all that relate to our kids? Remember Calvin’s comment after the Derby win, “I just rode him like he was a good horse!” What happens when we teach our kids like they are smart kids? (And they are all smart kids!) There are many lessons we can learn from these races, the jockeys and the horses.

Many of the leaders in our school district have drawn inspiration from the races in their weekly messages to their colleagues. I’d like to share of few of those.

From Mike McKenzie: “The Preakness was indeed an exciting race. There were lots of subplots – could Mine That Bird, the second-longest shot in the history of the Derby come back and beat the odds a second time? Most thought not. Could Rachel Alexandra, the filly, not only run with, but beat, the boys? While many thought she could, there were many watching and merely hoping that she could finish with a different outcome than Eight Belles. As always, there were lots of people making all kinds of predictions on the outcome. As I was watching the show in the hour leading to the race, two well-known and respected racing experts were on the program – Mike Battaglia and Bob Neumeier. They were talking about who the various experts had picked to win. They pointed out that in one of the major New York papers, the Times I believe, all 16 writers had not chosen Mine That Bird to win. In another well-respected publication, all four of their writers had also not chosen Mine That Bird to win. As their part of the program was winding down, as the experts, it came time for them to pick who they thought would win. Neumeier chose a horse that had finished nicely in the Derby, and Battaglia chose Rachel Alexandra. Neumeier responded with all kinds of reasons why it would not be Rachel Alexandra – she is filly running with boys and the ride can be a rough ride, she has never run a race with the boys before, it doesn’t happen, it has been 80-some years since a filly had won the Preakness, etc. Battaglia looked at him and said, “No one told her that she is a filly.” Oh my gosh – what a strong statement! No one had placed a lid on her potential. No one in her life had placed limitations on what she could do. Plenty of the so-called experts had done just that. They gave all kinds of reasons why she could not perform with the boys. She had not met the prerequisites for even being in the race – she had never run against the boys! “No one told her that she is a filly” – what if we took that approach and made it not only part of our culture, but actually made it the culture? Think of the potential impact – how many more kids would we have in AP classes, how many fewer general-level classes would we have, how many more kids would we have performing at high levels, how many more kids would we be graduating from high school and finally, where would we be in closing the achievement gaps? I strongly feel that the answers would be lots, lots, lots, lots and done.”

From Jan Hatfield: “No horse has ever won the Preakness from post position 13 – an “unlucky” number! And Mine That Bird sure knows what is meant by “closing the gap!”

And from Julie Hawkins: “I really didn’t plan on writing about horses again this week, but Calvin Borel’s run in the Preakness is too good to pass up. In my opinion, he’s a Triple Crown winner and continues to prove the importance of the jockey. Is Rachel Alexandra really the best horse, or is Borel the best jockey? I think Borel’s talent has a lot to do with his wins, but I think his mindset is the key. He enters the race believing he will win.”

Remember folks, the major lesson for all of us in these stories is that no matter what challenges we face, we must keep in mind that it is what we do that makes a difference!