From the Mayor

from theMAYOR Marion County Shines Again at the Derby

BY MAYOR KENT GUINN

The Kentucky Derby rarely disappoints, and the 2022 version certainly lived up to and even surpassed the hype. Once again, the Derby provided an opportunity for Marion County to add yet another feather to its cap as 80-1 longshot Rich Strike won the Run for the Roses and Ocala-bred Simplification placed fourth.

First, we should all be proud of the performance Simplification put on – he beat 16 other horses in what is a field of the country’s top thoroughbreds. As the lone Florida-bred in the race, Simplification represented our area well and I’m looking forward to watching him run in the upcoming Preakness Stakes in Baltimore.

Getting to spend time with Simplification’s owner, Tami Bobo, and her team at the Derby was an amazing experience, something the likes of which I’ve never enjoyed. This was my fourth trip to the Kentucky Derby, but this one topped all the others. With Tami’s entourage I was able to participate in the walkover to the barns before the race, which is a great tradition. To walk in front of all those people and look at the track from the other side was a once-in-alifetime experience, and I would love the chance to do it again.

Tami is such a great ambassador for her sport and for Marion County – it was great to see Simplification engineer a high finish though not winning. She and her family are the nicest people in the world and I can’t think of a better person to represent the sport or our area.

We were able to spend time with all sorts of people at the Derby, not just owners and dignitaries, but the people who really make the sport work: trainers, groomers and all the people working in the barns getting their hands dirty and working long hours. Without these people behind the scenes, there would be no Kentucky Derby, at least not as we know it. When we think of the Derby, we think of people dressed up in fancy outfits and hobnobbing with celebrities, and all that is true. But the real Derby is the back side of the track where all the hard work takes place, in the grit and grime.

I think of those people hidden from the limelight who make the sport what it is and it makes me think of all those in Ocala who are involved in making this a multibillion-dollar industry here. Ocala is no longer a sleepy little factor in the horse racing industry. It is a major player and there was no doubting it when talking with many of the sport’s movers and shakers in Louisville. You tell them you’re the mayor of Ocala and nearly every one of them has a story of their connections there, horses they’ve sent to Marion County and second homes they’ve bought. In fact, it would be difficult to imagine the sport these days without Ocala’s influence.

Even Rich Strike, though not bred in Florida, has strong enough connections to Marion County to claim as one of our own. Like so many Kentucky-breds, Rich Strike spent his formative years being trained in Marion County by April Mayberry. But Rich Strike’s journey is the norm and not the exception. At the recent Derby, 13 horses in the field had similar connections to Marion County.

Everything that goes into preparing for a two-minute race is astounding, and much of it happens right here in our back yard. Much of the work is done by locals who are unsung but vital to the success of the industry here and are responsible for putting Ocala on the map. When one thinks equine, one may think Lexington, but these days around the world Ocala just as easily comes to mind. For proof, just look at the recent Kentucky Derby.