Ride of a Lifetime

Long shot Rich Strike takes us all on the ride of our lives! › BY LOUISA BARTON

Alisson Herrera may only be 10 years of age, but she certainly understands the significance of the big race in which her father played a huge role. Alisson accompanied her father, exercise rider Eddie Herrera, to the 148th “Run for the Roses” where she was very excited, knowing that her father had sold White Abarrio and that he was the first person to saddle and ride this horse. They traveled to the race from their home in Ocala, with the current track trainer, to watch and cheer this horse on. Alisson hoped this horse would win the Kentucky Derby as it was her first and she was so excited for her dad.

As is almost an annual tradition, more than two-thirds of the horses in the starting gate for the 2022 Kentucky Derby had strong ties to Ocala/Marion County, “The Horse Capital of the World.” One of the horses, Simplification, was a Florida-bred and a number of others had their basic training here. One of those was Rich Strike, aka Richie, started here at Mayberry Farm. April Mayberry refers to that as kindergarten for horses, but it is so important, and it is the foundation that helps them succeed on the race track and beyond.

Eddie Herrera and his daughter were hoping to at least see White Abarrio “hit the board,” meaning making it among the first four horses to cross the wire in the two most exciting minutes in sports. When Alisson realized White Abarrio would not win and had fallen close to the back of the pack, her face dropped, and she began to cry. Alisson was so sad the horse her father had trained and sold would not make it into the history books.

Little did she know that her dad had also started the now history-making long shot, Rich Strike (Richie), at Mayberry Farm for April Mayberry. Alisson was so surprised when her dad told her that he had also started Rich Strike, but it suddenly made her first Kentucky Derby a very happy one.

Chatting to Eddie back at Mayberry Farm recently, he shared with me that listening to the horse is always most important to him and how Mayberry, his employer, had always told him to go slow and be patient with every horse. He said sometimes Richie might try to play a little on the way to the track, but once on the track, he was always so focused and professional. He said he loved the horse’s huge stride and how strong and businesslike he always was once they arrived at the track.

Mayberry believes a horse will tell you what he is ready for, and if you are patient and pay attention, the horse will respond well and have a good experience. She also believes all horses mature at different times, and if you know your horses and give them the time they need, they can all excel. Perhaps this is why each year, Mayberry’s grads make it to the top races in the country and often around the world.

Richie proved that he had the right start with Mayberry and Herrera and he even took veteran track announcer Larry Collmus by surprise with his sudden appearance at the end of the race. The crowd roared, and suddenly Eddie’s daughter’s dream had come true. A horse her dad started had won the Kentucky Derby, right in front of her eyes. After all, the unlikely winner only made it into the race on the first Saturday in May, thirty seconds before the deadline, when Ethereal Road scratched from the race.

Stories like this warm the heart, as does the story of the struggle back for the Reed family, who experienced a terrible barn fire in Lexington back in 2016. Eric Reed had been ready to give up after such a great loss, but he had faith and refused to give up. When the phone rang the day before the big race and Reed answered to hear a voice telling him one horse had scratched and his train-

Lindsy Reed and Louisa Barton

ee had made it into the Kentucky Derby, he was speechless. This was his chance, and he was ready to take it on. This small group of lesser-known owners and trainers began to prepare for the biggest day of their lives.

After the race, which I watched from the backside of the track, I texted April Mayberry. She had commented a few weeks back on a social media post of mine, that if Richie made it in, I should put some money on him, because he was a horse to watch out for. Mayberry knows her horses, so as I placed my bet, I thought of her comment. As I was texting her a huge congratulations, I was running, running to Barn 17. I stood in the stall of the 148th Kentucky Derby winner, took a photo with his stall guard and waited eagerly for his return from the winner’s circle and the testing barn.

I chatted with Richie’s track exercise rider, who shared stories with me about the way they took care of every detail with this horse. Richie’s daily exercise rider at the track was Gabriel Lagunes, who drove two hours each day at the request of Reed to ride Richie, and he too had an understanding with the colt. I watched Richie, now a champion Derby winner, led back to the barn by his groom, who also clearly loved this horse, which was followed by an entourage of family, friends and media. I looked on as Eric’s daughter, top hunter jumper rider Lindsy Reed, helped to wash him, and his groom held his face gently in his hands and rested on him. I watched his groom walk the shed row leading the now history-making champion quietly around, allowing him to stop and nibble at some hay. I watched them put him into his very comfortably-bedded stall before they turned out the lights to allow him the rest he had certainly earned.

As Richie looked out over the stall door at the diminishing light and the crowd of fans, he had no idea what all the commotion was about or how he had suddenly changed the course of not only his life, but so many

others. Claimed for $30,000 by this team in a claiming race that he won by over 17 lengths, he had changed his journey and the journey of so many others. He had made the Derby dream come back to life again this year. This is more of the stuff of which books and movies are made. Richie didn’t know his odds on Derby Day and Sonny Leon, his brave jockey who had never won a major stakes race, didn’t let that convince him that it could not be done.

Resting during the Preakness

What will be next for Richie? Bypassing the Preakness for the Belmont Stakes, because he likes a long-distance race and that’s the longest one of them all. He certainly acted like he could do it all over again after the Derby. The thrill of a potential Triple Crown is always exciting, but the horse’s well-being is of utmost importance and this team cares. Giving Richie longevity and the chance to be the best horse he can be is most important. Every person who has worked with this horse, from his start here in Ocala, to the winner’s circle of the most exciting race in the world, has been patient and has done what is best for the horse.

We often think that only the jockey is on the ride, but horses with stories like this touch us all. Richie is taking us all on the ride of our lives as we live vicariously through the great stories, the losses and triumphs, and when we can see it all through the excited eyes of a child, the tears of a proud daughter and the love of a groom, we have seen the real story of horse racing. Perhaps we will see Richie in the winner’s circle again in a couple of weeks, but one thing I am sure of, he won’t go off on the morning line at 80-1 odds ever again.

April Mayberry at her training center with Eddie Herrera

Louisa Barton is the Equine Initiative Director at the Ocala Metro Chamber and Economic Partnership, Showcase Properties of Central Florida Farm Realtor and host of the Horse Talk Show on the Sky 97.3, Audacy.com and Equus Television