So last Saturday was a lazy day in the WE household. I mean, come on, what in the world is a newlywed couple supposed to do inside all day on a rainy Saturday in May???

Yep, that’s right – you guessed it…for the first time ever WE and I watched the KENTUCKY DERBY.

Wow, and what an experience it was! For all the hoopla and tah-doo going on ahead of time, the 2-minute race for the roses was over in a flash. My pick was General Quarters and WE’s was Fresian Fire (I went for an underdog and he went for the favorite). I actually picked GQ for his trainer – Thomas McCarthy – who is a retired high school principle and certainly the real ’underdog’ so to speak in an otherwise mess of over-endulging billionarie owners/trainers. (And let me tell you – fashion is the real name of the game and the rules of the game are that men wear rediculously colorful suits and the women wear HUGE designer hats.)

But anyway, on to the real story behind this post.

Turns out the race was pretty incredible. Mine That Bird, a younger (2 years rather than 3), 50-1 long shot horse came from behind (and when I say behind I mean behind) to win! Here he is coming around the first turn…

Yeah, that’s Bird all the way in the back! The announcer never even called his name until the very end when he flew through the pack and took the lead.  And when he won, WE and I had to go back and replay the race 3 times in order to figure out which one was Bird because for most of the race he was so far behind that he didn’t even make the camera angle. In fact, I remember noticing that “poor guy in the back” at this camera shot and wondering if he was injured or just had a horrible start.

But no, the real explaination…Strategy! Lay it low first then turn it on hard riding the inside rail to victory.

Strategy worked for another 50-1 long shot this past year so why not Bird?!?

The 46-year old, first-term senator from Illinois with little national experience became the first African-American President of the United States. Even if you didn’t/don’t agree with Obama’s policies, you can’t really argue the fact that from the beginning his campaign strategy was clear to all (himself, his advisors, his voters) - “own the economy” and maintain an emphasis on “changing Washington.” Like it or not, he had what his opponents lacked in that regard. And Change trumped Experience proving fruitful in the end.

So there you have it! Two cinderella stories winning the races of a their lives. It just goes to show that no matter how much experience or skill or speed you have – what you need most is a strategy!