The President and First Lady, Secret Service and media in tow, strolled through the stalls to wish their horse good luck that morning.
Soon it was time for the President to briefly address the crowd before taking their seats in the owner’s boxes.
“I am proud today to be part of a great American tradition,” Leif began, standing on the stage in the infield with the Master of Ceremonies, local dignitaries including the Governor, his parents, his brothers and their wives, and of course his wife Chessa. “And I feel blessed by God in so many ways; to have been raised and to have served in the proud state of Kentucky…Leif had to wait for a minute for the swelling roar of the crowd to die down…to be supported by my family, and most of all, to be married to the most amazing woman in the world. She reminds me every day that in order to find fulfillment in this life, in order to know true peace and happiness, we must look beyond ourselves and serve others.” Leif put his arm around Chessa’s growing waist as she waved to the crowd, which responded with even louder applause. She was six months pregnant and absolutely glowing.
“So may the best horse win, although I think I might have to place a wager on that horse from Little River.” And then Leif was honored with giving the traditional command to the jockeys: “Riders up!”
Leif and Chessa made their way to sits in the owner’s box of seats with Henry and Elizabeth Mitchell and Hal Baker, the trainer responsible for training Little Sally, Phillip’s Pride and now Lil’ Phil.
Hal shook Leif’s hand as the President and First Lady took their seats.
“I thank God every day that you saved Little Sally’s life,” Hal said to Leif in his soft, deep southern voice. “We wouldn’t be standing here today if you hadn’t.”
The irony of it didn’t escape Leif.
The story of how Leif saved Little Sally, and with her, her unborn foal Phillips Pride which in turn sired Lil’ Phil, had, of course, made all of the headlines, social media and sports shows leading up to race day. Several articles tied in the fact that Leif had always fought for the pro-life agenda. If a child—or a foal—were aborted and never had the opportunity to live, one might never know the greatness God had in store for them, Leif was quoted to say.
He blinked back tears now, thinking of his unborn children, praying that they were in heaven doing great things. And he sent up a prayer of deep gratitude for his child-to-be in Chessa’s womb.
And then he focused all his attention on the racetrack, tote board, and pomp right in front of him, and said a little prayer asking that God make straight the path for Phil, keep him safe on his run, and give him the strength and speed to win, if it be His will.
The trumpet sounded.
“My Old Kentucky Home” started up from the Louisiana University marching band. This time Leif was one of the record crowd of more than 175 thousand people singing along in the stands.
Lil’ Phil’s jockey wore the Little River silks of red, white, and blue—a big white star on a navy background with red-and-white striped sleeves. If he wasn’t anything else, Henry Mitchell had always been patriotic. They had received the favorable post position of seven in a field of nineteen.
The media were consumed with the story of Lil’ Phil. After all, Little River was the place that raised a United States president, and now, possibly, a potential Derby winner.
There were other stories—how the favorite, Chosen Land, a thoroughbred owned by an Israeli magnate, was pitted against the second favorite, Sinbad, an Arabian stallion owned by an emir from Saudi Arabia; how there was a first “all-female team”—the trainer, the jockey and the filly, a white horse with a long light blonde mane named Rapunzel; and how, as usual, the nation hoped against hope that whichever horse won, it would go on to win the Triple Crown.
The horses were led into the starting gate. Although her hat shielded her eyes from the late-day sun, Chessa squinted and craned her neck to try to find Lil’ Phil in the pack of horses being led into the gate. Both Chessa and Leif were dressed in red, white, and blue—she in a red suit with a navy scarf and white wide-brimmed hat with navy trim and red roses, and he in a navy suit with a white shirt, red tie, and white cowboy hat.
But now the “fashion show” part of the Derby was over, all that didn’t matter; it was race time, the most exciting two minutes in all of sports.
And the words everyone was waiting to hear were finally belted out by the announcer: “And they’re off!”
All of the horses got a fairly clean break out of the starting gate. Leif and Chessa strained to hear the announcer above the deafening din.
“… Sinbad takes an early lead out of the gate with Rapunzel right behind on the inside followed by Candy Apple, Chosen Land in fourth, and Lil’ Phil in fifth…in the middle of the track here comes Rapunzel leading the pack of boys behind her, with Sinbad and Chosen Land neck and neck for second, followed by Candy Apple, who’s fallen back to fourth on the outside and Lil’ Phil is still in fifth…as they move into the back stretch, here comes Dennis the Menace coming up from the outside in sixth…Rapunzel has lost her lead and has dropped back to seventh while Sinbad and Chosen Land battle it out by two lengths as they race to the far turn with three-eighths of a mile to go…and here comes Lil’ Phil racing ahead into third…as the field turns for home at the one-quarter pole, Lil’ Phil is running past Sinbad and Chosen Land….”
The screams from the crowd nearly drowned out the announcer’s voice, and Leif handed Chessa a pair of binoculars. He was too nervous to do anything except pray, his hands folded to his chest. “Honey, he’s winning! He’s going to win!” Chessa heard herself shriek with delight.
“… down the stretch they come, and Lil’ Phil is ahead by three, now four, lengths…it’s going to be Lil’ Phil…Lil’ Phil wins the Kentucky Derby in record time!”
The Mitchell family and Hal jumped up and down, holding each other, laughing, crying, shouting with joy. Even the Secret Service agents flanking them smiled and cheered.
They all hurried down to the winner’s circle, and after congratulating the jockey and patting Lil’ Phil, who was blanketed with red roses, they climbed onto the platform. Hal spoke a few words into the network television microphones, and together they all held the gold trophy high.
The television news announcer held up the microphone to Leif. “President Mitchell, did you ever think you’d be standing here after winning your own race, to win the Kentucky Derby?”
“Actually, I knew this little guy could win the minute he was born. I had faith that since we saved his father and grandmother, God would have big plans for him. Sometimes we just have to let nature take its course, believe in God’s will, and get out of the way.” Leif looked over at Chessa and took her hand in his. “And sometimes it just takes a helping hand.”
About the Author
Modern Day Bible Stories by award-winning author Michele Chynoweth bring stories in the Bible to life for today’s readers with contemporary characters and plots so they can better understand and relate to God’s messages of faith and hope. Michele’s universally-appealing inspirational novels are filled with suspense, drama and romance and include The Faithful One, based on the Book of Job, The Runaway Prophet, based on the Book of Jonah and The Peace Maker, based on the story of David and Abigail in the First Book of Samuel.
Michele believes that while the Old Testament stories in the Bible are compelling, they are often difficult to read and comprehend, so she hopes that re-imagining them in contemporary times with fiction that’s fast-paced and entertaining will help readers appreciate God’s messages and hopefully bring people back to the Bible itself. Her stories will not only grip you, taking you for a wild ride that will leave you hanging on until the end—they will inspire you to search your own heart for God’s Will in your life and find a deeper faith in God’s Plan.
In addition to being an author, Michele is an inspirational speaker, book coach and college instructor of writing, publishing and marketing fiction. A graduate of the University
of Notre Dame, Michele and her husband have a blended family of five children and live in North East, Maryland. For more information visit Michele’s website, www.michelechynoweth.com
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