South Dakotan Takes Horse to Kentucky Derby

Sometimes you run across a story that looks out of place. This might be one of them. I was thumbing through my Facebook feed this morning when I saw the headline that stopped me in my tracks. It said; A Dream comes True: South Dakotan will Take Horse to The Kentucky Derby. So how does something like that happen? Well, it took a pandemic, being in the right place at the right time and a little luck.

The story is about Wayne Scherr of Wagner, South Dakota. Sheer is a former teacher-coach. According to INFORAM: Powered by The Forum and WDAY

Scherr’s ownership is making South Dakota history. Based on the family’s research, he’s the first South Dakotan to own a Kentucky Derby horse in at least 50 years. All of it has come together in a short period of time, just 12 weeks from when Scherr and a couple of other owners made a $100,000 claim to when the Derby takes place.

Saturday, September 5th, when you watch The Kentucky Derby, be watching for a horse with the name Necker Island. The story is beautifully written by Marcus Traxler illustrates how Scherr acquired the horse and also goes on to say;

The math isn’t in his favor. There are about 20,000 thoroughbreds foaled every year in the U.S., and the Kentucky Derby takes only 20 3-year-old horses, making the odds of making the Derby field about 1 in 1,000.

The math may not be in his favor, but he's in the race! I mentioned that the pandemic also played an important role. It's been over 50 years since a South Dakotan had a horse Run For the Roses;

If the Derby would have been held on May 2 as originally planned, the opportunity to acquire Necker Island never would have arrived.

The Kentucky Derby runs this weekend. You can bet that I'll be watching the race and good luck to Sheer and his family. No matter how the horse runs, this has to be a thrill like none other! Good luck!