Racing toward More than a Financial Goal

If you’re a horse racing fan, you’ve probably heard the expression, “the two most exciting minutes in sports.” It refers to the Kentucky Derby, one the single-largest sporting events in North America, which draws more than 100,000 live spectators each year, and millions more watching on live TV. If you don’t live in Louisville, or horse racing hub, however, you may not realize that there’s more to this multi-million dollar industry than meets the eye. There are hundreds of horses that live at the track and a multitude of workers that care for, exercise, and train them every day of the year. Every horse that races has a team that has been preparing it for that moment since it was born just over 3 years earlier. 

Ironically enough, winning the Derby is only the tip of the iceberg for many of these horses. A hallowed few go on to win the fabled Triple Crown, taking first in the Preakness and Belmont Stakes, which guarantees them a spot in history. But whether they win beyond the Derby or not, they’ve already won the most prestigious race in America, which makes them a rare and valuable commodity. Even though the winner’s purse for the Derby is enormous ($3.1m for 2024), it’s actually in “stud rights” to breed the horse that its owner can rake in major cash.

Learning from the (Four-Legged) Pros

Although they’re more tortoise than hare, student loans are their own sort of race, one that takes both endurance and skill to cross the finish line. If you’re paying off student debt, you’re not sitting on your hands; you’re slogging it through the mud of payment plans, servicer errors, and the constant barrage of documentation. You’re relying on the experience and reforms hard-won by the generations of borrowers before you. You’ve got a team of professionals coaching you all the way to the winner’s circle. And even though you’re looking forward to the day you get that “paid-in-full” or “loans forgiven” letter, you’ll keep enjoying the rewards long after when you don’t have to give up part of your paycheck every month. 

Your own most exciting two minutes in student loans is coming! Remember that it takes time to make a champion, but the finish line is ever-nearer. If you have patience, savvy, and a great time, the rewards are all the sweeter.