Guests attend the Kentucky Derby 150 at Churchill Downs on May 04, 2024 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Jeff Schear/Getty Images for Churchill Downs) Toby Keith’s long-held dream of having a horse ...

I cheered ballplayers. Studied ballplayers. Followed ballplayers. I was awed by Barry Switzer’s optioneers and Eddie Sutton’s Triplets. But they weren’t my heroes. My heroes hovered above the field.