April 25, 2016 
If there is a debate about the best Kentucky Derby entry ever, there surely must be a flip-side. And a strong contender for the title of “Worst Derby Starter” was a chestnut colt by the name of Great Redeemer.
In 1979, the Derby buzz centered around the blindingly fast grey Spectacular Bid, with some thought given to Secretariat’s son General Assembly and Santa Anita Derby winner Flying Paster. Into that walked Texas radiologist James A. Mohamed, who owned a winless colt named Great Redeemer. After waiting to the very last minute to nominate his horse (some reports actually say he got to the racing secretary’s office five minutes after the nominations had closed), he proceeded to name Richard DePass as the jockey. The only problem was that DePass had not only never ridden Great Redeemer, he had also never even heard of Mohamed. But it was a chance to ride in the Derby, and so DePass accepted the offer.
Mohamed (left) escorts Great Redeemer to the track for a pre-Derby workout. (Commercial-Appeal Archives)
One reporter opined that, should the longshot maiden in any way interfere with Spectacular Bid’s chances, his owner “ought to be horsewhipped.”
The last-minute entry of Great Redeemer caused no end of controversy and panic among the racing set. Great Redeemer’s sire, Holy Land, had raced in the 1970 Derby and had broken down, failing to finish the race. Great Redeemer himself was still a maiden; he had not raced as a juvenile and had lost all six of his three-year-old races by a combined 85 lengths.
Further, there was a considerable amount of worry from other trainers that he might interfere with their horses during the race, a fear compounded when Great Redeemer drew the post position right next to heavily favored Spectacular Bid. One reporter opined that, should the longshot maiden in any way interfere with Spectacular Bid’s chances, his owner “ought to be horsewhipped.”
It wasn’t only other trainers who thought the colt had no place in the Derby. His own trainer, Jim James, resigned in protest before the race. Mohamed hurriedly attained a Kentucky training license so he could saddle his own horse.
Great Redeemer ran exactly as everyone, save Mohamed, thought he would. This led to one of the strangest Derby tales in the history of the race. Spectacular Bid, as expected, won easily. After him came the rest of the field. Or, almost the rest of it.
After ninth-place Lot o’ Gold crossed the finish line, a group of photographers assumed the race was over and ran onto the track towards the winner’s circle to get the first pictures of the newly-minted Derby champion. They were so intent on getting to the winner that they failed to notice the loser: the still-a-maiden Great Redeemer, who came plodding home 25 lengths behind Lot o’ Gold and 47 behind Spectacular Bid. One photographer actually made it all the way across the track before Great Redeemer caught up, but two or three others were nearly run over, although, as The Courier-Journal put it, “he was going so slowly, he probably wouldn’t have hurt them.”
After the race, the media circus continued. Mohamed blamed the colt’s performance on a broken bone in his leg, evidence of which was never found. Four months after the race, Mohamed claimed he discovered that his colt had been stabbed, leaving a four-inch bloody wound in his side. Perhaps tired of the ridicule, Mohamed sold Great Redeemer in December of 1979. The colt finally broke his maiden on June 7, 1980. From there, he traded hands over the years, eventually being purchased by Bob and Diane King, who made a living buying discarded horses off the track and re-training them.
By the time the Kings got a hold of Great Redeemer, the colt had been gelded and was “half-starved, with open sores along his back.” The couple nursed him back to health over several months, and Diane began taking him fox hunting. The former laughingstock of the racing world turned out to be a surprisingly good hunter and show horse, winning over 100 blue ribbons in the first five years after his retirement from racing.
“I usually change a horse’s name when I make one into a hunter,” Diane said. “But I decided not to change his. He’ll always be Great Redeemer. I think any horse who runs in the Kentucky Derby should keep his name.”
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