Every now and then, you find a story in this sport that rivals the greatest of fairy tales.
To me, the journey of Sidney’s Candy going to the Kentucky Derby is among those stories.
The story began several decades ago, when a married couple set out to win the Kentucky Derby. After purchasing several horses and failing in their Derby efforts, the couple decided to breed their own Thoroughbreds. Before their first home-bred colt entered the gates on Derby day, the husband tragically died of cancer. He left behind one wish in life – winning the Kentucky Derby.
In the same race, a 19-year-old jockey was scheduled to ride the morning line favorite in his first outing at the event. Before he was given a chance to enter the gates, the horse was scratched that morning due to injury. He left Churchill Downs with one dream – to ride in the Kentucky Derby.
On the same day, the couple raced their first home-bred colt in the Kentucky Derby. After placing eleventh in the race, the horse left behind one hope – a two-year-old colt that held a chance to win the Kentucky Derby.
Roughly nine months later, the same two-year-old colt set foot on the track at Santa Anita to make his three-year-old debut.
The colt’s owner was the Sid and Jenny Craig Trust.
The colt’s jockey was twenty-year-old Joe Talamo.
The colt was Sidney’s Candy – the namesake to the man who died with the dream of winning the Kentucky Derby.
“Once Upon a Time:” Racehorse Owners Sidney and Jenny Craig Chase the Dream.
The name, “Jenny Craig,” is usually associated with the empire surrounding the weight-loss maven.
However, “Jenny Craig” is more than a brand. She is a woman with humble beginnings, a hard-work ethic, and a history of owning champion racehorses.
During her youth, Jenny Craig’s confidence and drive took her on a journey that would not only lead to her ultimate career success, but also, to meeting her husband – Sid Craig.
In 1970, Sid Craig ran an ad in the New Orleans newspapers to staff his Body Contour Figure Salons. Jenny answered the ad and worked for Sid Craig for a number of years – opening and supervising three centers, as well as traveling to various salon locations throughout the United States.
After forming a friendship through their business relationship, the pair eventually married in Las Vegas in 1979.
In regard to their relationship, Jenny Craig wrote in her 2004 autobiography:
I’ve learned everyone has a soul mate somewhere, and if we’re lucky enough to find them to share our life with, then we are more fortunate than most. I thank God every day for allowing me to find mine. Sid has enriched my life in more ways than I can count.
Throughout nearly three decades of marriage, Sid and Jenny Craig maintained a mutual passion and devotion for racing, which led to their ownership of several horses.
One of the most infamous purchases was Dr. Devious. Jenny Craig had purchased the horse as a $2.5 million birthday gift to her husband when he turned 60 in 1992. Although Dr. Devious ran in the 1992 Kentucky Derby, he failed to produce a victory for the Craigs.
As part of the same gift, Jenny Craig purchased a filly named Crownette for $190,000. Although Crownette did not achieve the same success as Dr. Devious had on the track, she proved her value many years later in a union with Candy Ride.
Candy Ride, who was unbeaten in six career starts, was purchased by the Craigs after he won his first three races in Argentina. He was 
ultimately bred to Crownette and produced 2009 Kentucky Derby contender, Chocolate Candy. Despite Chocolate Candy’s failure to capture a Derby victory, the race demonstrated Candy Ride’s ability as a sire to produce a colt that could garner a highly-coveted spot in the Derby field.
In a sad twist, Sid Craig would not live to see Chocolate Candy enter the gates in the Kentucky Derby.
After a fairy tale life, he died with one regret: He never had a horse win the Kentucky Derby. Jenny Craig explained, “Near the end of Sid’s illness…, I asked him if there was anything he wished that he had achieved, and he said, ‘Yes. Winning the Kentucky Derby.’ It really was the ultimate dream for him.” She went on to explain, “We thought as one – and I shared all his dreams.”
Through the work of Jenny Craig, her husband’s dream of winning the Kentucky Derby has been carried on past his lifetime.
Prior to his death, the Craigs bred Candy Ride with a broodmare named Fair Exchange.
The union produced a colt. In honor of the late Sid Craig, the colt was named “Sidney’s Candy.”
The Horseless Rider: The Empty Gate in the 2009 Kentucky Derby.
In 2009, Jockey Joe Talamo, had his own dream – to ride his first horse in the Kentucky Derby.
At age 19, Talamo was set to ride morning line favorite, I Want Revenge in the Kentucky Derby. After starting his career as a jockey at Louisiana Downs in 2006, I Want Revenge was his first Derby mount. He was among a handful of riders who had reached the Kentucky Derby at such an early point in their career.
On the morning of the Kentucky Derby, I Want Revenge was scratched. The decision was made when a soft tissue injury was discovered in the left front ankle of the horse on the day of the race. The trainer for I Want Revenge, Jeff Mullins, stated, “Your biggest dream is to get here. Your biggest nightmare is to get here and scratch.”
As a result of the scratch, Talamo’s dreams of getting to ride a horse in the Kentucky Derby disappeared in a moment.
The Second Shot: Sidney’s Candy Bullets Toward the Roses.
Roughly three months after his horse scratched at the Kentucky Derby, Joe Talamo began riding Sidney’s Candy.
At the time, the horse was trying to break his maiden.
After a relatively average two-year-old season, Sidney’s Candy pointed to Santa Anita for his three-year-old debut.
On February 15, Joe Talamo entered the gates at the San Vincente Stakes aboard Sidney’s Candy as the colt made his debut. In a breathtaking finish, Sidney’s Candy won the San Vincente Stakes with a 4 ¼ length victory.
In the wake of his impressive three-year-old debut, Sidney’s Candy was entered in the San Felipe Stakes on March 13. When Talamo shot out of the gates aboard the horse, the colt ran in front throughout the entire race. As he claimed a second consecutive victory, Sidney’s Candy cemented himself as a legitimate contender for the Kentucky Derby.
On April 3, Sidney’s Candy entered the Santa Anita Derby with a field of top-notch rivals in the race. With Talamo again as his rider, Sidney’s Candy ran ahead of the pack - delivering an impressive 4 ½ length victory.
With Talamo aboard, Sidney’s Candy heads into the Kentucky Derby. In an interview following the Santa Anita Derby, Talamo stated:
To have a horse in the Kentucky Derby, any kind of horse, is a tremendous feat. I feel very honored and blessed just to make it back this year, after what happened last year.
We’ll see how good he is in the Derby. But, the way he handled himself today was unbelievable. He relaxes so well and he does things three-year-olds don’t do.
But he does it.
Post Time: The Kentucky Derby.
As twenty of the greatest three-year-old horses in our nation approach the gates for the Kentucky Derby, the actions of the athletes and their connections are perhaps the strongest testament to the beauty of this sport.
One horse can deliver a dream to so many people.
One person can spend a lifetime inside the dream.
One race can make a dream come true.
