The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines courage as “the mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty.” We see human examples of this each time jockeys guide thousand-pound Thoroughbred dynamos from the explosion of the starting gate to the rush for the finish line.

Although Saturday’s $750,000, Grade 2 Wood Memorial Stakes Presented by Resorts World Casino is taking place at Aqueduct in New York, there’s a strong chance the 1 1/8-mile Road to the Kentucky Derby qualifier will be won by a horse shipping north from Florida.