This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Griffin Johnson . It has been edited for length and clarity. I grew up on a farm in the Midwes t. Like a lot of farm kids, I was around horses, but I didn't know anything about the sport of horse racing. My dad is a factory worker, and my mom's a nurse. They raised our family on about $60,000 a year, and we had no financial literacy. From the horses themselves to the fancy outfits at the Kentucky Derby, everything about racing felt