PARIS, Kentucky — You’d expect Eric Buckley to have a fairly blunt reaction to his family’s fortunes changing overnight. But it’s the words he uses to react to the news that tells you everything about his character.

“Am I disappointed that my horse may or may not run the Derby and [that] the Derby is not even running when it’s supposed to be? Yes,” he says from the barn on his family farm. “But is my child healthy? Is my wife healthy? Are my parents alive? You know, those are what matter, and I have to look at the whole picture.”