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By Kaley Green, KAMR-TV
AMARILLO, TX—JUNE 12, 2018—It is a success story Matt Darby would never have imagined for himself.
Darby started out as a sportscaster, but when he began working in marketing for the American Quarter Horse Association's racing department, he got a new idea. To him, it seemed like a no-brainer.
"I didn't know anything about races or horse racing or horses or anything, but I had to go to horse races as part of my job," Darby said, "and I went to my very first one about six weeks in and immediately I asked my coworker why the jockeys were wearing baggy silks."
So he engineered Speed Silks® using an expensive fabric called Aero Dimplex, but the push to sell them in a very traditional market proved to be difficult.
Darby's Speed Silks® helped thoroughbred Justify to win the Triple Crown this year.
Justify's jockey, Mike Smith, wore Speed Silks® to win the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes, and the Belmont Stakes, although he had a close call before Belmont. Smith wore co-owner WinStar Farms silks for the first two legs of the Triple Crown but was slated to switch to co-owner China Horse Club's silks in the Belmont.
Darby said despite the initial pushback he faced, some of the biggest trainers and owners in the horse racing industry are now using his Speed Silks® and they are shipping globally.
In less than five years his jockeys sporting Speed Silks® have won two Kentucky Derbies, two Preakness Stakes, two Belmont Stakes, one Breeders' Cup Classic and one Triple Crown.
For other aspiring inventors and business owners, Darby said his advice is to know that everyone fails and overcoming those failures and staying humble are key to success.
Reprinted Courtesy myhighplains.con.
Editor's note: For additional information on Speed Silks® visit the company's website at https://speedsilks.com/'>speedsilks.com or call 806.333.8589.