R ight place. Right time. Right comment. Right per- son. Right connections. Right into horse racing. Right now, a Derby contender. So easy, right? Though it might sound that way - something of an A-to-B-to-C scenario by connecting the dots - it wouldn’t be correct to say that everything has gone smoothly for Michael Lund Petersen during his three seasons in America’s oldest sport. He has enjoyed success, to be sure, but there has been failure and disappointment to deal with, too, since he met longtime owner Bernie Schi- appa, purchased his first horse and went into business with Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert. A year ago, his One Lucky Dane (Lookin at Lucky) finished second to Dortmund (Big Brown) in the Santa Anita Derby and was being prepared for the Kentucky Derby when he suffered a career-ending leg injury. Pe- tersen and Baffert rebounded quickly. On April 9, Mor Spirit (Eskendereya) was the runner-up to Exaggerator’s (Curlin) smashing performance over a sloppy sealed surface in the Santa Anita Derby, putting Petersen on course toward Churchill Downs once again and begging the question: Who is this guy? The short answer isn’t so short. Petersen, 56, was born and raised in Denmark and was instrumental in the development of PANDORA jewelry into a global jugger- naut. A friendly, outgoing man, Petersen has kept a low profile and rarely talks with journalists. He lives with his family in Maryland’s horse country, is an accomplished amateur golfer, good enough to win the 2015 Pebble Beach Pro-Am with Pat Perez, and has had a very long interest in racing. “I grew up right next to the racetrack in Copenha- gen. I spent a lot of time there,” he said. “I had some girl friends that were riding horses over there in the morning. They started getting me over there and I went to the racetrack every Saturday. They were all around where I grew up. “I always liked horse racing. I’ve been fortunate enough