Undistinguished Career on the Track, but a Champion for One Family

Amazing story by Bill Dwyre of The LA Times.

In horse racing terms, Grant and Greta Hays have had a rough trip. They have two young children, both severely autistic.
"After we had Jack, we wanted to have another child," Grant Hays says. "We thought the odds of having a second with autism were really low."
Jack is 6, Dylan 2. Neither speaks, except on rare spontaneous occasions. According to their father, they are antisocial kids, which is not unusual with autistic children. Grant says it creates a life of stress and tension, and cites research that says something like 85% of parents with autistic children get divorced.
The marriage of Grant and Greta apparently is going in the other direction. This is the story of how and why. It is also the story of a big, old gelded thoroughbred named Spot the Diplomat, who, through a series of coincidental circumstances, has carried this family to its own winner's circle.