LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) -Noble's Promise was never supposed to make it to the Kentucky Derby.

The goal Marsha Springate, Kelly Colliver and Robert Brewster had in mind when they purchased the horse as a young foal for $10,000 in 2007 was decidedly more modest.

Noble's Promise was what those in the business call a ``pin hook.'' The goal was simple: buy him as a baby, let him grow up a bit then try to sell him when he fills out.

Mother Nature had other ideas.

The owners placed Noble's Promise in a yearling sale in Ocala, Fla., in August, 2008. A hurricane, however, kept most of the sport's top owners and trainers from attending. The $25,000 reserve price for the colt was never met, and instead of selling him, they opted to put him in training.

Prepping a thoroughbred to run can be pricey. So Springate and company started calling friends and asking if they wanted to buy a stake in the promising colt for $1,000 a share.

Eventually the ownership group swelled to 24 people, almost all of them regular folks. There's a couple of postal workers. A bank employee. A printer. The 40 shares are split fairly evenly with no owner holding more than 7 percent of the horse. The name of their syndicate says it all: Chasing Dreams Racing.

``We're just normal people, racing fans,'' said Jim Spicer, a mail carrier who lives in Lexington.

Two years later, Noble's Promise has led his modest band of owners to the Kentucky Derby on Saturday, when the 12-1 shot will start from the third post in the Run for the Roses. If he wins, it easily will make for one of the most crowded winner's circle photos in Derby history.

``They're going to have to use a wide-angle lens,'' Spicer joked.

If Noble's Promise survives the 1 1/4-mile test on what promises to be a sloppy track at Churchill Downs, his owners will go down in Derby lore alongside the guys at Sackatoga Stable, a group of high school friends from upstate New York who turned a small investment into 2003 Derby winner Funny Cide.

In a sport where some of the world's richest people spend millions in search of a Derby horse, Noble's Promise is a refreshing reminder that deep pockets aren't always required to make a run at history.

Spicer admits he was a little disappointed when Noble's Promise finished third in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Santa Anita last fall. Then he remembered winner Vale of York is owned by the ruler of Dubai.

Vale of York didn't make it to the Derby. Noble's Promise and jockey Willie Martinez did, a symbol of hope in troubled economic times.

``This is a great American story with him and the people involved with him,'' said trainer Ken McPeek. ``It's the most optimistic group I've ever been around.''

Resolute too.

Chasing Dreams received a $4 million offer to sell their Derby contender. No chance.

``I think 95 percent of us just said no right away,'' said Springate, a Louisville native. ``We're not it for the money.''

Besides, the chance to run in the Derby is priceless.