--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I raised you to be a thoroughbred. When…" description: "\"I raised you to be a thoroughbred. When thoroughbreds run, they wear blinders to keep their eyes focused straight ahead with no distractions, no other ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a9/marlo-thomas-8603_blinders_i-raised-you-to-be-a-thoroughbred-when-t_3065809.jpg" --- # I raised you to be a thoroughbred. When thoroughbreds run… ![“I raised you to be a thoroughbred. When thoroughbreds run, they wear blinders to keep their eyes focused straight ahead with no distractions, no other horses. They hear the crowd, but they don’t listen. They just run their own race. That’s what you have to do. Don’t listen to anyone comparing you…” quote by Marlo Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a9/marlo-thomas-8603_blinders_i-raised-you-to-be-a-thoroughbred-when-t_3065809.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a9/marlo-thomas-8603_blinders_i-raised-you-to-be-a-thoroughbred-when-t_3065809.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a9/marlo-thomas-8603_blinders_i-raised-you-to-be-a-thoroughbred-when-t_3065809.jpg) > “I raised you to be a thoroughbred. When thoroughbreds run, they wear blinders to keep their eyes focused straight ahead with no distractions, no other horses. They hear the crowd, but they don’t listen. They just run their own race. That’s what you have to do. Don’t listen to anyone comparing you to me or to anyone else. You just run your own race.” [Marlo Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlo-thomas/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Raise children to focus solely on their own goals, ignoring distractions and comparisons, like a thoroughbred with blinders. **In simple terms:** Teach kids to run their own race without distraction. Key Takeaway Encourage personal focus and self‑determination. Themes focus individuality determination Mood motivational reflective Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - parenting - sports metaphor - personal development Key Concepts psychology goal‑setting Questions to Reflect On - How can children learn from peers without losing focus? - When is comparison useful? A Different Perspective It may discourage healthy competition and learning from others. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Distraction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/distraction/) [Focused](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/focused/) [Horse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/horse/) [Race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/race/) [Run Your Own Race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/run-your-own-race/) [Running](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/running/) [Thoroughbred](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thoroughbred/) [Thoroughbreds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thoroughbreds/) ## Related quotes > [The secret is, first, get a thoroughbred horse because they are the most nervous animals on earth. Then get the biggest gun you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-owens/the-secret-is-first-get-a-thoroughbred-horse-because-they-are-the/) [Jesse Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-owens/) > [Our tax code encourages people to raise thoroughbred horses, not children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-schroeder/our-tax-code-encourages-people-to-raise-thoroughbred-horses-not/) [Patricia Schroeder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-schroeder/) > [Imagine yourself sitting on top of a great thoroughbred horse. You sit up there and you just feel that power. That's what it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-bradshaw/imagine-yourself-sitting-on-top-of-a-great-thoroughbred-horse-you-sit/) [Terry Bradshaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-bradshaw/) > [No matter how much you disagree with your kin, if you are a thoroughbred you will not discuss their shortcomings with the neighbors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-thomson/no-matter-how-much-you-disagree-with-your-kin-if-you-are-a/) Tom Thomson > [Thoroughbred racing is really my true passion. I'm living my dream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cassidy/thoroughbred-racing-is-really-my-true-passion-i-m-living-my-dream/) [David Cassidy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cassidy/) > [When you call upon a Thoroughbred, he gives you all the speed, strength of heart and sinew in him. When you call on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-neal/when-you-call-upon-a-thoroughbred-he-gives-you-all-the-speed-strength/) [Patricia Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-neal/) > [The Thoroughbred exists because its selection has depended, not on experts, technicians, or zoologists, but on a piece of wood: the winning post of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-thoroughbred-exists-because-its-selection-has-depended-not-on/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I am still under the impression that there is nothing alive quite so beautiful as a thoroughbred horse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-galsworthy/i-am-still-under-the-impression-that-there-is-nothing-alive-quite-so/) [John Galsworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-galsworthy/) > [Some kind of pace may be got out of the eeriest jade by the near prospect of oats; but the thoroughbred has the spur…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/some-kind-of-pace-may-be-got-out-of-the-eeriest-jade-by-the-near/) [James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/) > [Yes, he's got all them different kinds of thoroughbred blood in him, and he's got other kinds you ain't mentioned and that you ain't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-marquis/yes-he-s-got-all-them-different-kinds-of-thoroughbred-blood-in-him/) [Don Marquis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-marquis/) > [You can't win the Kentucky Derby unless you're on a thoroughbred.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-torre/you-can-t-win-the-kentucky-derby-unless-you-re-on-a-thoroughbred/) [Joe Torre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-torre/) > [The natural impulses of every thoroughbred include his sense of honor; his love of fair play and courage; his dislike of pretense and of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-post/the-natural-impulses-of-every-thoroughbred-include-his-sense-of-honor/) [Emily Post](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-post/) > [You are your own master, you make your own future. Therefore discipline yourself as a horse-dealer trains a thoroughbred](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/you-are-your-own-master-you-make-your-own-future-therefore-discipline/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [The difference between a mongrel and a thoroughbred, whether brute or man, is not in swiftness, beauty, or endurance, but in courage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-o-malley/the-difference-between-a-mongrel-and-a-thoroughbred-whether-brute-or/) [Austin O'Malley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-o-malley/) > [A thoroughbred business man cannot enter heartily upon the business of life without first looking into his accounts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/a-thoroughbred-business-man-cannot-enter-heartily-upon-the-business/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) ## More by Marlo Thomas > [I know George Burns was a very happy man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlo-thomas/i-know-george-burns-was-a-very-happy-man/) [Marlo Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlo-thomas/) > [“Steady as she goes”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlo-thomas/steady-as-she-goes/) [Marlo Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlo-thomas/) > [What I love about the theater is the work ethic. I grew up with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlo-thomas/what-i-love-about-the-theater-is-the-work-ethic-i-grew-up-with-it/) [Marlo Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlo-thomas/) > [Marriage is like a vacuum cleaner. You stick it to your ear and it sucks out all your energy and ambition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlo-thomas/marriage-is-like-a-vacuum-cleaner-you-stick-it-to-your-ear-and-it/) [Marlo Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlo-thomas/) > [I realize now that I was a feminist and the minute I heard the word I certainly knew it meant me, but at that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlo-thomas/i-realize-now-that-i-was-a-feminist-and-the-minute-i-heard-the-word-i/) [Marlo Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlo-thomas/) > [Living with these teenage boys allowed me to see how much their psyches were like their girl counterparts. They were more familiar to me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlo-thomas/living-with-these-teenage-boys-allowed-me-to-see-how-much-their/) [Marlo Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlo-thomas/) > [I find that balancing my life with my work with the kids at St. Jude, working on books, working on my career as an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlo-thomas/i-find-that-balancing-my-life-with-my-work-with-the-kids-at-st-jude/) [Marlo Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlo-thomas/) > [I wish someone would have told me that, just because I'm a girl, I don't have to get married.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlo-thomas/i-wish-someone-would-have-told-me-that-just-because-i-m-a-girl-i-don/) [Marlo Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlo-thomas/) > [Laughter is important, not only because it makes us happy, it also has actual health benefits. And that's because laughter completely engages the body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlo-thomas/laughter-is-important-not-only-because-it-makes-us-happy-it-also-has/) [Marlo Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlo-thomas/) > [It's fascinating for us women to begin looking at our lives in five-year plans. It really does help you keep on track. If that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlo-thomas/it-s-fascinating-for-us-women-to-begin-looking-at-our-lives-in-five/) [Marlo Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlo-thomas/) > [The Golden Girls certainly proved that there was a large audience for a show about older women.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlo-thomas/the-golden-girls-certainly-proved-that-there-was-a-large-audience-for/) [Marlo Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlo-thomas/) > [There's no doubt about it... I was born a feminist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlo-thomas/there-s-no-doubt-about-it-i-was-born-a-feminist/) [Marlo Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlo-thomas/) > [One woman is a pest and two women is a team, but three women or more is a coalition. If you can bring a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlo-thomas/one-woman-is-a-pest-and-two-women-is-a-team-but-three-women-or-more/) [Marlo Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlo-thomas/) > [Never face facts; if you do, you'll never get up in the morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlo-thomas/never-face-facts-if-you-do-you-ll-never-get-up-in-the-morning/) [Marlo Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlo-thomas/) > [What I'm loving about Hilary Clinton is that she has the job that's been held mostly by men. She's made it her job, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlo-thomas/what-i-m-loving-about-hilary-clinton-is-that-she-has-the-job-that-s/) [Marlo Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlo-thomas/) [Explore all 79 Marlo Thomas quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlo-thomas/) ## More Blinders quotes > [People in great groups have blinders on. Their work is all they see. They value failures as learning opportunities. They are optimistic, not realistic,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-g-bennis/people-in-great-groups-have-blinders-on-their-work-is-all-they-see/) [Warren G. Bennis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-g-bennis/) > [I think too many times people can get rigid in life, put our blinders on, get locked into one way of thinking, and forget…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-smalley/i-think-too-many-times-people-can-get-rigid-in-life-put-our-blinders/) [Dave Smalley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-smalley/) > [But down the bagagge, take of the blinders, and see for yourself that this very place is the valley of the endless spring, this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-daido-loori/but-down-the-bagagge-take-of-the-blinders-and-see-for-yourself-that/) [John Daido Loori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-daido-loori/) > [In transmitting the dharma, there is neither explanation nor teaching; there is neighter hearing nor attainment. Since explanations never really explains, nor are they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-daido-loori/in-transmitting-the-dharma-there-is-neither-explanation-nor-teaching/) [John Daido Loori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-daido-loori/) > [“But since the world is imperfect, we must put blinders on the senses.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rohinton-mistry/but-since-the-world-is-imperfect-we-must-put-blinders-on-the-senses/) [Rohinton Mistry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rohinton-mistry/) > [We are wide-eyed in contemplating the possibility that life may exist elsewhere in the universe, but we wear blinders when contemplating the possibilities of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-cousins/we-are-wide-eyed-in-contemplating-the-possibility-that-life-may-exist/) [Norman Cousins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-cousins/) > [The natural world is the only one we have. To try to not see the natural world - to put on blinders and avoid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-bass/the-natural-world-is-the-only-one-we-have-to-try-to-not-see-the/) [Rick Bass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-bass/) > [I won't look it in the eye. As soon as I do, I get scared. You gotta walk the plank at some point, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurel-nakadate/i-won-t-look-it-in-the-eye-as-soon-as-i-do-i-get-scared-you-gotta/) [Laurel Nakadate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurel-nakadate/) > [ At what point do \[progressives\] take off our partisan blinders and start wondering whether a very powerful faction of Democrats actually continues to SUPPORT… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sirota/at-what-point-do-progressives-take-off-our-partisan-blinders-and/) [David Sirota](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sirota/) > [“No emphaty when you had blinders on.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/no-emphaty-when-you-had-blinders-on/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) > [Somehow we allow, if a character goes to the dark side, if we're hooked into that character - I'm obsessed with Peaky Blinders. Those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-shuler-donner/somehow-we-allow-if-a-character-goes-to-the-dark-side-if-we-re-hooked/) [Lauren Shuler Donner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-shuler-donner/) > [“It was as if the blinders to his vision had been lifted and he wanted to make up for every moment the two of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kele-moon/it-was-as-if-the-blinders-to-his-vision-had-been-lifted-and-he-wanted/) [Kele Moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kele-moon/) > [When things are going awry, it's time to put the blinders on and do your job. Just do your job. Don't worry about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-riggins/when-things-are-going-awry-it-s-time-to-put-the-blinders-on-and-do/) [John Riggins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-riggins/) > [The successful people seem to have blinders on. Everything is straight ahead. They go forward and know exactly what they're going to do once…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicklaus/the-successful-people-seem-to-have-blinders-on-everything-is-straight/) [Jack Nicklaus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicklaus/) > [I just try to do the best job I possibly can - put the blinders on, go to work and be the best you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-parcells/i-just-try-to-do-the-best-job-i-possibly-can-put-the-blinders-on-go/) [Bill Parcells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-parcells/) Browse all 85 Blinders quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I raised you to be a thoroughbred. When thoroughbreds run, they wear blinders to keep their eyes focused straight ahead with no distractions, no other horses. They hear the crowd, but they don’t listen. They just run their own race. That’s what you have to do. Don’t listen to anyone comparing you to me or to anyone else. 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