Commonwealth providing Becker a memorable experience amid battle with autoimmune condition

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – For many, attending the Kentucky Derby is a bucket-list experience. That’s true for Ryan Becker, who is battling a rare autoimmune condition. Becker not only gets to check the Derby off on Saturday, but will experience it as a minority shareholder in a horse in one of the stakes on the undercard.

Becker, 39, is one of the 516 Commonwealth shareholders on Italian Soiree, who runs in the Grade 2, $1 million Churchill Distaff Turf Mile on the Kentucky Derby undercard. Commonwealth is a micro-share ownership experience group that buys into horses and then allows several investors to buy into those shares at $50 per share. The group is best known as co-owners of 2023 Kentucky Derby winner Mage and 2022 Dubai World Cup winner Country Grammer.

Becker, an attorney who was a commercial plans examiner in Spokane, Wash., was diagnosed in late 2024 with an autoimmune condition called pyoderma gangrenosum. There are many subtypes of the disease that affect various systems; he is the only recorded case of having all three subtypes of the disease simultaneously. In January 2025, Becker was given six months to live; with treatment including participation in a clinical trial, he has already exceeded that.

“This race and this experience mean a lot to us personally,” Becker said via Commonwealth. After his diagnosis, “we decided that having a negative attitude was not going to add any time to my life. So we made a promise to do everything in our power to make each day the best day of our lives, and tomorrow even better. Since then, this has honestly been the best year of my life. The opportunities we have had, the memories we have made, and the way we have chosen to live have been incredible.”

Becker, his wife Mikkel, and their 1-year-old son Atlas, all avid equestrians, have traveled to Kentucky for the week. Prior to stepping into the hubbub that is Churchill Downs on Derby Day, the family got to spend some quieter time with Italian Soiree, who is trained by Graham Motion, while training at Keeneland. The 4-year-old Uncle Mo filly, who is owned by Hit The Bid Racing Stable with Commonwealth, won the Grade 3 Coronation Cup Stakes last summer at Saratoga. She comes to Churchill Downs off an allowance win at Laurel Park.

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