This can sometimes be true and sometimes is just flat out wrong.

Imagine if drag car racers had this attitude and started off slow and then punched the accelerator! The other car they were racing against would already be across the finish line!

Foot races even have to be paced. There is only so much those tried legs can do once behind. Get too far behind because you are slow and steady and the other races might lap you before you decide to kick it into high gear. By then you might look fast in comparison but there is no way you make up that kind of ground!

Money is generally a slow and steady pace situation.

This is possibly where the saying comes from. Who knows really where it originated but in school they were always talking about it. Maybe just to keep the boys from running down the hallways. The turtle and the rabbit come to mind when you think about the statement. In children's cartoons it is often depicted as the rabbit speeding along and either getting tired or distracted and the turtle cheerfully passing the rabbit by. Oddly enough, no one really teaches kids about money or how it works in a school setting.

The real message is that one should not get in such a hurry that you lose sight of the goal.

So why don't they just say this, Instead of using a metaphor. Slow and Steady Wins The Race sounds impossible but when you realize it isn't literal then it makes sense. Communicating should be clear and direct. If the other person you are speaking with doesn't understand what you are saying then what benefit did it have? Keep It Simple.