National Thoroughbred Racing Association
Kentucky Derby Preview – National Media Teleconference
April 26, 2023
1:00 PM
Operator: Good day, everyone, and welcome to the National Thoroughbred Racing Association’s Media Teleconference, previewing the 149th Kentucky Derby. To moderate the call, I will not turn it over to Mr. Jim Gluckson. Please go ahead.
Jim Gluckson: Thank you very much, Ina. And good afternoon, or good day, everyone. And welcome to the NTRA, National Media Teleconference, previewing the 149th Kentucky Derby, presented by Woodford Reserve, which will take place, of course, on Saturday, May 6, at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky.
Today’s call is the first of three preview, media teleconferences of the 2023 Triple Crown races hosted by the NTRA. Joining us on today’s call will be trainers of top derby contenders, representing Todd Pletcher, Brad Cox, and Tim Yakteen. We will also have a report from Churchill Downs Asia Coordinator, Kate Hunter, on the Japanese contenders for the Derby, Continuar and Derma Sotogake.
As a reminder, a recording and transcript of today’s teleconference call will be available on ntra.com within the next 24 hours. To begin today’s program, I would like to welcome NTRA President and CEO, Tom Rooney, for some opening remarks. Tom?
Tom Rooney: Thanks, Jim. The National Thoroughbred Racing Association is happy to host the media conference call in front of each of this year’s Triple Crown races, to shine a light on the stars of the shows. The horses and the horsemen will be competing in this year’s event, starting with the Kentucky Derby.
This is one of the best times of the year to be a fan of thoroughbred racing, as the eyes of the world descend upon Churchill Downs next Saturday. May 6 also marks the beginning of the new chase for glory for the Triple Crown and marks the 50th anniversary of Secretariat’s remarkable Triple Crown win, which captivated the entire nation in 1973.
Our goal at the NTRA is to work to make sure policies to continue grow the equine economy and help our great sport thrive. With that, I’ll turn it back over to Jim. He’ll introduce each of our esteemed trainers, giving us their time today. I also want to give a quick shout out to Ron Flatter for reminding us how important this forum is. So with that, Jim, back to you.
Jim Gluckson: Tom, thank you, very much. All right, let’s bring in our first guest today — two-time Derby winning trainer, hall of famer, Todd Pletcher. Todd has, of course, trains two-year-old champion Forte, Tampa Bay Derby and total Toyota Blue Grass Stakes winner, Tapit Trice; and twinspires.co Louisiana Derby winner, Kingsbarns, in the first 20 horses of the prospective derby field, with Major Dude on the also eligible list. Jim Gluckson here — how are you today?
Todd Pletcher: Good, Jim. Thank you.
Jim Gluckson: Thanks for joining us, Todd. I think we’d like to first start with a quick update from your four contenders and what they did today. And then, explain your next scheduled workouts for these runners.
Todd Pletcher: So, all four had routine, mile and 3/8 gallops this morning. All seemed to be handling everything very well. Seemed to be getting over the track the way we would have hoped. But, all four had very productive breezes last Friday.
And right now, we’re scheduled to have their final breezes on Saturday morning. Of course, like everyone, we’re keeping a close eye on the forecast. Right now, if the hourly forecast looks right, we’re probably going to be getting some rain tomorrow afternoon, into Friday. But it looks, hopefully, clear Friday evening and into Saturday morning.
So, we’ll probably move our Oaks workers up to tomorrow, and then stick the Saturday schedule for the Derby horses.
Jim Gluckson: All right. Very good. Todd, After workouts last Friday by both Forte and Tapit Trice, you commented how encouraged you were by the progression of both colts during the Derby prep season, and the confidence in them to stretch to the 1¼ mile Derby distance. Can you comment on the attributes of these two horses that give you such great confidence?
Todd Pletcher: Well, what I love about all of our horses coming in, is they seem to have a knack for finding the finish line, in front. And they’ve got winning records that supports our confidence in them. But, what I was particularly pleased — is Churchill can sometimes be a little bit a quirky surface, and sometimes you’ll see horses maybe not skipping over it the way they will some other tracks.
And sometimes you’ll see the track break away from a little bit, and you’ll actually see them bobble a little bit. And I thought in all of our horses cases, we did not see that. And so that was encouraging. And it just seems like both Forte and Tapit Trice finished up very well at the mile and an 1/8th, giving us confidence they’ll handle a little more ground.
And, of course Kingsbarns was able to get a mile and 3/16 in only his third start, so that, too, gives us optimism that mile ¼ will be within all of their ranges.
Jim Gluckson: Very good. All right, well, Todd, thank you. I think, now, Ina, let’s open it up here to questions from the media. We have a lot of media on the line. So let’s just begin with one question and one comment, please, per caller. So let’s begin with our questioning process.
Operator: Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, we will now begin the question-and-answer session. If you wish to ask a question, you will need to press * and 1 on your telephone keypad. You will hear a two-tone prompt acknowledging your request. Questions will be taken in the order received. Should you wish to cancel your request, please press the * followed by the 2. If you are using a speaker phone, please lift the handset before pressing any keys.
And your first question comes from the line of Beth Harris from Associated Press. Please go ahead.
Beth Harris: Hi, Todd. How are you?
Todd Pletcher: Great. Thank you.
Beth Harris: Starting Monday is when HISI’s medication and drug testing program gets going. And I’m wondering, what’s your level of trust and confidence going into the very start of it?
Todd Pletcher: Well, it’s my understanding that it’s been pushed back to May 22, so it doesn’t appear as though it’s going to be effecting — directly effecting, immediately, the — either the Kentucky Derby or the Preakness.
Beth Harris: Given that, how are you feeling? They’ve had these false starts leading up to actually having it take effect. So I’m wondering, just where you stand on your level of confidence in the whole thing?
Todd Pletcher: Well, I think like everyone, I’m anxious to have everything set in place and get a consistent, working order in progress. And I think it’s going to be a learning curve for everyone. We experienced a few days of it at the end of March. So I think, really, what we’re all hoping for is just to get to a firm plan in place, where we can start consistently enforcing the same rules.
Beth Harris: Do you think it’s going to make it any easier, in a trainer’s life, in terms of the way it’s set up, and then how you have to deal with things, on a daily basis?
Todd Pletcher: Well, I think it’s very labor intensive. It’s just going to be, probably, a situation where a stable like ours is going to have add an additional employee that’s probably just going to be in charge or those type of record keeping input and data. So, yeah, I mean, it — in some ways it won’t be as easy, but hopefully, the net gain on the other end is something that the entire industry will benefit from.
Beth Harris: Thank you.
Operator: Thank you. And your next question comes from the line of Byron King from BloodHorse. Please go ahead.
Byron King: Hi, Todd. I hope you’re doing well. Let me start with Kingsbarns — any decision on a jockey?
Todd Pletcher: We’ve not made a final decision. In talking to the guys, at Spendthrift, and I would say there say there’s a very solid chance that Jose Ortiz is going to come in and breeze the horse. So, right now he’s a leading candidate. But got to circle back with those guys and we’ll make a final decision in the near future.
Byron King: Very good. And then, also, I was hoping you could just kind of reflect on your line-up this year. You’ve brought a lot of steep line-ups to the Kentucky Derby over the years. Some years you’ve run five, many years four. I think, if I counted right, I think there’s been, like 11 years where ran three or more.
How do you characterize this group, relative to the groups you’ve brought before? I mean, it seems to be me to be a very talented and dynamite cast. All of them won — at least Kingsbarns, Tapit Trice, and Forte — all won million-dollar preps coming in. But how do you rank this group, relative to the other deep squads you’ve brought into the Derby?
Todd Pletcher: Well, I would say, in terms of para-mutual support, it’s probably going to be the strongest team that we’ve brought. I think only one time have we started a favorite and that was in 2017, with Always Dreaming, where I think you could argue it was possible that Forte and Tapit Trice could be the favorite and second choice or close to it.
So I think, in terms of that, it’s probably our strongest group, and their accomplishments on the way, having a champion two-year-old, to follow that up with a Fountain of Youth and Florida Derby win. And then Tapit Trice with the Tampa Derby and a Blue Grass win, I think you could say that’s the deepest squad we’ve put up so far.
Byron King: And then, reflect a little, if you would, on — it seemed like this spring, in quite an amazing accomplishment for you and your horses to knock out these three, million-dollar races in a span of, I believe it was just three weeks.
Todd Pletcher: Yeah, it was. I mean, we were fortunate that we kind of had a game plan in place. And Forte, it was easy. We knew that we wanted to have his first start in the Fountain of Youth and that kind of gave us the option, after that, of coming back in the Florida Derby or possibly the Bluegrass. We felt like we needed another week.
So, everything just went according to plan and he trained the way we had hoped and so that part of it was sort of the easy decision. And then, just kind of developing the other two horses and get some allowance wins and then kind of put us in a position to look at some stakes. And the timing just fell into place for Kingsbarns at Louisiana.
And Tapit Trice, we felt like the Tampa race was a good experience for him, but we also felt like we needed another prep. And so it was great that it worked out — where it he get at a grade I Blue Grass and win an important, stallion-making race like that for him.
Byron King: Very good. Tood, thank you. Best of luck with your final works and — on Derby and Oaks day.
Todd Pletcher: Thanks, Byron.
Operator: Thank you. Once again, if you wish to ask a question, please press * and 1 on your telephone keypad. And your next question comes from the line of Pat Forde from Sports Illustrated. Please go ahead.
Pat Forde: Hi, Todd. I’m just wondering, as somebody who’s been around the game for quite a while, Secretariat’s stakes records still hold for the Derby, the Preakness, and the Belmont, 50 years later. Records in other sports are kind of made to be broken. What does it say that his records haven’t been broken — for a half century?
Todd Pletcher: Yeah, I mean, I guess it just solidifies his status as, arguably, the best thoroughbred racehorse of all time. And it’s remarkable that not only that he set those track records in those three races, but for them to still be standing after 50 years is amazing. So, it just adds to his legacy.
Pat Forde: Thank you.
Operator: Thank you. And your next question comes from the line from David Grening from Daily Racing Form. Please go ahead.
David Grening: Todd, following-up on Byron’s question about — and your answer about this being the strongest hand you’ve probably brought to the Derby, how does expectations change for your, in the regard, say then, in 2019, I think you had two long shots — Cutting Humor and Spinoff?
Todd Pletcher: David, I think any time you have high hopes and high expectations comes added pressure and added intensity. Feel like we’ve able to have everything go really smoothly and so you just kind of hope that that continue to be the case and, hopefully, you lucky with the weather.
And then, you just want to have them prepared the very best you can. And — but yeah, there’s no doubt, when you feel like you’re bringing really legitimate contenders in, that your hopes are higher. And, along with that, comes added pressure.
David Grening: On a different note, you’ve brought in some horses, previously, with — that were lightly raced and there were probably some expectations for, say, maybe Verrazano, Charge It, Stanza, Magnanimous types that had three-for-four or three-for-three records. Kingsbarns sort of falls into that ground here.
What is he giving up — how much do you feel he’s giving up in seasoning? And is he — how do you feel that, maybe, he can overcome it, whereas maybe those other horse couldn’t?
Todd Pletcher: Yeah, I mean, I think the real key is he going to handle the track? And, I think, based on his first breezer of the track, I — it gave me added confidence. I think for example, Verrazano’s case, he did not handle the track, and that was a concern, watching him breeze over it, where he was kind of repeatedly bobbling and the track came up wet that day anyways and it just didn’t work out for him.
So I think, like I’ve said before, you can learn a lot from your Derby experiences, but you’re always bringing a new player to the game each year, so everyone’s going to handle it a little differently if they — one thing Kingsbarns has going in his favor is having that mile and 3/16 race under his belt. So got a lot of experience and education in his debut.
You just — in an ideal world, you’d have a little more seasoning into him, another start or two, but this is kind of the way it’s unfolded. And, based on the strength of that race, he certainly deserves an opportunity.
David Grening: Thank you.
Operator: Thank you. And your next question comes from the line of John Clay from Lexington Herald Leader. Please go ahead.
John Clay: Yeah, Todd, you mentioned about always learning from your Derby experiences. Over the years, are there one or two things in particular that you’ve learned that are specific to the Kentucky Derby?
Todd Pletcher: I think a lot of it’s really just about the preparation and the — trying to stick to your program, stick to what’s been working for the horses, leading up to here. And then, I’d just state, kind of knowing when you want to breeze and what time you want to try and just familiarity with all the little, smaller things that go on — the walk-over to the paddock and the gathering and the mile shoot beforehand.
You’re just trying to, maybe, take advantaging of having been there before and kind of knowing the timing of how you want to set up for all that. It can be helpful having that experience. But like I said, each year, you’re bringing a different horse — what might work for one, on year, might not work for another one, the following year.
John Clay: And one more question, if I could — also, Brad Cox — it looks like he’s going to have multiple horses in this year’s Derby, as well. What do you think of the job that Brad has done, especially here in the last two or three years?
Todd Pletcher: I think Brad and his team have done a phenomenal job, not only this year, leading into the Derby and it looks like he’s going to have four in there, but what he’s done with his stable over the last 10 years, especially the last five years, has been phenomenal.
I mean, he’s got probably, arguably the — one of, if not the strongest ownership groups backing him, with horses for Juddmonte, Godolphin, and that — sounds easy, but sometimes managing a lot of accounts like that is difficult. And I think he and his team have done a terrific job of that.
John Clay: Great. Thanks, Todd. Good luck to you.
Todd Pletcher: Thank you.
Operator: Thank you. There are no further questions at this time. Please continue.
Jim Gluckson: Todd, very much appreciate the time that you’ve taken today to answer the questions. And good luck to you and to your horses in the Kentucky Derby.
Todd Pletcher: Thanks, Jim. Appreciate it.
Jim Gluckson: Thank you. Todd Pletcher, everyone. Let’s move quick now to Brad Cox — trainer Brad Cox, who has four contenders in the Derby field — the probable Derby field in Kentucky, led by Arkansas Derby winner Angel of Empire; Blue Grass Stakes runner-up, Verifying; Wood Memorial runner-up, Hit Show; and third-place finisher in the Twin Spires Louisiana Derby, Jace’s Road. Brad, welcome to today’s call.
Brad Cox: Good afternoon, Jim. Thanks for having me on.
Jim Gluckson: Thank you. I think you’re a little pressed for time here, so just wanted to give you — give us an update on the work-out schedules for your four contenders.
Brad Dox: Right now, it could be as early as Friday. It does look like we’re going to get some rain on Friday, but it could also be Saturday, as well. So, listen, we’re just going to kind of watch — we’re definitely going to watch the weather and watch the racetrack and make a decision, kind of, I don’t want to say last minute, but we’ll just kind of watch how the racetrack and kind of go from there.
Jim Gluckson: All right. Well, let’s open it up to questions to the media, please. Ina, please go ahead and signal for one question, one comment, for our callers.
Operator: Thank you. Once again, if you wish to ask a question, please press * and 1 on your telephone keypad. Your question comes from the line of C.L. Brown from the Louisville Courier-Journal. Please go ahead.
C.L. Brown: Hi, Brad. I have kind of a broad question here. Just looking at how horse racing brings together so many people from so many different kind of cultures and backgrounds, what, do you — is the biggest challenge in putting together a championship kind of team, when the owner might be somebody from overseas, you might have a jockey that’s from Latin America? Like, just bring things together, so there’s nothing kind of lost in translation.
Brad Cox: Yeah, look, it’s a huge, international body of people. So, I mean, in regards to what we’ve been doing was, obviously, for my owners, I mean, it’s not as if the Derby’s the first — I’ve been dealing with them, on-and-off for years. So, it all kind of works itself out, obviously.
We have, I think, a couple French jockeys/owners, like you said, throughout the world, especially Verifying’s owners are mostly from Ireland and the U.K., so I definitely, — this is Louisville’s weekend or week, where the eyes are — of the world are definitely on Louisville.
C.L. Brown: Thank you.
Operator: Thank you. And your next question comes from the line of Byron King from BloodHorse. Please go ahead.
Byron King: Hi, Brad. I hope you’re doing well. I wanted to ask you — and this was something that I thought was interesting, the other day – (name in audible) was asking Bill Mott about how he felt about winning the Kentucky Derby with Country House via DQ and how it might feel differently if he were able to win it, outright, crossing the line first.
Wanted to get your perspective, since you’re kind of in a similar boat, having won it through, of course, with Mandaloun, but via DQ. What are your thoughts as you reflect back on that and what that experience was like? And for that matter, have you thought about how it might be different if you were successful in the first Saturday in May this year?
Brad Cox: Yeah, — it would totally be different. There was no experience of winning the Derby. I think that’s why we do it. I’ve said it several times. The Breeders’ Cup Classic is the richest race in America. And we was fortunate to win that race a few years ago with Knicks Go. So, winning the Derby’s not about the money, really, when it comes to the purse or anything. You — it’s the thrill of the victory that you’re wanting to experience.
We, obviously — there’s no thrill in saying you won the Derby through a phone call that says you were placed first through DQ. That’s just not really something to get excited about, the way I see it. There’s no celebration. There is no post-race, win picture. I think, in Bill Mott’s case, it — their decision was made 20 minutes after the Derby, not six months or whenever.
So, totally different deal, and do look forward, hopefully, this year to winning it. I think we got some really good shots. And it would definitely be, like I said, the experience, I’m hopeful — and that we can experience it. And I’m sure it’d be a feeling like no other.
Byron King: I’m curious, too, if you’ve had any conversations with the (Gary and Mary) West’s? They’re kind of in a different spot, having been DQ’d with Maximum Security, of course. And, of course, you trained Hit Show for them. So, they got another crack at it.
Brad Cox: Yeah, for sure. And I think they got a really last (inaudible). I mean, this colt’s really doing well. I think he’s going to like the mile and 1/8 — I’m sorry, he’ll like the mile and a 1/4, and he’s performed it very well, sometimes going a mile a 1/8.
Now, I really have– I’ve not had a conversation with them about that. I know it’s a race that I’m sure they would like to win, so they cross the wire first. And they like to cross the wire first and stay up. And I think this is — I’m very excited for them.
They’re actually going to be here for the race. So, that shows that, obviously, they have interest and it’s a very big deal to them. And, hopefully, this horse can give them reason to be excited the first Saturday in May.
Byron King: Thank you, Brad.
Brad Cox: Thanks, Byron.
Operator: Thank you. And your next question comes from the line of David Grening. Please go ahead.
David Grening: Hi, Brad. Of the four horses that you do currently have in the body of the race, is there one or two that are you think you’re a little surprised that they are here? And conversely, are there some among the ones that you had nominated, that you’re, like surprised that you’re not preparing for the Derby?
Brad Cox: I guess, maybe, the one that I would say surprised us a little bit would be, maybe the way Angel of Empire’s really taken off. I’m really happy with the way he is training. If you had asked me back in November or December if I thought he was Derby horse, I would say, probably needs to do more. But guess what? He did do more.
And he got better the further he went. So – but once again, based off his – physical build, we always need a horse that would love two turns, and likes a mile and 1/8. He was able to win twice at the distance and another one — bet you he’d like the mile and 1/4, for sure.
So I guess, out of the group of four we have, he would be that one that I would say, if you’d asked me five months ago, he would be the one that I would, maybe, scratch my head about. Always liked Verifying. He was a horse that was able to get it done, going short, had enough speed to win, going short.
I like Hit Show, and was tremendous out the first time. He had enough speed to win going short. A little bit of an odd-run race that day. No pace, I think, going 7/8. And then, obviously, Jace’s Road was a horse that wasn’t going short, as well, first time.
So, those were more handy horse — handier horses, maybe they’re just a little quicker horses away from the gate, as well, as opposed to Jace’s (Road) — or, as opposed to Angel of Empire, maybe taking a little bit longer to come around, just based on his physical build and his pedigree and stuff.
David Grening: Okay. And would — I was wondering, since I got you — is there an update on Loggins? I mean, no one really came closer in the last time that — in the last several months, to getting to Forte than this horse. And, obviously, he went to the sidelines. Where are you with that horse?
Brad Cox: Right. He’s doing very, very well. He’s at Churchill galloping. I’m not sure exactly when he’ll return to the work tab, but he is galloping and basically, just a routine, regular gallop right now, and looks amazing, very happy.
He just came back in the first of the month, so we got a little ways to go — first part of April. So we do have a little ways to go with him, but I am very excited about what we’ve seen from him, in a short period of time.
David Grening: And one last thing, Instant Coffee, where do you stand with him, in terms of what you’d like to do, moving forward.
Brad Cox: We’re looking at the Preakness as a possibility with him. Thought about Pat Day Mile. Just don’t real — we just don’t — shorten him back up to one turn. But right now, it’s possible he could show up in the Preakness.
David Grening: Thanks.
Operator: Thank you. And your next question comes from the line of Ron Flater from Horse Racing Nation. Please go ahead.
Ron Flater: Hey, Brad. You had mentioned, when everything was coming down, about — in the Medina Spirit, Mandaloun circumstance, that you would be in favor of pre-race testing for the Derby. And with that in mind, we were expecting to have the HISA medication rules in effect Monday, but they’re getting kicked down the road another three weeks.
What’s your feeling about the roll-out of HISA rules coming in here? And do you — are you optimistic that maybe they will meet your goal, if you want to characterize it as that, of having some pre-race testing for our biggest races?
Brad Cox: Yeah, I think it’s going to happen at some point. I don’t know if it’ll be next year, but I think it’s something that’s — I think trainers want it. I mean, I think you want to take your horse over there and what’s — and I mean, this was what we got, and you cleared everything you need to clear, and not phone calls two, three weeks later.
But listen, it’s just the way it is now. And — but I am optimistic that this will be something that HISA can — will make it — fast forward with the testing and can get it done in a quicker manner.
Ron Flater: Very good. Thank you. Thank you, Brad.
Brad Cox: Thanks, Ron.
Operator: Thank you. There are no further questions at this time. Please continue.
Jim Gluckson: All right. Well, thank you, very much, Brad. I appreciate the time that you gave us today. And again, best of luck to all your horses in the Kentucky Derby.
Brad Cox: Thanks, Jim. Talk to you soon.
Jim Gluckson: Thank you. Brad Cox, everyone. I’d like to move on now to Kate Hunter, who’s going to join us as the Asia representative for Churchill Downs at the Kentucky Derby, who’s been overseeing the workouts, the preparations for the Japanese contenders, Derma Sotogake and Continuar, for the Kentucky Derby.
Kate has worked around the world, on major races — the Breeders’ Cup and Saudi Cup, Dubai World Cup, and is very familiar with the Japanese horses and, most certainly, their recent success. Kate, Jim Gluckson here. How are you today?
Kate Hunter: Hi. I’m doing pretty well.
Jim Gluckson: Kate, we know that both of the horses had workouts just today. Can you comment on the workouts today at Churchill, from the two, Japanese contenders?
Kate Hunter: Yes. They breezed five furlongs together and in typical fashion. And Derma Sotogake finished very, very strongly. We’re very pleased with that. And Continuar also breezed very well. So, both of them seem to have come out of okay. We’re about ready to head to the barn right now, actually, and have a quick look at them and see them to lunch.
Jim Gluckson: All right. Well, Kate, can you comment about the great success the Japanese horses have rece