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136TH KENTUCKY DERBY

May 1, 2010

CHURCHILL DOWNS, KENTUCKY

THE MODERATOR: The group in front of you, the winning connections of this year's Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver, let me go from my right to left starting with Elliott Walden, who is the racing manager for WinStar Farm, Todd Pletcher, Kentucky Derby winning trainer. Next the owners of WinStar Farm, Bill Casner and Kenny Troutt next to him, and the second member of the Carlton Family to have won a Kentucky Derby and Calvin will be coming.
Let me go first to Todd, obviously. Todd, it's been a while, this is your chance, you've always been very calm in disappointments, very calm in victory, do you want to whoop or shout or do whatever you want, this is your chance, buddy.
TODD PLETCHER: Thank you very much. It feels terrific.
THE MODERATOR: That's it?
TODD PLETCHER: That's it. No, you know, the one thing that was important to me is the win obviously is important to me, but the one thing I wanted to do was win while my parents were still here to see it.
THE MODERATOR: Your mother was excited about winning the race yesterday; I can imagine today.
TODD PLETCHER: She's even more excited today.
THE MODERATOR: You had four horses in the race, but talk about this horse's trip and how you followed him around with Calvin Borel in the saddle.
TODD PLETCHER: I was trying to follow all four of them so I would really like to see the replay so I can see it all one more time.
Obviously Calvin was in a beautiful spot the whole way. We didn't want to handcuff him with too many instructions. We knew he would like the safe ground and only thing I told him was, "ride him like you own him," and, "don't forget about getting a lead change." He's an instinctive rider and he knows this track so well, he knows the horse well, he's ridden him well each time he's been on him and it was as simple as that.
THE MODERATOR: Do you feel well about how he trained coming into the race?
TODD PLETCHER: Well, sometimes things work out for the best, and I'm not a trainer that generally likes to work on muddy tracks or sloppy tracks. Obviously this race is run on one day and you have to look at the schedule and we felt like Saturday was the right day to work.
The horse worked beautifully over the track and for whatever reason, I wish you could tell you exactly what we did that made it happen but since the Arkansas Derby, this horse has gotten better and better and better. We were sort of playing catch-up earlier in the year in January and February and we went to the Tampa Derby knowing we were not quite where we wanted to be but that race moved us forward for the race in the Arkansas Derby and the Arkansas Derby just put him right on.
THE MODERATOR: Can you grasp right now exactly what it is?
TODD PLETCHER: I think it will all soak in in a day or two. Obviously it's a race I've dreamed my whole life about winning. Now that it's happened, you're just -- you just kind of don't know what to feel or say. I wish I could wax poetically up here and tell you exactly how it feels but it's kind of all soaking in still.
THE MODERATOR: To the gentleman that founded WinStar Farm, talk about what this means for you.
BILL CASNER: Well, we have common roots. We both came on the racetrack in New Mexico, and of course Todd's father, J.J. Pletcher was a very prominent trainer out there.
You know, it's just an unbelievable journey. Kenny and I met when we were 25 years old in Nebraska, and we have been friends and business partners ever since. And you know, I'm still in shock. You dream of winning the Kentucky Derby, but you know, to win the Kentucky Derby in this business, is just unbelievable. The one thing I do want to -- Doug Cauthen, Elliott Walden, took this mare out, Supercharger, she's a foal sister to Bluegrass Cat, which Todd trained, ran second. It all starts there. And then our team at WinStar has done an unbelievable job. They cross all the T's, they dot all the I's. Every day the journey to get these horses to the races, anything can stop them. It's just -- you know, this victory belongs to our team.
KENNY TROUTT: The thing that means the most to me is that we at WinStar and even Bill and I, as he said, have been together a long time. Our families have been together, and it was a great feeling because everybody was here and our families were here and it's an unbelievable feeling being here with everybody and doing everything.
Of all of the times we've had, I've always got super nervous, I kept thinking about something my daughter -- she's nine years old, and she told me, she said, "Dad, I think this is our year. I really, really believe we are going to win the Derby." And as the horses were unloading, all I could think is what she said, and I just became so calm, it's just an unbelievable feeling. And when the horse ran by that finish line, it was just unbelievable. So I want to thank everybody, Doug and Elliott and Todd and everybody involved, thank you.
THE MODERATOR: Doug, you're a part of this organization for a while. Talk about what this means for you.
DOUG CAUTHEN: It's a dream come true. You always dream about it. When Steve won it, I was 15, and it was a bad lesson, because I thought, oh, by the time I'm 18, 19, I'll train a Derby winner. I learned that it was going to take a lot longer, and I got involved in the management side and it's just a blessing to have this opportunity.
I want to thank Bill and Kenny for giving us this opportunity. It comes down to planning, investment, hard work, and the grace of God, you know, Elliott and Todd and every groomer on our farm, to all of the managers, everybody who touched this horse, and that makes it special.
It's Steve's birthday today, too. So it was a good day to win it.
THE MODERATOR: Elliott, you came awfully close a couple of times, and now you've moved to the front office and you got one here, but talk about what this means and to be a part of the team that's won the Kentucky Derby.
ELLIOTT WALDEN: That's what special about it is the team. We have been asked a lot over the last two weeks about what makes WinStar special, and I really feel like what makes WinStar special is the team from the guys in the barn that come get the horses to the guys that make the mares and to our owners who are very generous with their resources, give us the opportunity to go out and buy good blood stock and provide good land and everything else.
The thing I was thinking about all day, and like you said, I've been close a couple of times, and you know, I checked it out this morning, Proverbs 21:31, "you make the horse ready for the day of battle but the victory rests with the Lord." Because you don't know if you're going to win and ultimately you don't know if you're going to lose. You come over here, a track that's knee deep in mud and a 20-horse field, and we have been disappointed a few times, Todd, Kenny, Bill, Doug, we have been disappointed a few times.
So you just hope and pray and you know, it's special to win it with Todd. When I quit training, he was the guy that he sent our first good horse to, Bluegrass Cat, and it's just special to be sitting up here with him, too.
THE MODERATOR: For anybody, talk about Calvin Borel who has won three out of the four last Kentucky Derbys and got it done for you guys today.
TODD PLETCHER: I said earlier in the week that Calvin Borel is a great rider anywhere he goes, but for some reason, at Churchill Downs, he's even five lengths better. He's just figured out Churchill Downs. He knows -- he knows how to ride this track and gets along with this colt really well, worked him beautifully the other day, and in November. It was Elliott's idea to use him in November, and then obviously once he won on him, it's just a big edge. You know, we were really happy to have him.

Q. Todd, you haven't really shown much emotion, at all. What's going on inside of you and what was going on when you saw him coming down the stretch and he was going to win the Kentucky Derby?
TODD PLETCHER: Well, I don't know, really. At the 3/16th pole when Calvin got the lead change, I said, "This could happen." And he just kind of -- you get to the 8th hole and at that point you're surveying, is anybody else coming and can this actually happen; are we going to get there. Then when it becomes obvious, it's a special feeling.
But you know, I'm trying to take my wins and losses in the same way, so like I said before, I'm no better trainer today than I was yesterday. No better than when I woke up this morning. Won't be any better tomorrow. We'll try to keep doing everything the way we have always done it and hopefully we can keep doing well.
But you know, it's really the opportunity that these guys gave me with a special colt, and we were fortunate enough to get it done.

Q. Todd, if you can just kind of put in perspective what really this whole week has been like for you mostly?
TODD PLETCHER: Well, a lot of times things work out for a reason, and we were concerned the first couple of days, Eskendereya didn't look like he liked a sloppy track. Who knows, if he were here and healthy -- and this is Super Saver's day, he loved this racetrack, he liked it when it was fast, liked it when it was muddy. Sometimes things just work out. Obviously we were disappointed not only for Eskendereya and us, but Mr. Zayat, it's been a tough couple of months, so this was his big horse and his big chance.
Sometimes it's not just about you; it's about everyone else, too. Still like to see the replay. Don't even know where a couple of my horses finished to be honest with you. The filly, she turned for home and was right there and looked like Mission Impazible had a little bit of traffic and Discreetly Mine was hanging in there. But I think I need to see it all again to soak it all up.

Q. Could you talk about the roller coaster over the last couple of weeks and the ultimate victory today, was it tough to take with the other horses kind of falling by the wayside there?
KENNY TROUTT: Any time you have a chance to run four horses and you have to take two out, it's very, very hard. And I think one of the hardest things, we had a whole lot of friends invited and we got cut back on tickets, so that was one of the hard things. (Laughing).
I tell you something I learned last year: We had three in and we got beat and I was feeling sorry for myself and then I got to thinking about how there's a lot of people would trade places with us, so I kind of looked at it a little bit different this year; that this is just God's way of testing us, and then if we believed and honored Him, He will give us what we deserve. I just want to thank Him for that.

Q. Todd, I wanted to ask you where you were watching the race, they showed a shot of you on TV pumping your fists and it looked like down by the tunnel.
TODD PLETCHER: Yeah, I was actually in the horsemen's lounge there. Kind of found a lucky TV this week. Thought I would stick with it.

Q. So you watched the whole race on TV?
TODD PLETCHER: Yeah, I did. To be honest with you, it's so hard to see from the stands and it's so hard to get up and back and down and forth. Yeah, I decided this year I was going to watch it somewhere else.

Q. Was anyone with you?
TODD PLETCHER: Absolutely no one.

Q. For anyone who may be aware, do you know the Derby Dream Bet of $100,000 to win was placed on your horse, and did you know that before the race or after, and how does it feel being involved in sort of that little extra oomph on TV there?
KENNY TROUTT: I bet they are a fan of WinStar Farm.
BILL CASNER: What did he ultimately go off at? Close to a million? Whoever is cashing that bet, they are a pretty happy camper today.

Q. Elliott, you are obviously a great trainer yourself; what qualities did you see in Todd that really struck you when you first started using him?
ELLIOTT WALDEN: One, it's hard work. Nobody beats him to the barn in the morning. His diligence, and a lot of times, there's a lot made of his temperament, it's a little steady as far as the media goes, but that's what makes him a great trainer, because he's humble. He let's his horses do the talking, and he's a great communicator for a guy who has had as much success as he's had.
You know, there's times that he makes us feel like, you know, we are almost helping him make the decision and he wants to involve everybody. And yeah, he's the kind of guy that as much success as he's had, he can say, well, I've done this or I've done that, and he's a great team player. He thinks about not only his owners that he communicates very well, but then he goes to the trainer's dinner the other night and brings his blacksmith and business manager, Maggie Sweet, and he understands truly what a team is.

Q. Elliott and Todd, can you kind of talk about the decision to send the horse here last November, what went into that, and also, just curious when you say that the horse had some setbacks this winter, what that really was?
TODD PLETCHER: Well, it was Elliott's idea to come back here last November. We were talking about the jockey club here or the Remson, and Elliott, a lot of times goes through nominations and looks at the races and analyzes them and he felt like this was a good spot. So the horse is doing well, and we sent him here, obviously he ran well, and I think it's a huge edge for us.
This horse did not particularly have any setbacks. He just needed some time to really get going as well as he can go. There was nothing -- he didn't miss any days of training. You know, he was just kind of getting a little better as we went along, and you know, sometimes we gave him a little bit of a break after the race here, and sometimes you know, it just takes him a little while to get that going. We always felt like we were going to make it, but we were just playing a little bit of catch-up.
Like I said the other day, however it worked out, it worked out right, because after the Arkansas Derby, he came here and he was the best he's been.
ELLIOTT WALDEN: He went to the farm a couple of weeks, I think three or four weeks after the jockey club so he didn't really get back in training until late December, while horses that were training all fall were ready to run January, February, and so that was the biggest part of it.

Q. Todd, your initial comments, you made it clear how much this means to your parents; can you talk about their influence on and you have you had a chance to speak to them yet?
TODD PLETCHER: I did. I saw them both right after the race, and my mom said it was the greatest day of her life, and you know, I'm very fortunate to have very supportive parents, not only from a racing standpoint; obviously my dad introduced me to the game and I worked with him and my mom is a huge horse racing fan and always been one of my best advisors.
So it's just like I said, they are both in their 70s, and I didn't want to let that opportunity get away.

Q. Todd, what is your mother's name?
TODD PLETCHER: Jerrie.

Q. A parochial question, but we first met at the Finger Lakes with Bella Role (ph), was that your first Stakes winner?
TODD PLETCHER: No, it wasn't my first Stakes winner. My first Stake's winner was a horse named Stu's Choice, won a Stake in Monmount (ph). That was a big win for me, might not seem big, but at the time that was big. So you know, one thing I'm proud of is that horse, I still trained and we ran Blue Streak today and they supported me when I didn't have many horses. They have been great, great supporters for a long time.

Q. Bill, when you got started in the business, where was this on the to do-do list? Was this on the radar? Was this part of the business plan, winning this race?
BILL CASNER: You know, Kenny and I, as I said, we first met in Omaha, Nebraska when we were both 25 years old, and if you're in this game, you always dream about the Kentucky Derby. Now, at that time, did we really believe that we could win the Kentucky Derby, I think the answer would probably be no to that. But the one thing that we did learn, is that if you're going to do this business, you've got to do it at the very highest echelon.
We both left the racetrack when we were about 31 years old, and at that time, we both walked away from it and really vowed that we wouldn't come back unless we could come back at a high level.
You know, I think those early days gave us the foundation to come back into this business, because the one thing that we understood is that you have to surround yourself with very, very good people, ethical people, people that have passion. And that's what we have tried to do.
I think if there's one thing that separates or perhaps maybe it's the hallmark of our program, is that we have people that truly love their horses. They care about what they do. They have the work ethic. It's what they do and it's who they are.
Today, like I said, it's almost surreal. We love this business. We do it because we love the horses. And when you've can walk into that winner's circle in the Kentucky Derby, it's just like putting a cherry on top of that ice cream, because we feel like we eat ice cream every day when we are in this business.

Q. Todd, I would assume, then, the Preakness is next on the schedule?
TODD PLETCHER: Well, we certainly hope so. Calvin already said he's going to win the Triple Crown, so I guess we'd better go there. (Laughter)?
THE MODERATOR: Bill and Kenny, knowing how active you are in this industry, not just as a participant but how much you put back into the industry here at Churchill Downs with the learning center, you have the WinStar Library and you've been involved with so many charitable endeavors, talk about how this moment, is it a reward for some of that or is it just part of the picture?
BILL CASNER: You know, I think giving back is something that I think there are many, many people in this room are probably -- I think there's a lot of people that give back. You know, we are just -- we have an understanding of how people live on the back side.
You know, the people that make this thing happen, Todd recognized some people the other day, but you know, the people that make this thing happen are the guys that are in the trenches every day; the grooms, the hot walkers, they live pretty austere lives. They love their horses and many of them live on the back side. They live -- you know, it's pretty -- you've got to give back to those people, and I think that's something that Kenny and I perhaps enjoy doing.

Q. What's your daughter's name?
KENNY TROUTT: Savannah.
THE MODERATOR: Calvin, in the history of the Kentucky Derby, no jockey has won the Run of the Roses three times before today, winner of the Kentucky Derby today for WinStar Farm and Todd Pletcher. This is starting to get familiar, talk about this ride aboard Super Saver. You were very confident on this horse coming up and he was working pretty well. Take us through the race and your third victory in four years in the Kentucky Derby.
CALVIN BOREL: I had an awesome feeling that he would run good. I rode him here last year in the mud and I rode him at Oaklawn. He didn't win that day, but I knew he was a better horse than that. But he showed me a lot where I could get him to relax and not be on the pace where he was when I went on him as a two-year-old.
After working him the other day, I think the colt is peaking right now at the right time. I don't think he was more contained when he was a two-year-old. I think this is why this colt might just get better. Todd just did a good job with him getting him here today, and you know, God willing, he's a colt that will take us all the way, because he's a nice horse.
THE MODERATOR: Didn't have to do what you did last year with Mine That Bird, pass 19 horses; did you have any problems at any point in the race?
CALVIN BOREL: No, sir, none at all. He broke sharp and where I wanted to be, I guess, eight, nine, ten lengths off, which was very good, in a 20-horse field. You know, see if he would have a punch on the mile and a quarter, that was my only concern going into the race, to see if he still had a punch, and when I got him to quarter pole, I still had some horse under me. When I went around one horse and got to the other one, and from there on, I knew nothing was going to run him down.

Q. Talk again, three of four years, is this getting routine for you? Four years ago was spectacular with Street Sense. Talk about winning three of them.
CALVIN BOREL: This is what I wanted to do all my life. It's every jockey's dream to win the Derby and I never dreamed I would win three Derbies. But I've worked hard and I'm dedicated to this job and I love the game. It's just what I love to do, and I'm very successful with it. I'm very blessed. I've got a wonderful wife and a good agent, good family in my life and I'm very blessed, very blessed.

Q. You said there was really just one horse you had to get by, Conveyance, and you were able to stay on the rail the whole way; did it surprise you that nobody in these three Derby wins has been able to shut you off from that?
CALVIN BOREL: Not really. I was in the point where, you know, I was in a spot whenever a horse would come up to me, I would let him run off a little bit so that they wouldn't come in front of me and get over. But other than that, you know, the only horse that could have maybe come down the back side was Willie's (Martinez) horse but he was in a good position. When he made the lead, his horse, I don't know what happened, he just give him that short run and that was it, because he needs lead pretty easy. I have to go back and watch the rerun, I couldn't figure out why his horse, when I pulled my goggles down, I was right there right behind him again, because he drug him up there pretty easy, and I was kind of -- I don't know why, like I said, why I got to him so quick.

Q. What is it about you and Churchill Downs, why are you so good here? As good as you are everywhere, it seems that you step it up here.
CALVIN BOREL: Churchill Downs is a track just like Shreveport, Louisiana Downs and I was born and raised there, and every pole, every -- it's exactly like Louisiana Downs and I know it like the back of my hand, and I think this is why I ride so good here. Louisiana Downs I rode all my life until I started coming here, and the track is the same thing, same poles, the pole turns. It's unbelievable how much they are alike.
And I don't care what any jockey says, they favor a track sometimes. I go to a track where I get lost sometimes. I just love it here.

Q. One of the jockeys said after the race that they know what you're going to do, but you're still able to do it, taking advantage of the rail; how are you able to do that, even with them knowing your style and your strategy?
CALVIN BOREL: Well, you have to have the horse. Like I said on the back side, before anybody got head up with me or in front of me, I creeped up and got there. Then like the horse that was in front of me, he was stopping so fast, I wasn't going to go on inside of him, so I went around him. As soon as Willie drifted out to go around, I went around to go home. Nobody was really crowding where I was, you know, so it really wasn't that much.

Q. Do you think you can figure out Pimlico?
CALVIN BOREL: Yeah, I can if I can out Pimlico. I figured it out last year, so we'll be all right.

Q. Is there any special nerve involved in riding in there close to the rail? Some riders like it, some don't and I know you've probably been thrown into some rails in your life; does it take any more courage to run down there sometimes?
CALVIN BOREL: Some horses don't like to be there and you've got to go around. I was just taught that it's the shortest way around and I love to ride the fence. I think a horse is very comfortable there because they are always there all the time. You know, when you go in between horses, instead of splitting horses, if you can get the fence and a horse, I think a horse is a lot more comfortable.

Q. Was there any point in your mind before you split horses in the stretch that you weren't going to get through, and you weren't having a perfect trip?
CALVIN BOREL: No, sir. I had so much horse under me, I thought I would have a good trip the whole way, sir, it was unbelievable. I followed Willy and when he made the lead and turned for home, that was about the only time that I really had to squeeze on him to get him between the course and the fence. Other than that, it was a dream trip.

Q. Does it mean anything at all to you that you got Todd Pletcher his first Derby victory?
CALVIN BOREL: Yes, sir, it does, it means everything in the world, because I know how that feeling is, or what that feeling is like. And you know, I mean, he's a hard worker. He's there seven days a week, and believe me you, it's hard on you. It's every person's dream, sir. This is what he worked for and this is what I worked for. I was very blessed to give him his first Derby winner.

Q. You won your first Derby fairly late in your career, and now to have three of them in such a short succession; were you worried first you were going to get one and now three?
CALVIN BOREL: No, sir, I can't. It's every jockey's dream to ride the Derby, much less win it. I was blessed enough to ride it and to have James Tafel give me a chance to ride Street Sense, when I thought he was my main shot to win the Derby and I did; and then Mine That Bird come along and this horse come along. I'm very lucky. They peak at the right time, so that's the main thing is that you have to catch them at the right time.

Q. Why were you so confident you could get this horse that far off the pace when he had never been that far off the pace before?
CALVIN BOREL: Because his last race, that's what I really wanted to see, his last race, when the horse opened up at about 6/7 and I went back and worked him the other day and went real easy the first quarter and picked him up and the gallop was real strong. I just had a lot of confidence. If they wouldn't have -- if they leave me there and pile up on me, he would relax. That was my main concern today to get him to relax, and he did. Going to the gates, he was relaxed and everything. He's a very special colt, so I think he'll be all right.

Q. You mentioned growing up in Louisiana; can you describe what were some of the tactics you learned there that helped you now and who are some of the more influential people for you?
CALVIN BOREL: You know, my brother always taught me time-wise and racing and the shortest way around, you know, stuff like that. I was riding when I was seven years old, you know, so I was taught everything before I knew how to really ride, and before I even got on a horse, I was taught everything. That helped me a lot. It made me come a long way.
THE MODERATOR: Glenn Fullerton is the man who placed the 100,000 wager today on Super Saver and he now has a new best friend and favorite jockey. Glenn placed the $100,000 wager as part of a promotion with CNBC Close the Call and made the wager, $100,000 on Super Saver and Calvin Borel and going home with close to a million. Glenn, congratulations. Pull that microphone up just a little bit there and tell us how you came up with the selection on Calvin and Super Saver, and just how it feels.
GLENN FULLERTON: Well, it feels unbelievable. When I was looking through the horses, Super Saver has had some success on a wet track and Calvin has had an incredible amount of success here at Churchill and everywhere. Those two factors just weighed on me, and then really it came down to my gut feeling on that and that was the logic that I used to make the be t.

Q. Where exactly are you from?
GLENN FULLERTON: I'm from Kelbourne (ph) originally and I call Houston home.

Q. How old are you?
GLENN FULLERTON: I'm 40 years old.

Q. And what made you so interested --
GLENN FULLERTON: I follow the Dow Jones pretty much every day, I follow the stock market and they had the contest and I like numbers and so that was just a dream to me. I played the game, my mother is originally from Louisville, love watching the Kentucky Derby, never thought I would come here and definitely never expected to be sitting here right now.

Q. Does your mom know you just won $900,000?
MODERATOR: Where were you when you were watching the race and were you able to follow Calvin all the way around?
GLENN FULLERTON: We were down on the rail, I got to see them when they came by initially and they went around and I was watching on the screen and toward the end when they flashed in front of me across from the winner's circle, Calvin was in the lead by three or four lengths or so and it was a yellow blur with a 4 on it and it was hard at that point to focus and I was like, he's going to do it, he's going to do it.
THE MODERATOR: Did you know this had happened?
CALVIN BOREL: No, sir.
THE MODERATOR: How does that add to your experience?
CALVIN BOREL: (Laughter).

Q. What exactly do you do for a living?
GLENN FULLERTON: I'm generally a software consultant and right now I'm working doing some financial work with a company down out of long view, which is closed, but Houston has been my home my adult life.

Q. Do you have any kind of special plans like the first thing you are going to do now that you've won the money?
GLENN FULLERTON: No, I don't have any plans. My initial plan is I'll be back to work Monday morning. This is definitely life-changing, but you know, I don't have to spend it all this next week.
THE MODERATOR: We are going to let Calvin go. Congratulations, Calvin Borel.

End of FastScripts

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