Todd Pletcher, the leading horse trainer
Todd Pletcher was born on the 26th of June 1967 in Dallas, Texas. He is popularly known as a dominating American thoroughbred horse trainer. The competitive horseman has the honour of winning the Eclipse Awards for the outstanding Trainer of the
Year for four consecutive years. Moreover, Pletcher was the highest earning trainer (in the form of purse money) in years 2004, 2005 and 2006. His horses are some of the most talented thoroughbred racehorses in the American horse racing industry. One of his
favourite horses Super Saver won the American classic 2010 Kentucky Derby, meanwhile his filly Rags to Riches is the winner of 2007 Belmont Stakes, one of the three American classic races. Rags for Riches was also named as the Top Three Year Old Filly for
the year 2007.
The legendary trainer started his horseman career at the age of seven, as a hot walker with his father Jake Pletcher. He then travelled to California, where Pletcher worked as a hot walker for Henry Moreno. Moreno used to train horses at Hollywood Park and
Del Mar Racetracks.
The great trainer is a graduate from James Madison High School in San Antonio. He then went on to attend the University of Arizona in the Race Track Industry Program in fall 1985. During his years at the university Pletcher worked as a groom for D. Wayne
Lukas at the Arlington Park situated near Chicago. He then also gained some professional training from another legendary Hall of Fame trainer Charlie Whittingham while he was still working as a groom at Hollywood Park. Pletcher was a dynamic member of Pi Kappa
Alpha Fraternity. In May 1989, Todd Pletcher moved to New York after graduating from college with a Bachelor of Animal Science. He then started working as a foreman in the active stable for Lukas.
Two years later, Pletcher was promoted as assistant trainer for Lukas and thus he had to divide his timings between Florida and New York. Until the end of 1995, Pletcher worked as Lukas’s East Coast Assistant. There he trained champion colts like Thunder
Gulch, Serena’s Song, Harlan, A Wide Ride and Flanders. In December 1995, Pletcher received his trainer’s licence. He then sent out his first horse to contend a victorious race at Gulfstream Park in Florida in February 1996.
Todd Pletcher has the honour of training many Eclipse Award winners and champions. Some of the most significant of these thoroughbred racehorses includes Ashado (named the Top Older Female 2005 and Top Three Year Old Filly 2004), English Channel (named the
Top Turf Male 2007), Fleet Indian (Top Older Female 2006), Lawyer Ron (Top Older Male 2007), Left Bank (Top Older Male 2002), Rags to Riches (named the Top Three Year Old filly 2007), Speightstown (named the 2004 Top Sprinter) and Wait a While (named the Top
Three Year Old filly for the year 2006).
So far, the talented horseman has won 93 stakes races out of which 52 starts were graded, a career best and 17 Grade I victories. Apart from the Eclipse Awards for the Top Trainer, Pletcher was also presented with the Woody Stephens Award for the Outstanding
Trainer in 1998, 2002, 2005 and 2006 by the New York Turf Writers Association. Robert Frankel and Kimmel shared the aforementioned awards with him in the years 1998 and 2002 respectively.
Moreover, Todd Pletcher was also adorned with the Fourstardave Award for Outstanding Achievement in Saratoga Race Course in the years 1998 and 2003 by the New York Turf Writers Association.
Todd Pletcher also gained some media attention after one his saddled horse was tested positive for an anaesthetic known as mepivacaine on 14th of August 2004. He was thus suspended from thoroughbred training for 45 days and fined $ 3000.
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