The isolationist nature of some British people is such that success achieved in other countries isn’t really taken into account when discussing a trainer’s achievements in the horse racing world. If that weren’t the case then it would be difficult to form a coherent argument that leaves Todd Pletcher off the list, such is the extent to which the American trainer has enjoyed success in countless different races on the other side of the Atlantic.
He and his compatriot, Bob Baffert, would both deserve to be in the conversation, having emerged from the University of Arizona’s Race Track Industry Program.
About
Laugh Now leads all the way to get VINO ROSSO off the mark as a freshman #pletcherstallion! https://t.co/W6vzcTVtRV pic.twitter.com/GOAciwBrKS
— Todd Pletcher Racing Stables (@PletcherRacing) May 15, 2023
Todd Pletcher was born in Dallas, Texas on the 26th of June 1967. When he was just a seven-year-old, he began working for his father, Jake Pletcher, as what was known as a hot walker. When he time off from high school he would do the same role for Henry Moreno at Hollywood Park and Del Mar Racetracks in California, earning decent experience in the industry. He worked as a groom for Wayne Lukas and then worked with Hall of Fame trainer Charlie Whittingham, carrying out the same role. Having left college with a Bachelor of Animal Science in 1989, he became a foreman for Lukas.
Having been promoted to the level of assistant for Lukas, developing horses like Thunder Gulch, Harlan and Serena’s Song, Pletcher took out a trainer’s licence of his own in the December of 1995, saddling his first winner within a couple of months. It took until 2004 for him to really make the headlines, which came courtesy of a win for Ashado in the Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs. It was in 2005 that the rest of the horse racing world sat up and took notice, thanks to a record purse earnings of more than $20 million and success in ten Grade 1 races, including the Travers Stakes.
Major Successes
Trainers like Todd Pletcher are seen as so successful because of the fact that there are fewer big-name races that they’ve won than there are well known ones. If you look at the Eclipse Award for Top Trainers, you will see that he’s won it more than half a dozen times, demonstrating exactly how talented a trainer he actually is. He won the Kentucky Oaks for the first time in 2004, but went on to win it a few times more in the decades that followed. Similarly, his win in the Champagne Stakes in that same year was also followed up with further wins in the same race.
The fact of the matter is that Pletcher has won most of the biggest races in the American horse racing industry more than once. Several Breeders’ Cup wins have gone his way, before example, likes the Breeders’ Cup Distaff and the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. He’s also seen multiple successes in both the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont Stakes, meaning that he’s come close to winning a career Triple Crown as a trainer. The Triple Crown that he has won came in Canada, winning the Queen’s Plate in 1998, along with the Prince of Wales Stakes, which he also won in 2008, winning the Breeders’ Stakes in 2000.
Here is a look at some of the races that Pletcher has trained the winner of at least once during his career as a trainer:
- Kentucky Oaks
- Coaching Club American Oaks
- Florida Derby
- Pegasus World Cup
- Kentucky Derby
- Belmont Stakes
- Breeders’ Cup Sprint
- Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf
- Breeders’ Cup Classic
- Travers Stakes
Horses Trained
When you have the number of wins in horse racing to your name that Pletcher boasts, it is fair to say that you’ve worked with some incredible horses. From Any Given Saturday to Bluegrass Cat through to Liam’s Map and Scat Daddy, the list of horses that have made their way through Pletcher’s yard at some point or another is a veritable Who’s Who of the American horse racing industry. Some of the horses that Pletcher has trained to big wins will be well-known to even the most casual of viewers of the sport in the US, whilst others might well have gone under the radar whilst being no less impressive.
Here is a look at a few of the best known horses that Pletcher has trained over the years:
Always Dreaming
A dark bay colt that was foaled on the 25th of February 2014, Always Dreaming was successful in the Kentucky Derby in 2017, joining an illustrious list of horses that have won one at least one of the American Triple Crown events. He won the Derby in the same year that he won the Florida Derby, proving his ability as a runner. During his career, Always Dreaming won more than $2 million in earnings, eventually dying as a ten-year-old from colic in 2024. Having begun his career training with Dominic Schettino, he transferred to the yard of Pletcher in 2016 and enjoyed his major successes from them.
Rags to Riches
Winning one of the American Classic races is something to be talked about, but when you become the first filly to win one of them in more than a century, it’s fair to say that you’ll be remembered forever for it. That is what Rags to Riches accomplished when she won the Belmont Stakes in 2007, winning it in the same year that she also won the Las Virgines Stakes, the Santa Anita Oaks and the Kentucky Oaks, which is why she was named the American Champion Three-Year-Old Filly that year. During her career, she took home more than $1.3 million in prize money.
Palace Malice
A bay stallion that was foaled on the second of May 2010, Palace Malice is another of the horses that won one of those big-name events in American racing. The success came in 2013 when he won the Belmont Stakes for Pletcher, having won a minor race as a two-year-old before that. The Jim Dandy Stakes came after the Belmont win, whilst the following year saw him win the Gulfstream Park Handicap, the New Orleans Handicap, the Westchester Stakes and the Metropolitan Handicap, laying down a marker as one of the country’s best horses of the time.
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