As he coasts to his eighth Saratoga training title, Todd Pletcher defers credit to the people who work for him and the elite group of horses he is hired to handle.But the way he’s dominated at Saratoga this summer is remarkable. The trainer’s title was decided by the second week of this 40-day meet, and it’s not the first time he won by a huge margin. He started Saturday with 37 victories in 36 days, 16 more than Chad Brown, who in turn began Saturday seven winners ahead of Steve Asmussen in third. Pletcher has two more wins that Brown and Asmussen combined.
“We emphasize Saratoga,” the 44-year-old Pletcher said in the paddock prior to Saturday’s second race. “A lot of success depends on our babies. You can prepare all you want, but you better have some talent there.”
Pletcher, who is odds-on to win his sixth Eclipse Award, revealed a bit more about himself than he usually allows a week ago. A week ago, in three consecutive races, Pletcher won the Grade 1 Ballerina with Hilda’s Passion, finished second by a nose in the Grade I King’s Bishop with Uncle Mo, and won the $1 million Grade 1 Travers Stakes with Stay Thirsty. Pletcher was asked if he was proud of his accomplishment of training Uncle Mo to run second by a nose in a Grade I stakes off his lengthy absence and illness. “I would be if he won,” Pletcher said.
A few days later, Pletcher was asked why he took that narrow defeat so hard. “I wanted it for the horse,” he said.
With Pletcher, it’s always about the horse, or the great help or the good luck. Surprisingly, he gets very little credit for his incredible work ethic. He doesn’t get great horses to train because he’s lucky. He works diligently to achieve and maintain his success, and it’s a full-time pursuit.
Unlike his mentor and former boss, Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas, Pletcher rarely draws attention to himself. Yet in a relatively short time – Pletcher didn’t begin training on his own until 1996 – Pletcher has really outdone his teacher. And it’s hard to imagine Pletcher not continuing to do so.
Asked what it’s like to dominate the Saratoga training standings again, Pletcher said, “A lot of things went right for us.
They usually do. It’s not by accident.