Contenders

Todd Pletcher

A native of Dallas, TX, Pletcher grew up around Thoroughbred racing as his father, Jake Pletcher, trained Quarter Horses and Thoroughbreds. After graduating from the University of Arizona with a degree in animal science, he went to work for Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas. He stayed with Lukas for six years, eventually becoming his main East Coast assistant trainer. Pletcher went out on his own in 1996 and he currently trains for such powerhouse owners as: Michael Tabor of Coolmore, Aaron and Marie Jones, Padua Stables, and Eugene Melnyk. In less than 10 years, Pletcher has conditioned such top-class performers as Ashado, Bluegrass Cat, Left Bank, Speightstown, Strong Hope, Forest Danger, Flower Alley, Balto Star and others. While he has been very successful since taking out his license, 2006 was yet another banner year for the Pletcher stable. He set a season earnings record in 2005 with his horses winning more than $20.8 million in purses, surpassing the previous record of $19.1 million set by Hall of Famer Bobby Frankel. Pletcher recently won the 2006 Eclipse as the nation's top trainer, his third win in a row. After going winless with his first 12 Breeders' Cup starters, Pletcher won two races in the event in 2004: the Sprint with Speightstown, and the Distaff with Kentucky Oaks champ Ashado. Both would also go on to be Eclipse winners in their respective divisions. Pletcher's best Derby finishers to date are the aforementioned Bluegrass Cat and Invisible Ink, second in 2006 and 2001, respectively, and a fourth with Limehouse in 2004.

Edgar Prado

Edgar Prado is a native of Lima, Peru and hails from a racing family - his father is a trainer and two of his eight brothers are jockeys. He dominated the Maryland racing scene for years with multiple riding titles at both Laurel and Pimlico, but in the summer of 1999 decided to shift his tack to New York. He won 1,000 races over a two-year span in 1997-1998, to join Chris McCarron and Kent Desormeaux as the only riders to accomplish that feat and led the nation in wins with 536 in '97, 474 in '98, and 402 in '99. He was second nationally in earnings in 2005, when his mounts won over $18 million for the second consecutive year. He also won 299 race in 2005, finishing in seventh nationally while winning at a 20% clip. Prado won the Kentucky Oaks in 2003 on Bird Town and the Belmont twice: Birdstone (2004) and Sarava (2002). He has ridden in the past seven Derbies, culmunating with a win aboard Barbaro last year, which likely propelled him the Eclipse Award.

Dogwood Stable

Dogwood Stable’s president, W. Cothran “Cot” Campbell is a co-founder and former president of the Georgia Thoroughbred Owners & Breeders Association and a founding member of the National Thoroughbred Association, which laid the groundwork for the National Thoroughbred Racing Association. He is one of the most well respected members of the thoroughbred industry and has garnered many prestigious awards for his outstanding achievements and contributions to thoroughbred racing. Since Campbell created Dogwood in 1973 the operation has had seven Kentucky Derby starters, a Preakness winner, six millionaires, two Eclipse Awards, a Breeders’ Cup winner, and over 70 stakes winners.

J. D. Squires

J.D. (Jim) Squires was the winning breeder or 2001 Kentucky Derby winner Monarchos. That success led to Squires’ book “Horse of a Different Color: A Tale of Breeding Geniuses, Dominant Females, and the Fastest Derby Winner since Secretariat.” Squires began as an enthusiast of Paints, Arabians, and American Quarter Horses. He was introduced to thoroughbred racing Walmac owner Johnny T.L. Jones, Jr., and Airdrie Stud owner Brereton C. Jones – both fellow Paint enthusiasts. Squires annually breeds eight to ten mares at his farm and consigns the majority of those resulting foals as weanings or yearlings.

Cotton Blossom is from the second racing crop of her sire Broken Vow. Broken Vow went undefeated from four starts at a 3-year-old including a win in the Sir Barton Stakes; he did not race as a 2-year-old. At age four, Broken Vow won four stakes races and placed in the Gulfstream Park Handicap (Grade 1). Altogether he won nine of 14 starts and over $725,000. Broken Vow is by Unbridled and out of the Nijinski II mare Wedding Vow; he is bred top and bottom for distance. From his two crops, Broken Vow has sired nine stakes winners including Private Vow, a two-time Grade 2 winner who competed in the 2006 Kentucky Derby. Broken Vow stands for $25,000 live foal at Pin Oak Stud.

Cotton Blossom’s dam, For Dixie, is by Dixieland Band out of a Forli mare. This makes Cotton Blossom a half-sister to Vicarage, a Grade 3 winner of over $435,000. Cotton Blossom’s half-sister Fat City is the dam of stakes winner Miss Atlantic City (by Stormy Atlantic).

COTTON BLOSSOM is probably the least regarded of the three Pletcher entries, but she’s been competitive in top-end races since winning the Schuylerville (GIII) last July. She was also third in the Breeders’ Cup, so you know she has the class to contend. She’s been ridden by Velazquez for nearly her entire career, but a switch to 2006 Derby winner Prado is nothing to get worried about. The Oaks will be her third race after getting a brief freshening. She came back in March to win the Florida Oaks over an overmatched field, but couldn’t keep up with High Heels in the Fantasy. She was a short price that day, and the race might not be as bad as it looked, since many horses never take to the Oaklawn surface. She’s been training at Keeneland with most of Pletcher’s other horses, but with most of her races coming on conventional dirt, it’s not as if she’s a “Polytrack” lover. Good post draw of gate five should put her in ideal position from the outset. Very live in all your exotics.