Monday, May 17, 2010

TRAINER TODD PLETCHER TO PARTICIPATE IN LIVE WEB CHAT

Monday, May 17, 2010

 

Contact: Ashley Herriman

aherriman@nyrainc.com

 

 

TRAINER TODD PLETCHER TO PARTICIPATE IN LIVE WEB CHAT

 

ELMONT, N.Y. – Todd Pletcher, trainer of 2010 Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver, will participate in a live web chat Friday, May 21, at 8:00 p.m. EST on nyra.com.

 

Born in Dallas, Pletcher accepted his first racetrack job at age 7, walking hots at Ruidoso Downs in New Mexico for his father, Jake Pletcher, who trained quarter horses and thoroughbreds in the Southwest. Pletcher attended high school in San Antonio, but spent summers working for his father as a groom at Louisiana Downs and the now-defunct Ak-sar-Ben Racetrack in Omaha, Ne.  

 

Upon graduating from high school, Pletcher enrolled in the Race Track Industry Program at the University of Arizona, and graduated with a Bachelor of Animal Science in May, 1989. During summers off from college, Pletcher worked for Hall of Fame trainers D. Wayne Lukas and Charlie Whittingham, and accepted a job as a foreman for Lukas in New York immediately after graduating. Two years later, in 1991, Pletcher was promoted to assistant trainer, and split his time between New York and Florida for the next four years.

 

Pletcher took out his trainer’s license in December 1995 and saddled his first winner, Majestic Number, in February 1996. He has trained dozens of stakes winners in the years since, including Champion fillies Ashado, Wait a While and Rags to Riches. It was Rags to Riches who brought the trainer his first Classic win in the 2007 Belmont Stakes, while also becoming the first of her sex to win the race in 102 years and only the third filly ever to do so.

 

Pletcher also conditioned 2004 Champion Sprinter Speightstown, 2007 Champion Older Male Lawyer Ron, and 2007 Champion Turf Male English Channel. He won the Eclipse award as the nation’s top trainer in four consecutive years from 2004-2007, was the leading trainer in New York in 2003 and 2004, and has won more than 20 individual NYRA meet training titles.

 

Current barn stars include multiple graded stakes winner Quality Road, prepping for a start in the Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap at Belmont Park on May 31, talented sprinter Munnings, and a large contingent of gifted 3-year-olds, including Super Saver.

 

Fans who wish to participate in the live dialogue with Pletcher may log on to http://www.nyra.com/livechat beginning this Friday at 8 p.m. No pre-registration is necessary and users may simply type questions and comments in the chat field at the bottom of the page for Pletcher to address. At the conclusion of the chat, an “instant replay” is created for future reference.

 

NYRA has conducted live chats on Friday evenings since October 23. Pletcher will be the eighth guest host in the chat series, following NYRA Chief Operating Officer Hal Handel, leading trainer Gary Contessa, veteran New York jockey Richard Migliore, Hall of Fame rider Jorge Velasquez, trainer and NYTHA president, Rick Violette, NYRA Racecaller and Director of TV Production John Imbriale, NYRA TV Analyst Jason Blewitt, and most recently NYRA Oddsmaker Eric Donovan. NYRA TV Analyst Andy Serling regularly hosts the chats.

 

Fans who wish to view transcriptions of previous chats may do so at http://www.nyra.com/livechat.

 

NYRA boasts a vast library of online offerings, comprised of the following websites:

 

 

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Posted by Patrick J Patten at 10:38 AM