PATRICK BIANCONE (Trainer of Lion Heart, second) - "We are very happy. He stayed the trip. He ran a big race. They all had to run over the same track conditions. I have great respect for the winner...he's a champion. I hope, if everything goes well, in two weeks we can get revenge. Perhaps we can have an Affirmed / Alydar rivalry."

KRISTIN MULHALL (Trainer of Imperialism, third) - "We're very pleased. Of course, it was great for us to be here. He didn't mind the muddy track, he handled it well. He got stuck on the inside, but when he was finally asked to move, he did great."

TODD PLETCHER (Trainer of Limehouse, fourth, and Pollard's Vision, 17th) - "Limehouse ran very well. He just got passed late for third to finish fourth. The other horse [Pollard's Vision] got bumped and lost his action. We thought the wet track might help him, but Velazquez didn't think he handled it as well as we thought he would. We'll go back now and regroup before making any decisions about their next starts."

NICK ZITO (Trainer of Cliff's Edge, fifth and Birdstone, eighth) - "First of all I definitely would like to salute the winner. He ran great race and he's a champion. I hate making excuses and I know the fans hate it too, but The Cliff's Edge lost his two front shoes during the race. Due to that fact, you definitely have to give my horse a lot of credit. The little man (Birdstone) lost a shoe too, his left front. Sometimes you're a messenger for how this game works. Knock on wood, if Cliff is ok, hopefully the Preakness will be next. We'll probably not go with Birdstone."

RICHARD MANDELLA (Trainer of Action This Day, sixth, and Minister Eric, 16th) - "I'll have to watch the replay to tell you more because I didn't see that much of the race. Action This Day appeared to be closing well. At this point, there's no real excuses."

RICHARD VIOLETTE (Trainer of Read the Footnotes, seventh) - "He broke sharp and was in good position heading into the turn. Smarty Jones just got away from us at that part and he was just grinding from there. There are no real excuses."

MICHAEL DICKINSON (Trainer of Tapit, ninth) - "Ramon (jockey, Dominguez) said he didn't handle the track. In his last race (Wood Memorial) he was just cruising. Ramon never had to ask him for his run. Today was different. The track was a little sticky for us. He never got running. Ramon said he was never running well enough to win. We'll either go in the Preakness or Belmont. We'll decide in about a week's time."

C. BEAU GREELY (Trainer of Borrego, 10th) - "He was in a great spot. I'd have to watch the race again but it looked like the two that were up front stayed there. That's one of the things when you have a track like this. You don't really know what will happen. He's still a nice horse. We just have to regroup and figure it out from there."

JENNIFER PEDERSEN (Trainer of Song of the Sword, 11th) - "He didn't run his best race. We have no excuses. With the track playing how it was and knowing that his dad loved the slop, we were hoping that he'd take to it. But the jock (Norberto Arroyo Jr.) said he didn't take to it. He told me that he made a nice run but that he just kind of stopped. But I'm happy for the connections of Smarty Jones. He's a very talented horse."

BOBBY FRANKEL (Trainer of Master David, 12th) - "He was in a good spot but he just backed out of the race on the turn. He was right in it early."

BOB HOLTHUS (Trainer of Pro Prado, 13th) - "Coming from the 19 hole, he had a good trip. He was in a good spot at the top of the turn, but maybe a mile and a quarter is just too far for him. He'll get a rest and we'll go from there. We're definitely not thinking Preakness."

JEFF MULLINS (Trainer of Castledale, 14th) - "He struggled with the track quite a bit. He seems okay, but he's tired. We'll take him home and give him some time and let him tell us when he's over it."

JOHN KIMMEL (Trainer of Friends Lake, 15th) - "I was proud of him up to the running of the race. He was great in the paddock. He was great loading in the gate, he didn't hesitate at all. He broke running but really had a hard time with the footing. Every time he tried to get position or maintain position he could not."

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