Todd Pletcher : Derby History
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. He went out on his own in 1996 and has trained such top-class performers as Left Bank and Balto Star. While he has been very successful since taking out his license, 2004 was a banner year for the Pletcher stable. His starters earned $17,511,923, top in the nation by nearly $2 million, he finished fifth in terms of number of victories, and as a result was awarded the 2004 Eclipse Award for top trainer. After going winless with his first 12 Breeders' Cup starters, Pletcher won two races in the event last year: 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 finish was with Invisible Ink, second in 2001, and most recently a fourth place finish with Limehouse last year.
John Velazquez : Derby History
A native of Puerto Rico, born on November 24, 1971, Velazquez is perennially among the top 10 riders in New York, where he currently lives. He has six Breeders' Cup wins - Caressing, Da Hoss, Storm Flag Flying, Starine, Speightstown, and Ashado - and on Sept. 3, 2001, he became the first jockey in Saratoga history to ride six winners on a single card. On April 22, 2001, Velazquez won his 2,000th career race. His mounts earned in excess of $22.4 million in 2004, tops in the nation, while his 335 wins were good for third last year. After attending jockey's school and riding in Puerto Rico, came to New York in March 1990. He has ridden in seven Derbies, his best a second on Invisible Ink in '01. He and his wife Leona, daughter of trainer Leo O'Brien, have one daughter and one son.
Padua Stables
Padua is the stable name of the husband and wife team of Satish and Anne Sanan. Their daughter, Nadia, is the general manager of Padua. The stable name came from Anne's mother's English farm. Satish, a native of India, founded IMR Global, a worldwide computer outsourcing and software services corporation. He began buying horses in 1997, often paying top dollar at prestigious sales. His biggest wins came with Vindication in the 2002 Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Arlington Park and Cajun Beat in the 2003 Breeders' Cup Sprint at Santa Anita. He has had two Derby starters: Exchange Rate (12th in 2000) and Quintons Gold Rush (DNF in 2004).
Marion G. Montanari (FL)
Marion and her late husband Monty, who passed away in July 2001, worked with and for emotionally troubled children through the Troubled Children's Foundation, a south Florida non-profit organization they founded in the early 1970's. They also have a long legacy of helping the artists of the area, and last year Marion founded the Marion Cultural Alliance Salon for just that purpose. Marion has a 110-acre farm in Ocala that was purchased in 1990. She also has about 15 broodmares at the historic Idle Hour farm in Kentucky. She does have some horses in training with Eddie Plesa in Florida. Proud Accolade is a direct descendent of the first Thoroughbred she and her husband purchased.
Proud Accolade hails from the first crop of Yes It's True, who was the second leading freshman sire in 2004. His two-year-olds won at an impressive 25% overall, with our subject colt being the leading earner to date. Another son, Chandtrue, won the Hollywood Juvenile Championship (GIII) this past summer. Yes It's True also won the same race, in addition to the Sapling (GIII), the Kentucky Breeders' Cup, and the WHAS-11 Stakes at Churchill Downs on Derby Day, all as a two-year-old. Not just a sprinter, he was second to Lemon Drop Kid in both the Belmont (GI) and the Travers (GI). He currently stands stud at Three Chimney's Farm in Lexington, Kentucky. Proud Accolade is the only winner from his dam Proud Ciel, a granddaughter of Seattle Slew, but she's had only had one other foal of racing age, who has not started. Proud Ciel only raced twice herself, with a second and third to her credit. She has several siblings win at age two, none however, were in stakes. Her half-brother Mr. Impatience was a stakes winner at three, taking the Grade Three Lamplighter on the turf.
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