Trainer: Bennie Stutts Jr.

Stutts Jr. was born in New Orleans on February 14, 1938, he currently resides with wife Dianne in Pembroke Pines, Florida and has two daughters, Kimberly and Julia. Obtained his trainer's license in 1968 at Arlington Park after spending the early part of his career as an assistant trainer to his father. Smooth Air would be Stutts' first Kentucky Derby starter.

Jockey: Manoel Cruz

Manoel Cruz Grew up in Brazil riding jumpers on the farm where his father is the assistant trainer for a show and racehorse operation. Rode his first race when he was 15. He graduated at age 16 from jockey school, a requirement for all apprentice riders in Brazil. Popular journeyman continued a five-year string of appearances among Gulfstream’s leading jockeys, ranking eighth in 2007. Has finished among Gulfstream’s Top 15 riders each year since 2003. Stakes wins during Gulfstream 2007 came with Storm in May in the Sunshine Millions Dash and with Istan in the Artax Handicap on the Florida Derby Day program. The year before he scored one of his biggest career victories with Splendid Blended in the Shirley Jones. He was the leading rider at the 2006 Calder meet with over 197 wins and in excess of $4 million in earnings. It was the second straight summer he won 197 times at Calder, the second-best in the track’s 35-year history behind Eddie Castro’s 214 in 2006. He was also the leading rider in 2002 at Tampa Bay Downs and won numerous riding titles and notched over 1,200 victories at Hipodromo Cidade Jardim in Sao Paulo, Brazil before coming to the United States in 2000.

Owner: Mount Joy Stables, Inc.

Mount Joy Stables is a racing and breeding operation of Brian Burns and his family, which includes his wife, Jan, daughters Brittany and Jamie and son Dan. The elder Burnses live in Bannockburn, Ill. Brian Burns was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., May 27, 1947, and his wife, Jan, was born in Chicago on March 6, 1948. They’ve been married 38 years, and dated for five years before that. Brian lived in Garden City, N.Y., until he was 16, at which time he traveled with his family to a new home in Chicago. Though he and Jan met as teenagers, their families insisted that college come before marriage. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in business from DePaul University, where he also did graduate work. Jan is a graduate of the University of Illinois with a degree in education. She taught for several years after college. Burns started his business, Pro Financial Services, 28 years ago. The firm, headquartered in Chicago, acts as underwriter for high limit disability insurance. It handles all National Football League players, as well as those in Major League baseball. He’s handed over the major functions to his children and they have expanded the business into the high-end medical field, such as surgeons, and white-collar chief executive officers. The three grown children also are connected to the family’s racing and breeding entities. The breeding side of the Thoroughbred operation covers two broodmares in New York, about 10 in Florida and another dozen or so in Kentucky. The family stands the stallion Irish Road in Florida. The family has been in racing since 1991 when Burns bought a 2-year-old in training and named him The Name’s Jimmy, in honor of his father, who had died in 1988. “My dad and I had always planned to get into racing together, but he died before we could do it,” Burns said. Most everything they’ve done is tied up in his father’s name and heritage. The elder Burns was born and reared in Mount Joy, County Tyrone, in Northern Ireland, hence the stable’s name. The family’s racing colors are green, orange and white, the colors of Ireland’s flag. “It’s turned out to be quite a ride,” Burns said. Explaining the name for his first horse, Burns told of how his father, who rose through the ranks at Hart Schaffner & Marx clothiers, when greeted by clients as “Mr. Burns” would reach his hand out and say, “The name’s Jimmy.” The horse was a double winner at 2 in Illinois and Florida and was shipped west at 3, where he won Hollywood Park’s Will Rogers Stakes prior to shipping to Arlington Park to win the American Derby. The horse was trained by Charlie Stutts, the cousin of Bennie Stutts Jr., trainer of Smooth Air. “Charlie brought us to the Promised Land once with the American Derby,” Burns said, “and now we’re hoping his cousin Bennie can bring us to the big one.” In reference to the 70-year-old Bennie Stutts, Burns said, “It’s more exciting for us to see how happy it’s making the people around the horse than it is for us. It’s great to watch somebody who’s worked his whole life to help owners win races and then finally get a chance to fulfill a dream. It’s really special to see that.”

Breeder: Mount Joy Stables, Inc.

Mount Joy Stables is a racing and breeding operation of Brian Burns and his family, which includes his wife, Jan, daughters Brittany and Jamie and son Dan. The elder Burnses live in Bannockburn, Ill. Brian Burns was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., May 27, 1947, and his wife, Jan, was born in Chicago on March 6, 1948. They’ve been married 38 years, and dated for five years before that. Brian lived in Garden City, N.Y., until he was 16, at which time he traveled with his family to a new home in Chicago. Though he and Jan met as teenagers, their families insisted that college come before marriage. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in business from DePaul University, where he also did graduate work. Jan is a graduate of the University of Illinois with a degree in education. She taught for several years after college. Burns started his business, Pro Financial Services, 28 years ago. The firm, headquartered in Chicago, acts as underwriter for high limit disability insurance. It handles all National Football League players, as well as those in Major League baseball. He’s handed over the major functions to his children and they have expanded the business into the high-end medical field, such as surgeons, and white-collar chief executive officers. The three grown children also are connected to the family’s racing and breeding entities. The breeding side of the Thoroughbred operation covers two broodmares in New York, about 10 in Florida and another dozen or so in Kentucky. The family stands the stallion Irish Road in Florida. The family has been in racing since 1991 when Burns bought a 2-year-old in training and named him The Name’s Jimmy, in honor of his father, who had died in 1988. “My dad and I had always planned to get into racing together, but he died before we could do it,” Burns said. Most everything they’ve done is tied up in his father’s name and heritage. The elder Burns was born and reared in Mount Joy, County Tyrone, in Northern Ireland, hence the stable’s name. The family’s racing colors are green, orange and white, the colors of Ireland’s flag. “It’s turned out to be quite a ride,” Burns said. Explaining the name for his first horse, Burns told of how his father, who rose through the ranks at Hart Schaffner & Marx clothiers, when greeted by clients as “Mr. Burns” would reach his hand out and say, “The name’s Jimmy.” The horse was a double winner at 2 in Illinois and Florida and was shipped west at 3, where he won Hollywood Park’s Will Rogers Stakes prior to shipping to Arlington Park to win the American Derby. The horse was trained by Charlie Stutts, the cousin of Bennie Stutts Jr., trainer of Smooth Air. “Charlie brought us to the Promised Land once with the American Derby,” Burns said, “and now we’re hoping his cousin Bennie can bring us to the big one.” In reference to the 70-year-old Bennie Stutts, Burns said, “It’s more exciting for us to see how happy it’s making the people around the horse than it is for us. It’s great to watch somebody who’s worked his whole life to help owners win races and then finally get a chance to fulfill a dream. It’s really special to see that.”