Jim Gluckson: Good afternoon everyone and welcome to our Road to the Visa Triple Crown media teleconference, the last one prior to the Kentucky Derby. Just a reminder, our next call will be prior to the Preakness Stakes, on Thursday, May the sixth.

With us today will be Todd Pletcher, trainer of Limehouse and Pollards Vision; David Fiske, who will represent Tapeta Farm and their starter Tapit; and John Servis, trainer of Smarty Jones.

Just a couple of notes before we begin. This Saturday, April 24th on ESPN 2 there will be a Triple Crown special, a review and preview of this year's Visa Triple Crown and Kentucky Derby from three to four p.m. Eastern Time.

Also on Kentucky Derby day, Saturday, May 1, NBC Sports will televise the Kentucky Derby between five and 6:30 p.m.

So without further ado, I think we should begin now and speak with our first guest, Mr. Todd Pletcher. Todd, good afternoon. Jim Gluckson here in New York. How are you today?

Todd Pletcher: Very good, Jim. How are you?

Jim Gluckson: Very good, thank you. Todd, of course, trains Limehouse and Pollards Vision. Todd has started seven horses in the Kentucky Derby. He had a second with Invisible Ink in 2001, and in 2000 a third with Impeachment, and fourth place with More Than Ready of his top finishes of the seven starters.

Todd, let's just go right to it and give us an update. Of course I should also mention that Todd will have Ashado in the Kentucky Oaks. Let's talk about the Derby horses and their workout schedule. First begin, if you would, Pollards Vision and his development leading to the Derby.

Todd Pletcher: Well, he breezed five furlongs in 1:01 at Keeneland on Sunday. We shipped him later that day to Churchill. And he's stabled there at Churchill and will gallop this week up to Sunday where he'll breeze again on Sunday. And you know, so far he's done very well. He's trained well since the Illinois Derby and everything seems on schedule.

Jim Gluckson: And you have scheduled out for him this year one race per month. Is that the idea before getting to the Kentucky Derby for him?

Todd Pletcher: Well, that is – that has worked out well. You know, we felt like the Illinois Derby was a good fit for him for a couple of reasons, one of which was the month between races from the Louisiana Derby to the – to the Illinois Derby.

And also if we were fortunate enough to run well there, then that would give him four weeks to the Kentucky Derby. So we like that schedule. And obviously we felt like Hawthorn was a good fit for him. We felt like his tactical speed could be dangerous there. And fortunately all that worked out well.

Jim Gluckson: Very good. Let's talk about Limehouse for a second. Third coming out of the Bluegrass. What about his development and work schedule?

Todd Pletcher: Well, he hasn't worked since the Bluegrass, and he'll only work once from the Bluegrass to the – to the Kentucky Derby, which is basically the same schedule I had with Invisible Ink. So I feel like that's, you know, one that works pretty well for our program.

We generally like to give our horses around two weeks following their race up to their next workout. So he'll breeze five furlongs on Sunday as well. But he too has trained well since the – since the Bluegrass. And you know, we're pleased with where he is today.

Jim Gluckson: Very good. Just a note on Ashado, if you would, and her preparation for the Kentucky Oaks.

Todd Pletcher: She's doing fantastic. She's breezed five furlongs in :59 and two at Keeneland on Sunday. Shipped over here to Churchill in good shape. And couldn't be more pleased with the way she's training.

First question's going to come from Bob Fortus at "The New Orleans Times-Picayune."

Bob Fortus: The (questions) about Pollards Vision, you know, his pedigree, Carson City. People think, sprint pedigree. And the Derby's coming up. I mean, I guess it's sort of a two-part question.

Number one, what have you seen from him over the spring that tells you he's a route horse and he's such good races routing? And also the mile and a quarter now of the Derby, do – I mean, is he really that kind of horse? And – I mean, I know you're running him in the race. But, I mean, does he keep showing you that that's within his scope?

Todd Pletcher: Well, to answer the first part of your question, the main evidence we've got is the horse seemed to catapult about five lengths forward when we ran him long for the first time. Obviously he was a nice colt. As a two-year-old we kept him sprinting. He ran in a seven-furlong allowance race for his first start at Gulfstream and ran a decent second.

But in this next start, I mean, we stretched him out to a mile and a sixteenth. I mean, this horse was clearly a better horse around two turns. I mean, his numbers jumped up several lengths. The final time was very, very good. And since then he's done nothing to suggest to us that he's not a route horse. He came back and ran competitively in the Louisiana Derby.

He's one of the few horses in that race that, you know, was close to the pace and still finished well. And then obviously came back, stretching out another sixteenth in the Illinois Derby. And arguably that was his best race. So, you know, if you ignore the fact that he's by Carson City, you put a – put your thumb over the Carson City part and look at the rest of his pedigree, he's out of a Dixieland Band mare, he's out of a Pleasant Colony mare, he's out of an Nijinski mare.

So we're getting a lot of stamina from the bottom side. You know, he's an efficient moving horse. I don't know for sure he's going to go a mile and a quarter, but, you know, the same case can be made for a lot of other horses out there. And you know, you look at last year's Derby winner and no one suggesting that Distorted Humor was a mile and a quarter (sire) last year. So Carson City's a very, very solid sire. And I would say, you know, one of these days he's get one to go that far and maybe this is the one.

Bob Fortus: Also – just a follow-up question – one you started training Pollards Vision and – and he is by Carson City – was it evident right away that just his body type maybe or the way he trained or the way he moved that he, indeed, would move up when he went long? And was that kind of a surprise or – in other words, did he tell you quickly that that was what he wanted to do?

Todd Pletcher: Well, he never told me that it wasn't what he wanted to do, you know. And I'm probably, I guess – I'm enough of a traditionalist to think that (that) wasn't necessarily thinking to run him, you know, long early on. Obviously he was a precocious two-year-old. He got ready pretty early. So the logical thing to do at that point was to keep him sprinting.

And then that's just kind of where we were with him, you know. And – but, you know, we went to Florida with the idea this year that we were going to find out, and we felt like a logical way to get there was to a put seven furlong under his belt, see how he handled that, and then try to stretch him out from there. So like I said, I mean, it's not – not that he was definitely screaming that he wants to go long, but everything we've done with him indicated that it was certainly worth trying.

Bob Fortus: Thank you very much.

Operator: Our next question goes to Ron Mitchell of "Blood Horse" magazine.

Ron Mitchell: Good afternoon, Todd. I know there are a couple of horses we're mentioning here – Pollards Vision and Limehouse – but I want to ask about a horse that we haven't mentioned, and that is – What are you doing with Value Plus?

Todd Pletcher: Well, Value Plus is still in New York. He's come out of the Wood very well. He's training great. Right now I am not planning on running him in the Kentucky Derby, but, you know, there could be a situation or two if there were some major changes in the complexion of the race, if, you know, there were some defections along the way or something. He's training every day and there's a plane coming from New York on the 28th. So I would say at this point he's unlikely to run in the Kentucky Derby.

Ron Mitchell: OK. Thank you very much.

Operator: Now we'll go to Bill Christine at "The Los Angeles Times."

Bill Christine: Hi, Todd. Todd, I'd like to – I'd like for you to elaborate a little bit on the vision of Pollards Vision. Is it detrimental in any way for him, you know, to be sightless on the right side? And have you fooled around with any equipment race-to-race regarding this?

Todd Pletcher: No, I haven't changed the equipment and – you know, for me, basically it's a very simple equation. He has perfect vision in his left eye. He has no vision in his right eye. So equipment-wise, the only thing I could do is take away part of the sight he's got in his left eye, and I don't want to do that. So, I mean, he's only got one eye to begin with, I don't want to take any vision away from the one good one's got.

And it doesn't matter what I put on the right eye, it's going to be the same thing. So, you know, is it a detriment? I don't know. I mean, I don't know – the only thing I could say is probably if this horse had two eyes I wouldn't be training him right now, because we bought him on the speculation that he was going to be expensive. And you know, we got for 70,000.

If he had two good eyes, he was probably a $300,000 or $400,000 horse at the time and somebody else would be training him. So, you know, he's run very well like he is. I don't see how we would know for sure whether he would be a better horse with two eyes or not, but he's adapted very well to it, he's become very professional in his races. He's pretty good in behind horses, inside or outside. And you know, so from that standpoint he's coping with it quite well.

Bill Christine: Have you had any one-eyed horses over the years?

Todd Pletcher: I've had a couple. This is – this is the first horse that I kind of got from the beginning that only had vision in one eye. And you know, we felt like that was a positive. And one of the reasons why we were willing to go ahead and buy him was that we knew that he had started his training with only vision in one eye.

So basically he doesn't know – he doesn't know what it's like to be – to run in a race – and train, for that matter, with two eyes. And so we felt like that was – that was an advantage as opposed to at some point during his racing career losing the sight in one eye.

Bill Christine: Thanks, Todd.

Todd Pletcher: You're welcome.

Operator: And once again, it is star one if you would like to signal to ask a question. We'll go to Sherry Ross at the "New York Daily News."

Sherry Ross: Hi, Todd. Just a follow-up question on – a follow-up question on Bill's question. With regard to his vision, does he compensate for it by turning his head or anything? Or does he – does he (look straight)?

Todd Pletcher: Well, as you can tell, if you'd seen the Illinois Derby ...

Sherry Ross: Right.

Todd Pletcher: ... or some of his other races, he turns his head a little bit to the right. And I'm sure it's in an attempt to kind of broaden his field of vision. So, the more his left eye can see, the better. But he carries his head a little bit that way even when he's galloping. So I think it's probably just the way that he's adjusted to it to cope with the – with the lack of vision on the one side.

Sherry Ross: And I also – I believe I read that in an effort to combat the blindness early on there was some treatment that may have caused him to be a little smaller than he might have been. Do you know anything about that? Or could you (comment on that) better?

Todd Pletcher: Probably what I read in the "Blood Horse" the other day, that's the first I'd heard of that. And when we bought the horse we were told that the horse was basically was born that way. Since then the story's come out that it was somewhere between his (weaning) and yearling, six-month and year old when the MRLS or – had something to do with it.

I don't really know. He is adequate sized. He's obviously a strong horse. He's a – he's a good feeling colt. So as far as whether some of the treatments stunted his growth a bit, maybe that was a good thing because if that were the case, he was probably going to be too big.

Sherry Ross: So he – if he were – I haven't seen him in person in a while. He's become an average-sized ...

Todd Pletcher: He's a medium-sized colt ...

Sherry Ross: OK.

Todd Pletcher: ... with good length and carries good weight. So he by no means will be considered small.

Sherry Ross: OK, thank you.

Todd Pletcher: You're welcome.

Operator: We'll now go to Kevin Modesti. He's at the "Los Angeles Daily News."

Kevin Modesti: Hi, Todd. In the Santa Anita Derby, Castledale's jockey lost his whip in the middle of the stretch, but the horse went by some other horses and won the race. That might have given some aid and comfort to outsiders who question the use of whips. Have you seen any changes in the attitude within the industry about whips over the years? And have you formed any different opinions than you had going in? Are policies where they should be?

Todd Pletcher: Well, to me it's very difficult to set standards on how much you're going to be able to use a whip. And especially if you instituted a rule now where you said you're only allowed to hit a horse six times or something like that. I mean, that's – that – in the heat of the moment, how are you going to – how are you going to tell a guy 50 yards from the Kentucky Derby don't hit your horse again because you've already hit him six times.

You know, I think it's – it's usually a rider's judgment. Some horses are going to respond differently. Some horses need an aggressive ride, some horses don't. I think as a rule I think our jockey's do a pretty good job of using the whip and not abusing it. But I'm sure there are some cases where some guys are going to get a little carried away. But I think as a rule that our rider colony as a whole uses it (real well).

Kevin Modesti: How rare is it that – maybe in a case of one of your horses – you see a jockey using a whip that you, you know, might feel moved to admonish him about afterwards?

Todd Pletcher: It hasn't happened since I've been training on my own.

Kevin Modesti: Good news. Thank you very much.

Todd Pletcher: You're welcome.

Operator: We'll now go to Bob Summers at the "Buffalo News."

Bob Summers: Todd, two questions. Is Ashado definitely in the Oaks? You're not considering her for the Derby at all? And two, is – because of Pollards Vision's problem, when it comes time to pick to post positions, are you going to try to get as far outside as you can because he can't see out of his right eye?

Todd Pletcher: The first question on Ashado is I'm planning on running her in the Kentucky Oaks. Jack (Wolfe), one of her owners, has been pretty keen to run her in the Derby. But, he's made a compelling argument that she fits. And if you look at her races and her record and the way she ran the last couple of times, you could probably make that case. But at this point we're planning on running her in the Oaks.

And as far as Pollards Vision goes, yes, we're – we're going to – we would prefer to be towards the outside. But I would prefer the outside post positions with any of my horses, including Limehouse. So it maybe could be slightly more important with Pollards Vision because of his vision, but I would be prefer to be in the outside post regardless.

Jim Gluckson: All right, very good. Todd, thank you very much for joining us. We appreciate it. And best of luck to you next week.

Todd Pletcher: Thanks very much.

Jim Gluckson: All right, everyone, we have David Fiske on the line, David Fiske representing Tapeta Farm. David, good afternoon. How are you?

David Fiske: I'm fine, thank you.

Jim Gluckson: Very good. Just let me get the correct spelling of your last name, please, if you could for us, the journals on the line.

David Fiske: That would be F-I-S-K-E.

Jim Gluckson: With an E. Thank you very much. And we just thank you for joining us today. We want to talk about Tapit, the winner of the Wood Memorial. I think a lot of people are interested in discussing how he's coming out of the race since the Wood considering the difficulty he had medically, physically coming out of the Florida Derby. Can you update us on his condition?

David Fiske: Well, I talked to Michael Dickenson this morning. I'm actually in Lexington. And I am actually the general manager for Winchell Thoroughbreds. As far as I know, from Michael's told me this morning, the horse has been doing great since the Wood. He couldn't be doing any better. He's scheduled to work a half mile tomorrow morning.

Jim Gluckson: Scheduled to work a half tomorrow morning. Where would that be?

David Fiske: That will be at Tapeta.

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Jim Gluckson: At Tapeta. OK. I wanted to ask, also, that – Michael had said that they'd be happy with a third-place finish coming out of the Wood Memorial. And of course, the horse ended up winning the race. Did you have any feelings regarding that before the Wood as far as – as far as that's concerned, as far as a placing in that race?

David Fiske: Well, we knew going in that he had to be first or second to be assured of any chance of going on to the Derby. So, you know, that was a little bit nerve-racking going in. The fact that he was – a tenth of a second separated first from third. I don't know that Michael was, you know, that far off in his prediction. I don't think he was anticipating the finish being quite that close.

Jim Gluckson: All right. We were talking a little about running styles earlier today with Todd Pletcher and Pollards Vision. What about the running that Tapit demonstrated with his head sort of cocked awkwardly coming down the stretch in the – in the Wood Memorial? Could you comment on that?

David Fiske: When I first saw it on the replay, I thought that Ramon was trying to keep him from lugging in a little bit. But then I saw the head-on replay. And it looked like the horse was keeping a pretty steady course, as far as I could tell. I don't know whether he was looking at the crowd or whether that was something that Ramon did on purpose. You know he's a colt that's just eaten up with personality and he's something of a clown. So it wouldn't surprise me at all if he wasn't looking at the crowd.

Jim Gluckson: All right. Well, we have some questions, I believe, from the media here, David. So, Abe, let's see what we have out there.

Operator: Very good. Once again, that is star one if you would like to speak to Mr. Fiske. Star one. And again, please make sure you're not muted. That will block your signal. We do have a couple questions in the queue.

We'll go first to Matt Graves with the "Albany Times Union."

Matt Graves: David, tell us a little bit about Winchell's history with Michael Dickenson. And second, your take on the moniker of mad genius.

David Fiske: Well, our association with Michael started several years ago. I was first introduced to Michael the day that he won the Breeders’ Cup with Da Hoss at Churchill Downs. And Mr. Winchell – the late Mr. Winchell had raced a lot of horses in California, knew of Michael by reputation. And we had some horses that we thought might fit into Michael's program.

Of course, Michael has the reputation of being very patient and being able to bring horses back from injuries, like DaHoss Cetawayo. And we sent a few horses from California to him and he did pretty well with them. And then Mr. Winchell decided that if he did well with older horses that some infirmities and some problems, then, you know, let's try him with some younger horses. So we sent him some two-year-olds.

And I think Fleet Rene, the (Ashland and Mother Goose) winner that we had three years ago, was one of the first two-year-olds that we had sent him. And then ever since that we've sent him some two-year-olds every year and we've got – oh, we've probably got about six or eight horses in training at his farm, you know, at any time during the year.

As far as being a mad genius. Well, Michael likes to tell people that they're only half right about that, but he never tells them which half. So I don't know. I don't think he's either – he's certainly not mad. He's a perfectionist and – he does worry and fret over a lot of things and tends to do things a little bit differently than a lot of other people in this country.

But I think a lot of that just has to do with the way he was brought up. And his parents were trainers and he was a champion jump rider himself and a steeplechase trainer. And I think he just brought a lot of that European sensibility with him when he came over here to train.

Matt Graves: OK. One other thing, if I might. The three races that were run the day of the Wood were within hundreds of seconds of each other, yet the Beyer figures showed a great disparity. What's your take on that?

David Fiske: Well, I don't make Beyer figures. I mean, I tend to pay a lot of attention to them when they're favorable. I don't know. (Steve Fiske) wrote an article in the "Racing Form" the other day about some of the internal fractional times of the Bluegrass and how quirky they were. And it seemed to call into question some of the Beyer figures.

You know, the race in the Florida, the Florida Derby, had – was run in rather slow time and people knocked that for about four weeks until The Cliff's Edge won and Tapit won. And then all of a sudden that race seemed to be a lot better than it was. So I don't know. I think we've got an opportunity to improve off our race on the Wood – in the Wood. And you know, hopefully we can do that.

Operator: Next up, Bill Finley, the "New York Times."

Bill Finley: Hi, David. I have sort of a similar question that Matt just asked, but I'll take it one step further. The Winchell family is one of the few real prominent people who spend a lot of money that has given Michael a chance. As you said, most of his other horses have been sort of reclamation projects and horses that haven't run in three or four years.

Has his – I don't know if this is the right word, but I'll say it anyway – his eccentric nature, has that worked against him a little bit? Are owners and more traditional people a little bit wary of a guy who does things seemingly so differently than everybody else?

David Fiske: It probably does. I mean, a lot of people get their – owners and spectators, fans, whatever – get their information from the "Racing Form" or the "Blood Horse." And so – or one of the other magazines. And so everybody kind of gets their information the same way, and they read the results and stories about races and other trainers.

And so everybody thinks – tends to think along the same lines. And then, you know, Michael comes along and he does things not just a little bit different than a lot of trainers. I mean, he does things a lot different than a lot of trainers. So I think those eccentricities do tend to work against him a little bit.

Bill Finley: And did – have you found any of them to be – you know, the eccentricities – have you been won over by maybe his theories, doing things differently? Or perhaps there's something to be said for that.

David Fiske: Well, I think there's something to be said for it. I mean, you won't get me to say anything bad about Michael. I mean, he's the most entertaining guy that I get to work with. He's never at a loss for words or – I get daily faxes from him on the condition on all our horses.

The communication with him is great, much more so than most other trainers. So, I don't know, he does – he does a lot of things different than some trainers. But then he also has an opportunity to do things differently just because of his setup in Maryland and his reputation.

Bill Finley: Very good. David, thank you.

David Fiske: Sure.

Operator: Next up, Gary West, "Dallas Morning News."

Gary West: Yes, Mr. Fiske, good morning – good afternoon, I should say. I wanted to ask, given Tapit's setbacks and missed training for the first – for the last few months how much you can reasonably expect him to improve in the Derby. And looking even beyond that, how much better is he going to be in the fall when he finally takes on older horses?

David Fiske: Well, first of all, his training setbacks weren't as great as you would think. You know, the often-quoted 19 days that he missed. He just didn't work in 19 days. I mean, he was still on the track and he'd go out for, you know, daily gallops and all that. So that wasn't all that much of a setback.

As far as how much he can improve, I mean, that's just for him to show, I guess. I mean, I have no idea. I think that he will get better. You know, I think he has considerable room for improvement. How he'll do this fall, I guess depending on how healthy he is and how sound he is, I guess we'll just have to see.

Gary West: Thank you.

Operator: Next up, Van Cushny, Prime Media.

Van Cushny: My first question to you is, what crowd at Aqueduct? There was only 17,354 people that day. You said he had his head cocked looking at the crowd. There will be roughly 10 times that many people at the Derby. So is that a concern? And my second question to you is, given that it's been 85 years since a horse has won the Derby off of 0-4 career starts, how concerned are you about that?

David Fiske: Well, the first part about the crowd. Well, I don't know, there will be crowd on the inside and the outside of the – of the race track. Maybe that will help even his attention out. Like I said before, he's something of a character and he's very interested in – well, everything.

So, I mean, I – I can't say what he was looking at. He may not have been looking at anything. I mean, Ramon may have just been – pulled his head to one side just to keep him from running over Swingforthefences. But, I don't think that anything at Churchill's going to bother him, just because he's interested and entertained by everything. And the second part of your question was?

Van Cushny: How concerned are you by the fact that it's been 85 years since a horse with only four career starts has won the Derby?

David Fiske: Oh, well, I'd be concerned if he was training anywhere other than Michael's. Just the facility that Michael has in Maryland affords him the opportunity to get a horse much fitter, probably with less training, than you'd be able to do at any other race track or flat oval or traditional training center in any other part of the country.

Van Cushny: You ascribe that to some of the interval training techniques that he uses, galloping uphills and …

David Fiske: Yes. I mean, it's the interval training, it is the galloping up hills. It's his all-weather surface tends to be a little deeper, slower, and maybe a little more tiring than some of the other race tracks around. I mean, I saw some of the works from Santa Anita the other day, and there were nine horses that worked five furlongs in like :59 and change or faster. You know, a regular five furlong work at Michael's is about a minute :60. So, I think he doesn't have to work them nearly as hard to get the same sort of conditioning and fitness into them. So ...

Van Cushny: And what ...

David Fiske: Go ahead.

Van Cushny: One last question, if you don't mind. Much was made of the fact that Tapit ran in the Florida Derby more or less against Michael Dickenson's wishes. Is he 100 percent – is Michael Dickenson 100 percent on board in running the horse in the Derby or would he rather save him for another day?

David Fiske: There's nobody in the country that would like to win the Derby more than Michael. And so he is 100 percent on board on that. Michael's concerns going into the Florida Derby – I mean, his big reservation, his big concern, and his fear was that Tapit would turn into another (Second Of June), that somewhere in the stretch he'd get hooked up with another horse, he'd expend way too much energy for his first race of the year, and that we would diminish our chances for the Derby.

And that was his biggest concern. When the horse left Palm Meadows Training Center in February when his shin was a little touchy, Michael and I talked at length as to, you know, where we would run the horse if we took him back to Maryland given that the weather in the Northeast is a little iffy and the stakes schedule didn't really look to be all that great. And when he left Florida, Michael said if we take him back to Maryland, I'll have him ready to go in the Florida Derby. So that was pretty much always the plan.

Van Cushny: Very good. OK. Well, thank you very much, and good luck in the Derby.

David Fiske: Thank you.

Operator: Next up, Rich Rosenblatt, the "Associated Press."

Rich Rosenblatt: Good afternoon. You've been talking about Michael doing so many things so differently than a lot of other trainers. Through your relationship with him, through the years with him, what are some of the things that maybe surprised you about some of his methods, and when you went to the farm and saw what happened or he explained what happened. (You're kind) kind off guard or just surprised.

David Fiske: Well, nothing that Michael does really surprises me. Michael likes to tinker and try new things and different things as they come along. He reads a lot about current research and no matter what it is, whether it's research on turf grasses or research on physiological development or exercise physiology, whatever.

And he's always willing to try new stuff. That said, he's also – incorporates a lot of traditional things. He used to work for Vincent O'Brien in Ireland for a while. And so a lot of his horses have a steady diet – or a daily diet consisting of Guinness Stout and eggs, which is, you know – I don't think that's really too normal for most race tracks around the country.

He combines the more traditional stuff that he's learned over the years in England and Ireland and new things and he has air filters that hang over all the stalls that he's been trying that whether they work or they don't work, he'll try them out and see what he thinks.

Rich Rosenblatt: Is that part of Tapit's diet, the Guinness Stout and eggs? And what, if anything, has he done with Tapit that might be considered maybe unorthodox?

David Fiske: Well, I do believe that Tapit eats Guinness and eggs. As far as unorthodox – there hasn't really been anything that – I mean, the horse goes out for daily gallops, he works on a regular schedule, you know, given the vagaries of the weather in the Northeast or, you know, whatever. But most of his training's been pretty straight forward.

Rich Rosenblatt: All right. Thank you very much.

David Fiske: Thank you.

Operator: We'll now go to Bob Summers with the "Buffalo News."

Bob Summers: Mr. Fiske, what is Michael's shipping and training schedule Derby week? Is he going to go right to Churchill and work on the track there or going to stay at Keeneland or ship in the day of the race? Or what's the plan?

David Fiske: As far as I know at the moment, Tapit works tomorrow at Tapeta, in Maryland. Depending on how he comes out of that work, he will ship probably to Churchill no earlier than Saturday, no later than Tuesday. It'll be in that timeframe.

And I think it just depends on how Michael feels and, you know, if he looks at the weather and it looks like, you know, maybe we're going to get some storms in Louisville and that's going to interfere with putting a final work into him. He may get his final work at Michael's in Maryland and then ship or, you know, he could ship and then work at Churchill.

Bob Summers: And will he be staying in the regular stakes barns there or will he ...

David Fiske: yes.

Bob Summers: ... be staying with another trainer that you're ...

David Fiske: He'll be in the stakes barn.

Bob Summers: OK, thank you.

David Fiske: Sure.

Operator: And now we'll go to the West Coast, Bill Christine at the "Los Angeles Times."

Bill Christine: Hi, David.

David Fiske: Hi, Bill.

Bill Christine: David, there have been a lot of old wives tales floating around for years about gray horses. And I've even read someplace where they might possibly even be more susceptible to a bit of disease of the coats and that kind of thing. Do you buy into any of the superstitions, and is there anything actually medically connected?

David Fiske: Well, I know over the years we've had some gray brood mares that have been, oh, susceptible or they did get melanomas and some skin-related diseases. As far as other superstitions, I don't think – I'm not a very superstitious guy. So I think usually the fastest horse wins no matter what color it is.

Bill Christine: Thanks.

Operator: And gentlemen, we have no other questions at this time.

Jim Gluckson: All right. David, thank you very much for joining us. Best of luck to Michael and to the Winchell family and good luck in the Derby.

David Fiske: Thank you.

Jim Gluckson: Thank you. Just as a note here on some statistical background before we bring in John Servis. The Wood Memorial that Tapit won has produced 20 – 20 starters out of the Wood have gone on to win the Kentucky Derby. The Bluegrass is the (winningest) prep in that 22 Bluegrass starters have gone on to win the Kentucky Derby. All right.

Operator: And John Servis is on-line.

Jim Gluckson: John, good afternoon. Jim Gluckson here in New York. Thank you for joining us.

John Servis: Good afternoon, Jim. How are you?

Jim Gluckson: Very good, very good. A lot of excitement. In a year of great unpredictability and uncertainty, Smarty Jones, your horse, has been the most consistent. And it's been a terrific year coming up to it. It must be a tremendously exciting situation for you. Your first Derby. Can you just tell us your experience up to this point in training the horse.

John Servis: Since we've been in Kentucky you mean?

Jim Gluckson: Since the year began.

John Servis: Oh, it's been great. I mean, he's been a – he's been a fun horse to train. I mean, he enjoys training, he's trains hard. He gets a lot of his training. And he races – he races even harder. I mean, it's been a blast.

Jim Gluckson: How – can you talk a little bit about the fact that you have the opportunity it's the first horse since Seattle Slew to (go undefeated to) win the Kentucky Derby. What kind of feeling is that for you?

John Servis: I'm sorry, I can't hear you.

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Jim Gluckson: I wanted to ask you about your feelings about the fact that this could be the first time a horse since Seattle Slew was undefeated and wins the Kentucky Derby. What is that feeling for you?

John Servis: Well, it's – you know, I mean, it's a great feeling. It puts you in an elite category. Right now I'm just happy for Mr. and Mrs. Chapman, the fact that we've been able to get this far and that we're going to the Derby. You know, that's the only thing those people have asked from me from the beginning.

Jim Gluckson: Excellent. And how about the $5 million? I mean, it's enough training a horse getting ready for the Derby. What is that (like) in the back of your mind for the owners?

John Servis: To be very honest with you, it hasn't even come into play. I don't even think about it. You know, if this horse wins the Derby I'm going to be ecstatic. And a week later or a month later or six months later, however long it takes, somebody hands me a check like that, I'll be tickled to death. But we're going after the roses right now. And the first thing I'd like to see is them putting that blanket of roses on my horse.

Jim Gluckson: All right, very good. John, I just want to ask you your first Derby memory of the first Derby you did see and what – and what horse it was.

John Servis: My first Derby memory. I don't know which one the first one was. I guess the most memorial was probably Affirmed. I know it was way before that. I honestly don't remember which one the first one was.

Jim Gluckson: OK. All right. Well, why don't we get into the questions here. We have as lot of people on the line. Abe, why don't we start right in, please.

Steve Bishop at the "Orange County Register."

Steve Bishop: Yes. John, could you talk just a little bit about taking over after the tragedy involving the other trainer? And how delicate was that to work with the owners after what had happened?

John Servis: Well, actually when that happened Philadelphia Park is kind of a close-knit racing area because we race year-round. And (Bobby Kamack) was very, very well respected and a very good friend of mine. And it was hard. It was hard for everybody. It was hard for the whole community. The race track was really taken by it.

And you know, subsequently because (Bobby) and I were good friends, and the way I understand from other owners that (Bobby) spoke very highly of me, I had quite a few – quite a few of his clients afterwards that actually came to me and gave me their horses. Mr. and Mrs. Chapman were so devastated that they actually were planning on getting out of the business.

They sold their farm; they sold the majority of their horses. And they were down to two horses, which – one of which was Smarty Jones. And I think it kind of opened their eyes. And Mrs. Chapman said to Mr. Chapman one day, you know, we sold everything, these are the last two horses. If we sell these horses, we're out of business. And I think Mr. Chapman responded as, well, let's keep these two and see how it goes, you know, I'm not ready to get out. And it turned out one of them was Smarty.

Operator: Anything else for you, sir?

Steve Bishop: No, that's fine. Thank you.

We're going to Mike Sielski. He's with the "Bucks County Courier-Times”.

Mike Sielski: I just wanted to find out, could you talk a bit about the decision-making process in putting Smarty on Lasix for the Derby? I know he hasn't run a race with – on Lasix yet. Could you just talk about the decision to do that?

John Servis: Yes. The biggest thing was more from a preventative standpoint. And one of the things was that I have a good friend of mine that trains horses that – actually is not a good friend, but a friend of mine. And he was in a similar situation.

He had a horse years ago that won the Rebel and won the Arkansas Derby and there was a nice bonus out there that was offered to him. And he brought his horse to the Kentucky Derby, and he had never been on Lasix, and he ran him and the horse ended up bleeding profusely and ended up not even finishing the race.

Mike Sielski: Yes.

John Servis: So I think because Kentucky lets you do that – my horse he's never bled. But because Kentucky lets you do that, I think it's a good preventative measure. And I just – I don't want to – , I'd hate to have this horse bleed at the Kentucky Derby, the biggest race of his life, and leave that excuse out there. You know?

Mike Sielski: Yes. Do you think people – anybody out there would be disappointed in the idea that, you know, a horse not on Lasix could win the Derby?

John Servis: I'm sure they would. Yes, I'm sure there's people out there. And you know, I'd like to run him in the Derby without Lasix. But I'd be – I'd be heartbroken not only for myself but for Mr. and Mrs. Chapman if I felt this horse could have won the Derby and he bled and got beat because of it. You know, I'm just – as a trainer, I'm doing my job and I'm trying to cover all the bases and I'm trying to get my horse over there at the best that he could possibly be, and I'm trying to eliminate all the excuses.

Mike Sielski: All right, John. Thank you.

John Servis: Yes.

Operator: Next up, Pat Forde at the Louisville Courier Journal.

Pat Forde: Hi, John. I was just wondering about your decision to stay with Stewart Elliott riding and what you think you've been able to get out of him with the horse.

John Servis: Well, I think Stewart gotten a – I mean, first of all, I know he has a world of confidence in my horse. I think him and the horse have developed a very good rapport for each other. And you know, he hasn't done anything wrong.

So far he's done absolutely everything perfect. So I mean, he's – Stewart's a very good rider. He's a very good friend of mine. And I think he's more than capable. And I've told many people this, and I'll tell you – I have a feeling that when all the smoke settles, I don't think Stewart’s going to be at Philadelphia Park very long.

Pat Forde: Yes. Have you received offers or overtures from jocks' agents, from other people looking to get on the horse?

John Servis: Not really. I got a – I had a call from an agent right after the Rebel Stakes. And it wasn't trying to get on the horse, but he just said I know Stewart’s your man, and God forbid, if something happens, you know, out of control where he can't ride the horse, we're available, you know, if you want us.

Pat Forde: OK.

John Servis: And other than that, no.

Pat Forde: OK. And lastly, will he be in to exercise the horse?

John Servis: No, he will not.

Pat Forde: OK. All right.

Operator: We'll now go to Linda Dougherty. She's at "The Trentonian."

Linda Dougherty: I'm just curious. Your workout this weekend, how far will Smarty go? And my second – the second part of my question is, have you looked beyond the Derby? If he runs well, will you be going to the Preakness? And if you do go to the Preakness, are you going to bring him back to Philly to train or do you think you might go down to Baltimore?

John Servis: You know, from the very beginning Mr. and Mrs. Chapman and I have sat down and we've discussed every race. And we've been adamant about taking every race at a time. And we're just taking the Derby at a time. And he's going to work Saturday. He's going to work five eighths of a mile. And after the Derby, I'm sure that night we'll go out to dinner and we'll sit down and discuss plans on what we're going to do next.

Linda Dougherty: OK. Thanks a lot, John.

John Servis: OK.

Operator: We'll now go to Mike Henry at the "Bradenton Herald."

Mike Henry: Hi, Mr. Servis. The Chapmans have mentioned many times that they have received a lot of great offers for this colt. Is that a subject they have broached with you since the offers started coming in, and what kind of discussions have you guys had about that?

John Servis: Early on I got – I had some offers made to me for Mr. Chapman, and I took them to Mr. Chapman. And he and his wife sat down, discussed it and called me back and said we're not interested. We're not interested. I had guys calling trying to buy a piece of the horse.

And Mr. Chapman's exact words were, he says, "John, I got a partner. My wife's my partner. And that's what we're going to go with." So other than – other than the fact of him telling me that he's gotten offers, it hasn't really been discussed.

Mike Henry: Did the offers start coming in even as he was a two-year-old?

John Servis: Yes. We had one offer after his first race and probably seven after his second.

Mike Henry: Thank you.

John Servis: OK.

Operator: Next up, Bill Finley, "New York Times."

Bill Finley: Hi, John. I've got a question. First of all, when – back in November when you were running in a maiden race at Philadelphia Park, how talented did you think this horse was? And I can only imagine that as good as you must have thought he was that what has happened from there has exceeded your expectations.

John Servis: Oh, absolutely. When I ran him the first time, I knew he was a very talented horse. I had no idea he was this – he was this talented. I mean, I ran him in a maiden race at Philadelphia Park. I ran him with a ton of confidence. And one of the reasons I ran him there is because he's a Pennsylvania-bred and they offered that nice bonus.

Otherwise I might have taken him out of town. But after his second race I'm watching a horse that's extremely immature and really doesn't know what he's doing out there, and he – and he ran he ran seven eighths of a mile in :21 and change and ran 105 Beyer. And that's when I thought that we might have something really special.

Bill Finley: And the second part of my question. You've, you know, had a lot of success in your career. You had Jostle. But none the less, you know, you do train at a race track where it's not really known or not known by any means as a place that produces Kentucky Derby-type horses. Have you – throughout your training career have you aspired to go to the Kentucky Derby, have you dreamt of something like this, or was that dream sort of beyond your expectations?

John Servis: Well, I've dreamt about that since I was 14. You know, for being at Philadelphia Park, I have – I have clients that – I mean, I have great clients. I really do. I mean, I'm very, very fortunate and it makes my job a lot easier. I have – I have guys that breed some really nice horses and buy some really nice horses. And it's unusual for owners like that to be at Philadelphia Park.

But it's convenient for me. They've let me ship out of there and run at other race tracks. And they don't give me a hard time by any means. If anything, they've bent over backwards for me. And it's been great for me. And the guys that say, you know, a good horse can't come out of Philadelphia Park haven't watched my barn very much, I can tell you that.

Bill Finley: Very good. Thanks, John.

At this time we'll go to Michael Pointer. He's with the "Indianapolis Star."

Michael Pointer: Yes, John – excuse me – John, could you – when he – Smarty Jones had the injury last year, did you notice any change in his personality, or do you think it still had any long-term impact on the horse and just his makeup or anything about it in particular?

John Servis: Well, it took him a long time to get over the initial impact. And we left him on the farm for quite a while. I mean, he was on the farm for a good month before we ever brought him back. We really took our time with him. The first couple days he went to the race track, we took him up with the pony and we just kind of walked him around with a rider on him.

And the second day we didn't even train him, we just let him walk around and look. And then the second day we walked him around, and then we actually walked him back into the chute and let him look at the gate. And never walked him near the gate, just let him look at it. Just let him see, you know – you're kind of starting from scratch all over again.

And we had to get him to where he was comfortable. And it took him about two weeks to where I thought he was back to himself and a good feeling horse and stuff. And to this day every once and a while he'll get to the gate and he'll step back a little bit or he's a little uncomfortable when he first gets there.

But, literally, since the accident he's been to the gate probably 200 times. And he's still – I still take him to the gate. And he's going to go to the gate twice the week of the Derby. But it's in the back of his mind, I'm sure, and he's got – he's done very well with it. And will he ever forget it? I doubt it. I mean, it was a pretty serious injury. But he's learned to handle it pretty good.

Michael Pointer: Now, I'm sorry, I'm just trying to get a timeframe a little from you here. Did he – when he suffered the injury, how long was he in the equine hospital? And then you said you put him on the farm for about a month after that. Is that correct, after he left the hospital (to the center), right?

John Servis: Yes, he was – he was at the hospital for about three weeks.

Michael Pointer: OK.

John Servis: And right out of the hospital we sent him right to the farm, and he was at the farm for a month, a little over a month.

Michael Pointer: And for those of us that haven't been able to follow as close as maybe we'd like, how close did he actually come to perishing or taking him out of racing? Did you think maybe, you know, that there was no way you were going to be able to get him back to racing?

John Servis: Well, it wasn't – it wasn't really that close. But if you would have seen it, that would be hard to believe because it was so bad. And for an onlooker, I mean, the first thing I thought of he was dead, because he's laying – he's in the gate – picture him standing in the gate, he hits his head, he's laying in the stall with his head – all four of his legs were buckled underneath him like he was going to lay down, and his head was actually underneath him in between his legs.

And he was out cold, and he was just laying there. And I'm like "Oh, my God, this horse killed himself." And then when we finally got him up, there was no wound at all, but the blood was just pouring out of his nostrils. And we got him back to the barn and got the vet over there and we started working on him.

Well, the swelling was immediate, and the inflammation was so bad that his whole side of his head was swollen so bad it – the eye socket was actually – the eyeball was gone and there was just tissue pushing out of the actual eye socket. And that's when I – that's when I said "We got to get this horse out of here."

And we put him on the van and took him right to the New Jersey Equine to Dr. (Hogan). And I was panicking, and she called me the next morning and said "I think he's going to be all right. I mean, he's a good patient and he's got some fractures and – but I don't see anything life threatening." And she was right.

Michael Pointer: Great. Thanks for your insight.

John Servis: OK.

Operator: We'll go now to Dan Farley. He's with the "Racing Post."

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Dan Farley: I've kind of got a couple questions for you. Obviously on the Lasix thing, you've weighed the pros and cons of the med. But have you ever – have you ever run a horse first-time Lasix and gotten an adverse effect from it? And if so, how concerned are you about that?

John Servis: I have run horses first-time Lasix and got an adverse effect. I'll tell you, when we were at Oaklawn, I did work this horse on Lasix one morning just to see how – how he would handle it. And he handled it fine. He worked real good on it. He's going to get a very small dosage. And I think he'll be fine. Again, it's just a preventative thing.

Dan Farley: Right. Secondly, he – this is another horse in the prospective field that doesn't exactly have as pedigree that screams 10 furlongs. How confident are you that given the usual fairly hot pace in the race, how confident are you that Elliott can get this horse to maybe go – lay back off of it five or six lengths early rather than going neck and neck from the get-go?

John Servis: I'm very confident. You know, I mean, this horse is – he's really pretty push-button. I mean, you can do a lot of things with him. And if you're really – if you dig a little deeper in the pedigree, you'll see some names in there that were 10 furlongs-plus. So, you know – and if you watch him train, you certainly won't have any apprehension about him going a mile and a quarter.

Because he just – he doesn't get tired. I mean, this horse just goes and goes. So, you know, I mean, he's going into the race good and he's – and he's – you know, he's a tough horse to gallop, but he'll settle and he does – it's funny, because when you watch him gallop, he does everything right.

Like he takes a hold and he'll get – he'll start to get real tough about the quarter pole, and he'll get real tough all the way through the stretch until about the seven-eighths pole or going into the clubhouse turn, and then he'll ease off the bit a little bit and he'll actually drop his head and relax the whole way down the backside. And then about the middle of the turn coming back to the quarter pole, he'll jump back into the bit and start to get tough. So it's almost like he knows where he needs to settle and where he needs to pick it up.

Pete Perkins: Hey, John. I heard you mention a bit earlier that – I think you said you talked to some of Demons Begone's connections before you made this decision on the Lasix? Is that – is that how that happened? And would you have not made that decision?

John Servis: No, I didn't actually – I didn't talk to them, no. I just – I remember the incident. And you know, and then – it's a hard incident to forget. I mean he was a big favorite in the Derby and he was going for a big bonus.

Operator: Next up, Van Cushny, Prime Media.

Van Cushny: Yes. Hi, John. How you doing? Quick question regarding the pace. Do you see him laying within a length or two like he has in most of his other races or do you see him laying back off the pace as Dan Farley was implying you might try to do if there is a hot pace like there usually is in the Derby?

John Servis: Well, again, it's – I mean, ideally, I'd love to him five, six lengths off the lead. But, you know, I think a lot of that is going to be on post position he gets. You know, if he gets an inside post, that's going to change a whole lot of things, because that kind of forces your hand. If we get lucky and we get to pick and outside post, then, yes, ideally, I'd like to see him about five, six lengths off the lead.

Operator: Next question will be from Bob Summer, the "Buffalo News."

Bob Summers: John, your Arkansas Derby, it looks very impressive. You got outside post, fast time, good Beyer figure, and yet it was a muddy track. How bad was the track that day? What were your immediate impressions after the race was over?

John Servis: Well, I was tickled to death with the effort. I thought it was a great effort, coming from the 11 hole. The track was good. I mean, it was a muddy track, but it was a good track. The footing was good. And you know, they did a great job on it.

As a matter of fact, if I'm not mistaken, two races before the Arkansas Derby they started actually harrowing the race track instead of sealing it. So it was a muddy track. It wasn't as – I don't think it was a slick track by any means. And he handled it fine. I was real happy with the effort.

Operator: Next up, Bill Christine, the "Los Angeles Times."

Bill Christine: John, you had a good race over the Aqueduct strip a few races back. Why didn't that push you in the direction of the Wood? Why did you choose the Arkansas route, and was it bonus-related?

John Servis: It had nothing to do with the bonus. The reason we decided to go to Arkansas, quite frankly, was because we felt that would be the easiest route for my horse. He's very immature at the time. I felt if we – if we hooked into graded company too early that we'd take a chance of ruining him. And we felt the slower we could bring him along, the more he would mature at his own pace and the better he'd be. And you know, right now it's hard to knock that.

Operator: Next up will be Rich Rosenblatt, the "Associated Press."

Dan Johnson: Hi. I want to touch on something you kind of mentioned. How do you feel the competition that he ran against in Arkansas shapes up against the other regions? And do you think any of the regions was particularly tough or particularly impressive as far as, you know, setting it up for a Derby favorite?

John Servis: Yes, I think – I think the competition at Arkansas was good. I think it's a lot better than people thought. As a matter of fact, quite frankly, I think, you know, in the handful of horses that I think are going to be very competitive in the Derby – or I should say the two (hands-ful) – I think Borrego is certainly a horse that needs to be reckoned with. And I think if Pro Prado gets in, he's a horse that's obviously peaking at the right time and he could be very tough.

Kevin Modesti: Hi, John. The discussion of Smarty Jones' head injury and the fact there are a couple of Derby prospects who have vision problems, the ups and downs of this prep season contributes to this image of these three-year-olds as survivors more than brilliant. What's your overall assessment of this group, if you've thought about it? Are we being kind of unfair in harping so much on the inconsistencies?

John Servis: Yes, I think so. And I'm just guessing, because I really don't know – I can't speak for anybody else. But I think – I'm a big (Ragison) guy. And if you look at the (Ragison) numbers the last few years, this is a pretty fast group of horses coming into this Derby.

I think maybe the trainers were so concentrated on having their horses peak at the right time they subsequently maybe let that horse throw in a bad race so not to jeopardize him peaking too early. And I – and I think to make an excuse for horses throwing in bad races, I think a lot of that was just that.

Kevin Modesti: That explains, then, the ups and downs, do you think?

John Servis: I think so. I mean the toughest thing for the Derby – for the Kentucky Derby is you don't want your horse peaking – the last thing you want him to do is run the best race of his life the last prep before the Derby. Because you're looking at that bounce theory or that race might take too much out of him and he might not come back and run the best you need going into the Derby.

So it's become such a focus for trainers that – and again, you know, to put myself in that category, when I ran Smarty Jones in the Southwest he was nowhere near 100 percent. But the last thing I wanted to do was crank with him too much and have him peaking in the middle of March or the end of March before the – before the Derby.

And gentlemen, we have no other questions at this time.

Jim Gluckson: Abe, thank you. That concludes it. John, thank you very much for joining us today. And best of luck to you and the Chapmans in the Derby.

John Servis: Thank you very much, guys.

Jim Gluckson: Best of luck. Thank you to everyone on the call today. I wanted to also extend thanks to Todd Pletcher and Dave Fiske who joined us earlier. Eric Wing was a bit under the weather today, from NTRA, and he'll be back in action soon for us.

Thank you to Abe Goteiner, in St. Louis at Premiere Conferencing, and of course, our producer, Joan Lawrence, here in New York. The next NTRA media teleconference will be on Thursday, May 6th, previewing the Preakness Stakes. Thanks to everyone and have a good afternoon.