Homespun Ramsey has International Star in Derby

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Ken Ramsey says he was approached recently by a biographer from New York who wanted to chronicle how Ramsey has become one of the most successful people in the modern era of American racing.

“He said he wanted to call the book, ‘From the Outhouse to the Penthouse,’ ” Ramsey said with his familiar cackle. “I don’t believe he realizes how true to life that is.”

As great as his racing empire has become – Ramsey and his wife, Sarah, also known as “Kathern,” have won the Eclipse Award for outstanding owner in North America in three of the last four years and for top breeder the last two years – Ramsey, 79, seems nearly as proud of hailing from Artemus, Ky., a tiny hamlet in Knox County in the southeastern corner of the state.

“Sure, we had to use an outhouse when I was growing up,” he said. “I don’t think people realize how tough we had it. But I’m living proof that you can get past those things and become whatever you want to be.”

For all he has accomplished in some 45 years in the sport, Ramsey, who amassed a fortune in the telecommunications industry, has one unattained goal, and it’s a huge one: winning the Kentucky Derby. On Saturday, his red-and-white silks will be carried by International Star in the 141st running of America’s greatest race.

“I’m not getting any younger,” he said. “This has been on my bucket list for quite a while now. Heck, it’s pretty much everybody’s goal. To win the Derby would be the culmination of all my life’s dreams.”

International Star, trained by Mike Maker and ridden by Miguel Mena, comes off three straight wins, all at Fair Grounds in New Orleans: the Lecomte in January, the Risen Star in February, and the Louisiana Derby in late March. A New York-bred purchased for $85,000 as a yearling, the son of 2000 Derby winner Fusaichi Pegasus is widely regarded as an overachiever who consistently outruns his odds.

To win the Derby, the colt will have to outrun his odds again. Ramsey has had six prior starters in the Derby but has never been close, with an eighth by Ten Cents a Shine in 2003 being his best finish. International Star figures in the 15-1 range Saturday.

“For the first time, I’m going into the race with a closing dirt horse,” Ramsey said recently on an NTRA conference call. “I like the shape of the race. I like the fact that there’s a lot of speed in the race. I’m not tapping him as the winner, but he’s a seasoned veteran; he’s already had nine races under his belt. I know they’re saying [the Louisiana preps] may not be the toughest. So, this horse is under the radar, but he’s my best chance ever to win the Kentucky Derby.”

Ramsey, with his Southern drawl and yuck-it-up demeanor, has become something of a caricature of himself when becoming entrenched as a perennial leading owner not only on his home circuit of Kentucky but also at prestigious meets at Saratoga in the summer and Gulfstream in the winter. The thing is, he doesn’t mind what people think – as long as he keeps winning.

“I am who I am,” he said.

A major part of his success is directly traceable to Kitten’s Joy, who stands at the family farm just south of Lexington and has become a world-class sire since his first foals began racing in 2009. But breeding is just one facet of Ramsey’s immersion in the Thoroughbred industry: He claims, he buys and sells privately, and he wagers with both fists.

“I really do enjoy every part of the game,” he said.

While racing is his passion, his family is his love, most notably his wife of 56 years, who has been wheelchair-bound since suffering a severe stroke in 2007.

“Hopefully, she’ll be carried across the turf course and onto hallowed ground Saturday,” said Ramsey. “She’s looking forward to the Derby just like we all are.”

Ramsey is a realist and a dreamer at the same time.

“International Star won’t be one of the favorites,” he said, “but he is doing as well as we could possibly hope, and he’s a picture of health. Stranger things have happened, you know.”