Day, Pletcher Join Fusaichi Pegasus in Visa 3-Year-Old Championship Titles

• Print

Trainer Todd Pletcher edged out his former employer, Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas, 81-to-75, to capture his first Visa title. Although Pletcher did not earn any Visa points in Saturday's grade I Travers Stakes, More Than Ready's victory in the King's Bishop Stakes gave Pletcher 10 points to hold off Lukas. Pletcher won six races in the 47-race series with runners including Graeme Hall, More Than Ready, Summer Note, and Trippi.

For the second consecutive year, jockey Pat Day held off Jerry Bailey to capture the Visa championship title for the top jockey. Day picked up 15 points with a victory on More Than Ready and a third aboard the Lukas-trained Commendable in the Travers. Going into the final two races, Day had a one-point advantage over Bailey. After Saturday, Day finished with a 77-to-61 winning margin in the Visa points standing.

Finishing second behind Fusaichi Pegasus in the 3-year-old championship series was More Than Ready, with Red Bullet finishing one point behind in third, with High Yield taking fourth.

• Print