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Sara Patterson, right of horse, joins Pletcher in the winner s circle at Remington Park on Nov. 27, 2020
Trainer Todd Pletcher, a 2021 nominee to the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, has a horse entered Saturday at Oaklawn in Fearless, among the favorites for the $1 million Oaklawn Handicap (G2) for older runners.
Roughly 24 hours before Pletcher, the trainer, was scheduled to send out Fearless in the Oaklawn Handicap, unbeaten Pletcher, the horse, was to make his 3-year-old debut in an allowance sprint Friday at Oaklawn.
“I have no connection to the horse,” Pletcher said Wednesday afternoon.
But Sara Patterson does. Pletcher is owned by Patterson s father, Randy, who purchased the son of Jack Milton for $7,500 at the 2019 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. Sara Patterson named Pletcher after her best friend, Shad Pletcher, who died in December 2019. He was 48.