Kentucky Derby: Connecticut Owner and Breeder Has Had Huge Impact

This article was posted by Elyssa M. Millspaugh. It was reported and written by Philip R. Devlin, Patch's Connecticut History columnist. 

Named after direct descendants of William Clark — the Clark of the famous Lewis and Clark expedition — Churchill Downs has hosted the Kentucky Derby annually since 1875. It is the most popular horse race in the United States and is held yearly on the first Saturday in May. 

Though this year’s 139th renewal has no Connecticut horses, trainers, owner, or jockeys, the “Run For The Roses” has a long history of many connections to the Nutmeg State.

Manchester native Cam Gambolati trained Spend A Buck to the winner’s circle in 1985. Ridden by hall-of-famer Angel Cordero Jr., Spend A Buck went wire-to-wire, setting the fastest internal mile split time in Derby history — 1:34.2. Though Gambolati still trains on the New Jersey circuit, he has not won another race as a trainer as prestigious as the Kentucky Derby.

Hartford native Mike Manganello was the jockey on Dust Commander, a horse who went off at odds of 16-1 in the 1970 Derby. Dust Commander came from well of the pace to win the roses. Manganello continued on as a jockey, racing mainly on secondary racing circuits until 1988 — a career spanning nearly 30 years and 2,500 victories. Mike is now a racing steward in Ohio.

The Connecticut native who has clearly had an enormous influence on the Kentucky Derby, however, was Abraham I. (“Butch”) Savin. Born and raised in New London, Butch Savin worked for the military during World War I by constructing defensive gun emplacements on Fisher’s Island. Apparently, the work appealed to him, as he continued to work on construction during the years following the war; in fact, he founded his own construction company — the Abraham I. Savin Company (AISCO) — in 1928.

Savin made a fortune with his construction business, playing a key role in the construction of both the New Jersey Turnpike and Idlewild (now JFK) Airport in New York City. A lover of horses since he was a boy, Butch Savin began to invest heavily in thoroughbred racing as an owner and breeder in the early 1960s. One of his key purchases was a young colt foaled in 1970. That colt’s name was Mr. Prospector. He cost $220,000.

Unfortunately for him and the Savins, Mr. Prospector was foaled in the same year as the legendary Secretariat. Secretariat, of course, was one of the greatest race horses of all time. He won the Triple Crown — the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and the Belmont Stakes — in 1973. So dominant a performer was Secretariat that he still holds the stakes record times for all three Triple Crown races — an amazing statistic! 

Mr. Prospector could not stay with Secretariat in the longer races of the Triple Crown, but he was one of the fastest sprinters of his time. Mr. Prospector captured many 6 to 7 furlong races through 1974, setting several stakes and track records for sprints. He was retired to stud in 1974.

It was in the AISCO Farm’s breeding shed that Mr. Prospector had an enormous influence on the Kentucky Derby as well as the other Triple Crown races. After being re-syndicated to Claiborne Farm in Kentucky, Mr. Prospector continued to beget a line of champions. Arguably, he is the most influential sire in thoroughbred racing in the last 50 years. 

His influence on winners of the Kentucky Derby is simply astounding: Not including this year’s contestants, of the 374 thoroughbreds competing in the Kentucky Derby since 1990, 106 of them were descendants of Mr. Prospector. Of those 106 entries, 10 won the Derby and 25 finished in the superfecta, i.e., among the top 4 in the race. That’s an amazing statistic!

Here are some of his recent Derby winners: Quiet American (1989) and Real Quiet (1998); Unbridled, (1990);Grindstone (1996); Mine That Bird (2009); War Emblem (2002); and Smarty Jones (2004).

One of the top contenders in this year’s Derby is a horse named Orb. His sire is Malibu Moon, son of A.P. Indy, who was sired by 1977 Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew. A.P. Indy’s damsire was none other than the legendary Secretariat.

If that weren’t enough royalty, Orb’s mother was sired by the 1990 Derby winner, Unbridled. Unbridled is a son of Mr. Prospector, owned and bred by Connecticut native Butch Savin. So if Orb is the 2013 Kentucky Derby winner, just keep in mind that a breeder and owner from Connecticut  played a role in that victory!