Growing up, Bill Casner's rodeo idol was ProRodeo Hall of Famer Dean Oliver. Casner dreamed of some day being able to rope and tie calves as well as the 11-time world champion from Idaho.
Instead of tie-down roping in the PRCA, the El Paso, Texas, native ended up focusing on his business career, his family and thoroughbred horse racing. On May 1, Casner won a title as lofty as a gold buckle. He made national news as the co-owner of Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver.
"I've gotten calls from people I haven't heard from in 30 years," Casner said.
The chairman and co-owner of the 1,400 acre WinStar Farm in Versailles, Ky., solidified a special place in "the sport of kings" by winning the Derby. He is now focused on helping Super Saver and jockey Calvin Borel win the Preakness Stakes May 15 at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore. However, no matter where Casner travels, he is never too far from his roots and rodeo.
Casner, 62, has team roped in his spare time the past 25 years in open events and in United States Team Roping Championships.
Casner has attended the annual Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas and considers several team ropers his friends, including seven-time World Champions Jake Barnes and Clay O'Brien Cooper.
"I'm from Texas," Casner said. "When I'm home (in Flower Mound, Texas), I'll rope nearly every day."
Photos by Doug Herthel/courtesy Mark Herthel
The team behind Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver pose for a photo and trophy hoist, May 1 in Louisville, Ky. Co-Owners and breeders Kenny Troutt (green cap), Bill Casner (fedora), jockey Calvin Borel and trainer Todd Pletcher (far right) all take in the victory celebration. Borel holds up three fingers to signify his third Kentucky Derby win in four years. Along with this year, Borel won the Kentucky Derby last year on Mine That Bird and on Street Sense in 2007.
Co-owner and breeder of Kentucky Derby winner Bill Casner visits with Secretariat owner Penny Chenery at Derby festivities, May 1 in Louisville, Ky. The movie "Secretariat," starring Diane Lane as Chenery, will be in theaters on Oct. 8.
Rodeo broadcaster Pam Minick (second from right) was among the family and friends of Bill (far right) and Susan Casner (second from left) who attended the 136th Kentucky Derby on May 1. Also pictured is friend Debbie Garrison (far left). Super Saver, owned and bred by Casner and partner Kenny Troutt of WinStar Farm, won the Run for the Roses in sloppy conditions. It was WinStar's first win in nine attempts at the Derby. WinStar's Bluegrass Cat finished second in 2006.
Propelled into the limelight
Some may not have heard of Casner until he was thrust into the national spotlight following Super Saver's win at the Kentucky Derby. However, he has been around horses and horse racing most of his life. In fact, he galloped race horses to put himself through college at Tarleton State University in Stephenville, Texas. He embarked on a career as a trainer in the Midwest after college.
In 1979, Casner left horse racing and founded Excel Communications with his partner Kenny Troutt. The duo had previously met in the 1970s when they tried to claim the same horse at a race in Omaha, Neb., and later ran a claiming stable together.
Casner and Troutt returned to horse racing after nearly a two-decade absence as partners with Prestonwood Farm in 1998. Two years later, Casner and Troutt bought Prestonwood in Versailles, Ky., and renamed it WinStar. Casner also owns B & R Equipment, while Troutt formerly owned Landview Farm in eastern, Nebraska.
Super Saver was not the favorite prior to the Kentucky Derby. The race was wide open after favorite Eskendereya was pulled from the race due to swelling in his left leg.
However, Borel was in the spotlight since he had won the Derby on Mine That Bird last year and on Street Sense in 2007. Super Saver trainer Todd Pletcher received a lot of pre-race attention because the Texan was 0-for-24 at Churchhill Downs heading into the Derby.
As breeders, Casner and Troutt had victories with 2003 Derby and Preakness winner Funny Cide. They also had a Derby second-place finish from 2006 as breeders and owners of Bluegrass Cat.
Super Saver ended a Derby victory drought for the elated WinStar owners in front of 155,804 fans. Borel, nicknamed "Bo-Rail," once again guided a horse along the rail to a first-place finish. Super Saver, son of Maria's Mon and out of Supercharger, won by 2½ lengths in sloppy conditions, finishing in 2 minutes, 4.45 seconds.
Borel held up three fingers after completing the 1¼ -mile race to signify his third Derby win in four years. The 43-year-old Cajun quickly stated in a post-race interview that he planned to win the Triple Crown – a feat that has not been done since Affirmed's sweep in 1978.
"It's been amazing," Casner said. "I'm just enjoying the process."
NBC reported that the 136th edition was the most watched Kentucky Derby since 1989 with 16.5 million viewers.
Casner and wife, Susan, joined the WinStar group, family and friends in the winner's circle for photos with Super Saver and took in the trophy presentation.
"It couldn't have happened to nicer people," said Pam Minick, a rodeo broadcaster who was with the Casner family at the Derby. "Bill and Susan are so sweet, down to earth and great horsemen. This is a dream come true for them and their whole team at WinStar Farm."
Team roping connects Casner to sport he loves
Casner was riding horses on his family's Texas ranch by the time he was 6 and roping cattle at age 14. However, success in rodeo didn't appear to be in his immediate future. Tying big calves presented a challenge when he was in high school and even in college.
"I was six-feet tall and about 135 pounds at the time," Casner said laughing.
Caring for a horse and traveling to rodeos was an additional expense, and Casner's priority in his youth was paying for college, so competing in rodeo was something that had to wait.
He returned to rodeo in his late 30s as a team roper. However, he had to teach himself how to dally (wrap the rope around the saddle horn) because tie-down ropers tie the rope to the horn and dismount. Casner spent hours practicing dallying on a roping dummy in his garage until it was automatic.
Casner has team roped with Will Gasperson, Tyler Magnus and Danny Wills, just to name a few.
"I just love practicing," Casner said.
ProRodeo ties to horse racing: Professional rodeo has many ties to horse racing. Former PRCA bull rider Carl Nafzger (far left) trained Kentucky Derby winners Unbridled (1990) and Street Sense (2007). Legendary trainer D. Wayne Lukas (far right), a four-time Kentucky Derby winner, has been a guest at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, along with retired jockey Pat Day. Shawn Davis (center), Wrangler NFR general manager, is a thoroughbred owner and trainer. Many horse racing fans know Nafzger as the man who, from the bleachers, described Unbridled's win to owner Frances A. Genter. The petite 92-year-old was unable to see over the crowd as the horse raced down the stretch to the finish line.
He also is a big fan of team roping and was at the Wrangler NFR last year when the world record was broken twice in the ninth round by JoJo LeMond and Randon Adams in 3.4 seconds, and then by Chad Masters and Jade Corkill in 3.3 seconds.
"It was one of the best rounds of team roping I have ever seen," Casner said.
And Casner is a man who understands the commitment and sacrifice it takes to achieve success in an elite field.
"It's one of the toughest things to do," Casner said about winning the Derby. "You have to have the horse. It takes some luck, and the stars have to align."
For the entire, in-depth story, see the May 28 issue of ProRodeo Sports News, THE Voice of ProRodeo! magazine. Click here to subscribe.
More on Super Saver's win and the upcoming races
- Video clip of the 136th Kentucky Derby, NBC Sports, msnbc.com
- Kentucky Derby slideshow and video clip by Palmer Creative Productions, photos by Doug Herthel
- 4:30 p.m. (ET) May 15, Preakness Stakes, 1-3/16 mile (9.5 furlongs), Pimlico Race Course, Baltimore, NBC; Super Saver is scheduled to arrive to the track on May 12.
- 6:30 p.m. (ET) June 5, Belmont Stakes, 1½ miles (12 furlongs), Belmont Park, Elmont, N.Y., ABC.
- WinStar Farm, includes photos, Versailles, Ky.
