Troutt becomes sole owner of WinStar
The long-running partnership between WinStar Farm co-owners Kenny Troutt and Bill Casner has come to an end as the farm announced Wednesday that Troutt was taking over as sole owner of the breeding and racing operation.
Casner, who bought the former Prestonwood Farm along with Troutt in 2000, will stay on as the farm's largest client.
"The dissolution of my partnership with Kenny is a business strategy that is mutually beneficial at this point in our lives," Casner said in a news release. "The relationship that Kenny and I have remains unchanged, and we are still the closest of friends. (Wife) Susan and I will continue to keep our mares at WinStar, employ the training division for our young horses and participate in future partnerships with Kenny."
Neither Troutt nor Casner could be reached for comment Wednesday.
The end of the Casner-Troutt partnership is particularly surprising considering WinStar is enjoying arguably the most productive, high-profile year of its existence.
This May, the farm saw its 0-for-9 streak in the Kentucky Derby snapped as homebred Super Saver rolled to victory under jockey Calvin Borel.
Although Super Saver finished eighth in the Preakness, WinStar became the first owner since Overbrook in 1996 to claim two legs of the Triple Crown with two different horses when their charge Drosselmeyer won the Belmont Stakes.
"My partnership with Bill has been great," Troutt said in the release. "Although we won't be direct partners on the farm, there will be many opportunities to partner going forward. Bill and Susan are amongst my closest friends, and I am proud of what we accomplished together."
Since founding WinStar 10 years ago, Casner and Troutt have developed the farm into one of the industry leaders.
In addition to its band of about 100 broodmares, the farm stands seven stallions, including perennial leading sires Distorted Humor — currently tops on the general sire list — 2000 Horse of the Year Tiznow and rising stallion Speightstown.
Distorted Humor, who stood this past season for $100,000, is the sire of Drosselmeyer and 2003 Kentucky Derby winner Funny Cide, whom WinStar bred.
"The evolution of WinStar over the last 10 years and the relationship that we have had with the entire WinStar team has been one of the most gratifying experiences that Susan and I have ever experienced," Casner said "We will continue to be heavily involved in racing, breeding and all efforts to move our industry forward."
In 2008, WinStar Farm was an Eclipse Award finalist for leading breeder. Other notable horses campaigned by the farm include Grade I winner and current WinStar sire Bluegrass Cat, Any Given Saturday, and Well Armed.
"The industry should take comfort in knowing that WinStar is my main focus after my faith and family," Troutt added. "As my children have grown over the last 10 years, I can see the possibilities with them for the future. We look forward to the opportunities that lie ahead."
The dynamic between the fiercely private, business-minded Troutt and the ebullient lifelong horseman Casner came through in many of WinStar's successes.
State of the art technology like the use of hyperbaric chambers in the birthing and healing processes has become as much a WinStar staple as their hands-on horsemanship.
Casner, who used to train horses for Troutt during the 1970s and called that time "the genesis of our friendship," rehabilitated WinStar homebred Well Armed himself after the gelding suffered a broken pelvis that kept him sidelined for more than a year following the 2006 United Emirates Derby. Well Armed would go on to win the 2009 $6 million Dubai World Cup.
"It's somewhat a ying yang kind of thing between them and it's provided a good balance for us," WinStar General Manager Tony Cissell said of Casner and Troutt in an interview with the Herald-Leader this past May. "Both of them are highly intense, motivated individuals."
This story was originally published October 14, 2010 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Troutt becomes sole owner of WinStar."