Trainer Mark Glatt was born into horse racing as the son of a trainer who grew up on the backside of the racetrack at his father’s barn. He always watched the Kentucky Derby and hoped he might one day have a 3-year-old qualify for the first jewel of the Triple Crown.
Glatt knew he had a classy 3-year-old in the barn after So Happy won the San Vicente Stakes by two lengths in January, but not long after that win tragedy struck the Glatt family. Dena, Glatt’s wife of 25 years, died abruptly of heart failure on Feb. 12 at the age of 57.
Seven weeks later So Happy delivered an emotional victory to Glatt and owners Norman Stables and Saints or Sinners when he pulled away to a 2 ¾-length score in the Santa Anita Derby under Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith to secure his spot in the Kentucky Derby.
Glatt sat down with America’s Best Racing to talk about his struggle with the fact that his wife won’t be by his side for his first Kentucky Derby starter, while also making sure to appreciate sharing the Derby experience with his grieving children.
