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If you don't have good horses, it's very tough to win.

When I was in high school, my uncle, who went to the races quite a bit, got me interested. Then when I went to college at Southern Illinois University, just a few hours from Louisville, we used to go to the Kentucky Derby, and I got to see Secretariat and Riva Ridge win.

It is impossible to win the race unless you venture to run, impossible to win the victory unless you dare to battle.

As a young boy I won a few dollars in 1972 when Riva Ridge won the Kentucky Derby. I had overheard someone say he was going to win, and I guess that made an impression on me.

I'm still a horse that can run. I may not be able to win the Derby, but what do you do when you retire? People retire and they vegetate. They go away and they dry up.

At the Home Run Derby, you're expected to hit home runs. You're up there trying to hit home runs.

I am disappointed when I don't win, because I want to believe I can win on every horse I ride, which is a ridiculous thing to think. Even if I'm on a horse that I have woken up thinking has no chance, by the time I've reached the course, I'll have convinced myself that it can win and will be disappointed if it doesn't.

You can have the most amazing horse in the world and not be able to ride it, so it has to be a good match for sure.

If a horse has four legs, and I'm riding it, I think I can win.

You cannot win if you cannot run.