Following are bios for the Kentucky Derby-winning owners Bill Casner and Kenny Trout, who reside in Flower Mound and Dallas, respectively.

Bill Casner
Chairman & Co-Owner

Bill Casner grew up in El Paso Texas, and developed a love of the horse at an early age. In 1963,at the age of 15 he started galloping horses at Sunland Park and fell under the spell of racing. He put himself through college at Tarleton State University in Stephenville , Texas , by galloping Thoroughbreds, including champion Cho Croute, at various race tracks around the country. Upon graduation, Casner embarked on a training career in the Midwest .

In 1979,Casner left the Thoroughbred industry, and with former horse owner Kenny Troutt, founded Excel Communications. In addition to Excel, which went public in 1996, Casner owns Dallas / Fort Worth based, B& R Equipment.

Casner re-entered the Thoroughbred industry in the mid- 1990's,through various racing partnerships. In early 2000 he and Mr.Troutt came full circle and formed another partnership, establishing WinStar Farm in Versailles, KY.

Bill has received numerous awards including the Thoroughbred Charities of America 2007 Leadership Award, the 2005 W.T. Young Humanitarian Award, as well as the 2003 TOBA Industry Service Award. Casner currently serves on the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association board of trustees and is a past Chairman. He is also a member of the Breeder's Cup Board of Trustees. A Vice Chairman and co-founder of the Kentucky Equine Education Project (KEEP), Mr. Casner is also a founding member of The Race For Education, a national scholarship foundation providing educational opportunities to children of racing's backside and farm workers.

Mr. Casner, his wife Susan, and their daughter Kayce, are residents of Flower Mound, Texas.

Kenny Troutt
Owner
Mr. Troutt ia a native of Mt. Vernon , Illinois and a graduate of Southern Illinois University. He has been a horseman for over 20 years and an entrepreneur most of his life. He established his first horse farm, Landview, in Eastern Nebraska in the early 1980's. In 1988 he founded Excel Communications, a long distance telephone service company, which integrated the growing demand for telecommunications service with the unprecedented power of relationship marketing. As Founder and Chairman of Excel, his innovative business and marketing strategies resulted in the meteoric rise of the corporation and it's subsequent success as a publicly traded enterprise in 1996.

Currently Mr. Troutt serves on the Board of Trustees of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association and on the Board of Directors of the Breeders' Cup.

He resides in Dallas with his wife Lisa and their three children.

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