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You don’t know Ray Amato, but he’s a vital element in trainer Todd Pletcher’s team, one which has helped propel Pletcher to four consecutive Eclipse Awards as North America’s Outstanding Trainer. On an early February morning at the Palm Beach Downs training track in South Florida, Pletcher introduced Amato as the “world’s best blacksmith.”

When 1,000-pound Thoroughbreds travel 40 miles an hour on legs so narrow you can put your fingers around them, their feet take an incredible pounding each time they strike the track surface, especially on dirt. So shoeing is an art in itself and trainers count their blessing when they connect with a top blacksmith.

Amato has been with Pletcher since he began his own stable in 1996. But when Pletcher was born on June 26th, 1967, Amato had already carved his niche on the backstretch working for legendary Hirsch Jacobs. Amato is 75. He began working for his dad in the 1950s before hooking up with Jacobs, who is enshrined in the Hall of Fame.

“I loved him,” Amato said. “I worked for him until he passed away.”

Amato then worked for four additional Hall of Fame trainers: Laz Barrera, Bobby Frankel, Frank “Pancho” Martin and Leroy Jolley before connecting with Pletcher, whose massive stable includes 102 horses at Palm Beach Downs and has divisions in New York and California.

That morning at Palm Beach Downs, a secluded training ground 35 miles north of Gulfstream Park, six sets of horses were scheduled to jog, gallop or work out. Among them were 2007 Belmont Stakes winner and Three-Year-Old Filly Champion Rags to Riches, and stakes winners Pleasant Strike, A.P. Arrow and Fairbanks.

The first set of 11 horses were saddled in darkness and each horse stood patiently with his groom while Pletcher checked each horse’s legs. Amato was consulted when needed. Though this procedure took several minutes, these high-strung Thoroughbreds mostly remained still, reflecting Pletcher’s hands-on philosophy. When Pletcher is finished, they walk in the saddling ring just as they would before a race. As they proceed to the track, Pletcher tells each horse’s rider how far he wants each horse to work.

Is it any wonder that Pletcher’s horses rarely misbehave before a race? They are being prepared by a 40-year-trainer who is building an incredible legacy in this sport.

Because of his youth, Pletcher will not even be eligible for the Hall of Fame until 2021, although he’s already accomplished more than most trainers do in decades. It’s hard to believe that Pletcher has only been training on his own for 12 years.

“Hirsch Jacobs worked the same way as Todd does,” Amato said. “Todd goes over each and every horse every day. Last year, we had almost 200 horses here. Once a week, I believe, he check’s the horse’s teeth. He’s just unbelievable.

“At Belmont Park, I get to the barn usually around 4:30, a quarter to 5, and Todd is right there with me. This poor fellow doesn’t go home sometimes until 7, 8 o’clock at night, especially if he’s got horses running.”

Asked if people realize how hard Pletcher works to achieve his success, Amato said, “Racetrackers know, but people outside, for sure, don’t know.” As Amato has reached the twilight of his career, he’s narrowed his clientele to a single trainer, Pletcher, and Amato couldn’t be happier about that: “To finish a career with a guy like this … he’s good people.”

Pletcher uses good people and they tend to stick with him through the years. Amato is happy to be one of them.