Horse named for priest places third in Derby

TULSA — The ties that bind Tulsa businessman William K. Warren Jr. to the Catholic Church run so deep that he named a thoroughbred horse after the chaplain at St. Francis Health System.

Denis of Cork claimed a third-place finish in last week's Kentucky Derby, but the clergyman he was named after was busy officiating a wedding in Washington, D.C.

The Rev. Denis Casey, out of County Cork, Ireland, and now an Oklahoma hospital chaplain after a long tour as a U.S. military chaplain, said he was flattered to have Denis of Cork as his namesake.

But he had no regrets about missing the Derby to officiate the wedding of a pair of Georgetown University students.

"You are as good as your word, and I would hate to say to them that I have to go to a horse race on their wedding day,” Casey said Tuesday. "The whole wedding party had the opportunity to enjoy the race at the hotel.”

Warren, 73, is chairman emeritus of the William K. Warren Foundation, the Tulsa institution named after his late father. The Warren Foundation is now led by John-Kelly Warren, son of William Warren Jr.

"Ninety-nine percent of our funds go to the Saint Francis Health System, which my mother and father started when they broke ground for the St. Francis Hospital here in Tulsa in the 1950s,” William Warren said. "The Saint Francis Health System has over 7,000 employees, one of Tulsa's largest employers, and enjoys an excellent reputation for health care.”

William Warren graduated from Tulsa Cascia Hall Preparatory School and is a 1956 graduate of Notre Dame, where he was president of the senior class. Today he is a Notre Dame trustee and avid supporter of Irish athletics.

"I have my Irish Catholic connections there,” he said.

Those connections carry over to his Derby horse, Denis of Cork. Casey came to Oklahoma after serving as a Naval chaplain in a military career that included a tour in Vietnam.

"He's named after a French saint who has only one ‘n' rather than two in his name,” Warren said of Father Casey. "He's been a good friend of mine for years, and even owned race horses himself.”

Father Casey came to Oklahoma in 1987 and served as St. Francis chaplain until 2001, when he officially "retired.” Today he spends two days a week at the hospital and also serves a retirement center. The mutual respect between the horse racing philanthropist and the (former) priest is obvious.

"I would say with the utmost confidence that Mr. Bill Warren is one of the most generous men I have ever met,” Casey said. "He has been extremely generous with the St. Francis Health System. There is a tremendous amount of goodness that he has done, encouragement that you never hear about.”

As for Denis of Cork's Derby run, the horse trailed the field for three quarters of the race before making a huge rally in the stretch run to finish third behind Big Brown and Eight Belles. With Calvin Borel aboard, Denis of Cork broke from the 16th gate and immediately was forced to the inside when the horse in the 17th gate bore into his lane.

"We were very elated in view of the bad break we got from the gate and by the fact that we were ‘dissed' by so many people that our odds went off at 27 to 1,” Warren said. "We made more money with our show receipt than the win bet on Big Brown.”

Warren and his wife, Suzanne, bought the Florida-bred horse as a 2-year-old at a California sale for $250,000, which has since turned into a bargain price.

"Let's say we've made over $400,000 on him so far and looking forward to the Belmont stakes, which comes on June 7,” Warren said. "We think he has a bright future in him.”

Controversy has swirled around horse racing since the breakdown and death of Eight Belles at the conclusion of the Derby.

"I don't think it had anything to do with the track,” Warren said. "Eight Belles was raced pretty heavily before the Kentucky Derby. Looking at the past three races, her speed figures kept going down. I think she was fresh for the race but all of them had been at pretty good distances. That mile and a quarter was really a very stressful grind, I would call it. It is for every horse in the Kentucky Derby.”

Denis of Cork will skip the Preakness and race in the Belmont Stakes because its owner said the horse needs more than a two-week break between the Triple Crown races.

This time, Casey plans to be cheering on the Warren entry from trackside instead of watching on a hotel room television hundreds of miles away.

"I am already making plans to go to the Belmont because I think we will have another go with Big Brown, who ran a great race and by far was the best horse on that day,” Father Casey said.