RACING NEWS
Remington Park Wraps Long Memorial Day Weekend With Four State-Bred Stakes
BOUT TREE FIDDY HAS ENOUGH TO WIN JACK BROOKS STAKES IN AN UPSET AT REMINGTON PARK
OKLAHOMA CITY - May 29, 2017 – The start can be everything at times in horse racing and it was certainly the case for Bout Tree Fiddy in the $50,000 Jack Brooks Stakes. The gelding pulled the upset win at 14-1 odds in the race for Oklahoma-bred 3-year-olds on Memorial Day at Remington Park.
While Bout Tree Fiddy had a great start, race favorite As And Js did not get away as sharply with his effort getting worse from that point forward. Jockey Larry Payne was only concerned with his charge after he launched from the starting gates.
“The colt was really kind of anxious and being a little bit rude but we bombed away from there and he was gone when they said ‘go’.”
Bout Tree Fiddy crossed the finish three-quarters of a length ahead of V Power while crossing the finish in 17.724 seconds over the fast track. Carters Thunder gave a strong effort on the outside portion of the track and gained third, three-quarters of a length behind the winner. As And Js struggled with a stumble and then a bump from an outside rival at the start, putting him immediately behind his foes. He went on to finish eighth in the field of nine as the beaten wagering favorite at 6-5 odds.
Away at 14-1 odds, Bout Tree Fiddy paid $30.40 to win, $12 to place and $7.20 to show. V Power returned $5.40 to place and $3 to show. Carters Thunder paid $5.60 to show.
The win in the Jack Brooks was the third from 11 starts for Bout Tree Fiddy, owned and bred by the Jones, Okla. partnership of Pat Swan and Rusty Allred with Swan as the trainer. A gelding by Ivory James from the Fredricksburg mare Hollie Jollie, Bout Tree Fiddy made $29,784 in the Jack Brooks Stakes to run his career earnings to $116,658.
The Jack Brooks Stakes is named in honor of the American Quarter Horse racing legend and Hall of Famer trainer from Blanchard, Okla. He won the top race in the sport, the All American Futurity, a record eight times before retiring in 2007. Brooks and his wife Wynona were on hand to present the stakes trophy to the winning connections.
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FIRST PRIZE DIAMONDS CONTINUES WINNING STREAK IN EASY DATE STAKES AT REMINGTON PARK
OKLAHOMA CITY - May 29, 2017 – First Prize Diamonds had to work hard to gain her fourth consecutive victory but did eventually prevail by a head in the $61,800 Easy Date Stakes for older Oklahoma-bred fillies and mares on Memorial Day at Remington Park.
Owned by Gary Hartstack of Washington, Texas and trained by John Weghorst, First Prize Diamonds didn’t have a great start but was in position to run down the fast-starting Send Me Good Candy. Jockey James Flores never panicked aboard his 4-year-old mare, getting her to rundown Send Me Good Candy in the final yards.
“She’s a trying mare and gives it all she can every time,” Flores noted. “We were just a bit shy from the lead but when you have that much confidence in a horse, you just stay calm and she pulled it off.”
First Prize Diamonds managed to get up for victory and handle the 350 yards in 17.292 seconds over a fast track. Send Me Good Candy had to settle for second while Sudden Separation battled to gain third, another 1-1/2 lengths behind the winner.
The heavy betting favorite at 1-2 odds, First Prize Diamonds paid $3 to win, $2.40 to place and $2.10 to show. Send Me Good Candy paid $4.20 to place and $2.80 to show. Sudden Separation paid $2.60 to show.
First Prize Diamonds adds the East Date Stakes to her previous score in the Grade 3 Decketta Stakes on April 1. The 4-year-old mare has now won four in a row, and eight of her last nine starts, dating back to November of 2015. Those eight wins represent all of her career victories from 13 attempts.
Bred in Oklahoma by Weetona Stanley, First Prize Diamonds is a mare by Carters Cartel from the Fly Jess Fly mare First Prize Diamond. The first-place check of $34,680 in the Easy Date Stakes increases the overall earnings for First Prize Diamond to $133,534.
The Easy Date Stakes is named after the 1974 All American Futurity winner and 1975 American Quarter Horse World Champion who was bred, owned and trained by Walter Merrick of Sayre, Okla.
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PV QUEEN BEE CANDY WINS FL LADY BUG STAKES AT 13-1 ODDS AT REMINGTON PARK
OKLAHOMA CITY - May 29, 2017 – Oklahoma-bred 2-year-olds continue to show maturation throughout the Remington Park season with the winner of the $61,800 FL Lady Bug Stakes fitting that bill. PV Queen Bee Candy made the stakes race her second consecutive win in the month of May, knocking off Oklahoma Futurity Ima China Rush winner in the process.
Owned and bred in Oklahoma by Gordon Pevehouse of Warner, Okla. and trained by Clint Crawford, PV Queen Bee Candy was ridden with confidence by Daniel Torres who tried to let the lightly-raced filly do her own work.
“She’s a nice filly and always tries. She got a great start, which she really needed, because that (Ima China Rush) can really run. When she got the start she needed I knew we were in good shape and I just kind of got of her way and she did a good job.”
Crawford was pleased with the effort of PV Queen Bee Candy in the FL Lady Bug and her continued improvement into a stakes winner.
“This mare has been training really well. In her first out (April 7), I don’t know if she had first time jitters or what, but she just kind of got up there and hung but in her last two outs she’s just been really awesome.”
PV Queen Bee Candy drew away to win by three-quarters of a length over Streaks Of Ivory, crossing the 330-yard finish in 16.720 seconds. The Only Knockout was up for third, a head behind the runner-up.
Overlooked in the betting at 13-1 odds, PV Queen Bee Candy paid $29.20 to win, $10.80 to place and $6.20 to show. Streaks Of Ivory paid $6.80 to place and $4 to show. The Only Knockout returned $4 to show. Ima China Rush, the Oklahoma Futurity winner, came away well but faded late, settling for fifth as the beaten favorite at odds of 7-5.
PV Queen Bee Candy has won two of her three career starts this season, making $34,080 in the FL Lady Bug Stakes to roll her total earnings to $46,602. She is a filly by Cartels Candy Man from the Okey Dokey Dale mare Ima Lazie Too.
FL Lady Bug was a prominent broodmare from the late 1940s for Hall of Fame owners and breeders Marvin and Lela Barnes of Ada, Okla.
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DOUBLE DOWN PULLS CLEAR TO WIN BOYD MORRIS MEMORIAL AT REMINGTON PARK
OKLAHOMA CITY - May 29, 2017 – Double Down used a solid start then powered through the 400 yards of the $61,800 Boyd Morris Memorial to pull the upset win over wagering favorite Valiant Rogue.
Owned by Wendy See of Lakeside, Mont. and trained by Judd Kearl, Double Down was ridden by G.R. Carter. The 4-year-old horse launched from his rail post position, then pulled away from a fighting Valiant Rogue who could not keep pace farther out in the middle of the racetrack.
Double Down was lacking in winning success and finished well back in his only start of the Remington Park season on May 4. James Lackey, assistant for Kearl in Oklahoma City, believed in the horse all along given a proper opportunity.
“We started him early and he had a horrific trip and got banged from both sides and had no chance whatsoever. We still knew he had the ability. We just needed a clean trip which he got today and he got the job done.”
Carter was impressed with Double Down in his first ride aboard the horse.
“He’s a really big, stout, huge-looking horse and has a lot of power to him. He might have broke in just a little bit but he was right on the lead and I kind of kept him busy and he took me to the front.”
Double Down crossed the finish in 19.566 seconds over a fast track for just his second career victory. The final winning margin was three-quarters of a length.
Away at odds of 7-1 in the betting, Double Down paid $17.80 to win, $7.20 to place and $4 to show. Valiant Rogue was the beaten betting favorite at 6-5 odds, paying $3.40 to place and $2.40 to show. Bye Byefreighttrain was along for third, another three-quarters of a length back, and paid $3 to show.
A 4-year-old horse by Valiant Hero from the Mr Jess Perry mare Fast Prize Doll, Double Down has won two of nine career starts. The Boyd Morris Memorial, his first stakes win, is worth $35,880 to run his overall bankroll to $67,758. Double Down was bred in Oklahoma by Weetona Stanley.
The Boyd Morris Memorial is named after the famed Quarter Horse jockey who won the 1964 All American Futurity on Decketta. The Blanchard, Okla. jockey went on to be a prominent trainer of both Quarter Horses and Thoroughbreds once his successful riding career ended. He was a mainstay from the beginning at Remington Park prior to his passing.
Remington Park now moves to the final three days of the American Quarter Horse Season, Thursday thru Saturday, June 1-3. The first race nightly is at 6pm, except for Saturday, June 3 when racing begins at 5pm on the final night of the season.
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Tracked by over 125,000 fans on Facebook and 9,000 Twitter followers, Remington Park is the home of the Grade 1, $1,154,700 Heritage Place Futurity on June 3. Remington Park has provided over $167 Million to the State of Oklahoma general education fund since the opening of the casino in 2005. Open daily at 10:30am with free parking and admission, Oklahoma City’s only Racetrack & Casino is located at the junction of Interstates 35 & 44, in the heart of the Oklahoma City Adventure District. For more information, reservations and group bookings please call 405-424-1000, 866-456-9880 or visit remingtonpark.com.
