6/26/2023

Week 2 of the Stakes race schedule and a big one the 1st prep race for the Longacres Mile was the 6 1/2-furlong Budweiser Stakes. The Bud went off as the 8th race on the card and had a full field of 12. The Hastings Stakes went first in the 6th race. Sunday’s race card had the highest handle of the season so far with $1,683,054 wagered just eclipsing the May 14 card that bet $1,629,081 but there were 10 races on the May 14 card and 9 yesterday so yesterday was by far the biggest betting day so far.

It was also Grandparents weekend at Emerald Downs and featured a running race from the gates on the track. It may be re-thought after 2 Grandpa’s hit the ground in their zest to relive their athletic prowess from years ago. Thankfully, neither were hurt and hit the soft sandy surface of the Emerald oval. Their pride bruised a bit but all in good fun. 

On Saturday a nice card of 8 races with 55 starters averaging just under 7 per race and it was capped off with the feature race in the 5th race the Kona Brewing Purse and was taken by Dirt Road Red with a dominating performance and Luis Negron with the win. Saturday also saw the return of 3-time Emerald Riding Champion Rocco Bowen who was in town and picked up 5 rides and he came away with a win in the finale on Royal Candy. More on Rocco below.

Friday night the traditional 7 race card had a total of 41 starters  after 5 scratches for just under 6 average starters race. The feature race of the night was in the 5th race the Kona Brewing Purse. Luis Negron finished off a hot start tripling on the night with the win on Dirt Red Road. Negron’s 3 wins is 1 more than all of last week so the leader in the standings with 29 wins extends his lead over 2nd place Alex Cruz to 7 and up 8 on 3rd place Kevin Radke.

Alex Cruz however does what he does on Friday nights and that win. He doubled and extended his Friday night win streak to 19 straight Friday nights. Cruz won 3 races on a single Friday night of racing back in 2020 during the pandemic. There were no Friday nights in 2021 and last year he won at least 1 race on all 15 Friday nights and so far is 3 for 3 this year.

Outside of the top 3 riders only Rigo Sarmiento was able to find a win on Friday night as the top 3, Negron 3-wins, Cruz 2-wins and Radke 1-win took 6 of the 7 races.

Sunday Races

6th Race Hastings Stakes

A late scratch left 7 to run in the $50,000 Hastings Stakes going 6-furlongs and front speed had been holding throughout the weekend so it was no surprise when literally 6 of the 7 starters all lined up on the lead out of the gate and by the 1/4 pole the front 4 were separated by a head. The bettors also had a hard time settling on a favorite with Silvery Orb eventually being bet down to 5-2 while Daffodil Sweet and Blazingbellablu were both 3-1 and Slack Tide was 7-2. Zazen went off at 7-1 and Cause She’s a Lady at 9-1 with the only big outsider You Go Girl at 30-1. 

With 6 in front out of the gate Blazingbellablu sat in last with Alex Cruz aboard but not far behind less than 2 lengths as Daffodil Sweet ran the 1st quarter in 21.66. Slack Tide with Luis Negron was just to the outside of Daffodil and surged past to take the lead at the 1/2 mile mark in a time of 44.17. Meantime, Blazingbellablu was winding up from the outside and chose to go around and was 3rd a length behind but by the time they straightened for the stretch drive Blazingbellablu had caught Slack Tide and the 2 squared off with Blazingbellablu getting the advantage by the 16th pole and pushed it to a half length victory in a sizzling 1:08.27 tying the Stakes record.

Cause She’s a Lady ran by Zazen late to grab the show and Zazen completed the superfecta. Blazingbellblu paid $8.80 on the $2 win and completed the 2nd Pick 4 paying $105. The $1 superfecta returned a solid $293.80.

Petra Lewin and Charles Essex own Blazingbellablu and this is a true team effort with Essex the trainer and Lewin the breeder. Blazingbellablu is a Washington bred by Grazen out of Bellomesa by Sky Mesa, the gray mare is a 5 year-old. Blazingbellablu earned $27,500 and pushes her career earnings to $237,571 and a career record of 7-5-2-2 from 18 starts for a 39% win percent and top 3 finish rate of 78%. 2 of the 4 she didn’t finish in the top 3 she was 4th for a 89% superfecta rate.

Ironically, Blu was coming off the one of the two only times she didn’t finish in the top 4 with a 6th place finish down at Turf Paradise in January. Her time off and Essex obviously got her ready to come off the bench with an impressive performance on Sunday.

The Hastings Stakes Winners Circle Ceremonies with Joe Withee

8th Race The Budweiser Stakes

A full field of 12 broke from the gates in the 6-furlong Budweiser Stakes, the 1st prep race for the prestigious Longacres Mile. All eyes were on Slew’s Tiz Whiz, last year’s Longacres Mile Champion with Jose Zunino aboard and took a lot of early money and was bet down at one point to 1-1 odds. However, his support softened as it got closer to post time and although he went off as the favorite he was a mild favorite at 7-2. Meantime, Bridleuptothebar was morning line 8-1 and was the one that got the late attention dropping down to near favorite status also at 7-2 but a few dollars short of what was put on Slew’s Tiz Whiz.

Even though Blazingbellablu came from last to 1st in the Hastings, jockey Isaias Enriquez was not going to take any chances and when starter Mark Gibson spring the gates Enriquez and Bridleuptothebar were out and in charge quickly. Everyone else got out to a good start except 9-1 #10 A Man’s Man with Alex Cruz who hopped out of the gate and pretty much lost all chance. 

Smiling Goodbye and Aquitania Arrival were right behind Bridle while Slew’s Tiz Whiz did drop back as expected and was all the way back 2nd last early on. Bridleuptobar held the lead setting blistering fractions of 21.40 for the 1/4 and 43.61 at the half mile mark. Aquitania Arrival at 21-1 with Amadeo Perez aboard was not giving an inch though and was just a head back at the top of the stretch and Slew’s Tiz Whiz had angled to the outside and was circling the field as Zunino set the local favorite down for the stretch drive.

Bridleuptothebar was pulling away from Aquitania Arrival just as Slew’s Tiz Whiz had gained his best stride an was out by a length when they crossed the finish line in a stakes record time of 1:07.57, snapping Papa’s Golden Boy mark of 1:07.71 set in 2021. Slew’s Tiz Whiz was flying down the outside and of course will cherish more distance but did get up for 2nd by a nose while Aquitania Arrival ran a remarkable race taking 3rd and those 3 were clear by more than 2 lengths as Zestful with Alexis Valdes at 6-1 got up for 4th. Bridleuptothebar paid $9.40 to win and the 50-cent trifecta paid $211.55 while the 10-cent suprfecta returned a big $187.26.

Bridleuptothebar is owned by Holly Rydman and trained by Niccolo Troiani. This was Troiani’s first career stakes win. Bridleuptothebar is now 5-1-0 from 9 starts for a 56% win percent. The $27,500 pushes Bridle’s career earnings to $91,189.

Winners Circle Interviews with Joe Withee

1st Race

A field of 6 2-year-olds all colts and geldings but #5 Rockit A Day and all 1st time starters except for #3 Lucca’s Legacy who went off as the 2-1 2nd choice. Lucca’s Legacy and Alex Cruz went straight to the lead with stablemate 12-1 Mokki and Javier Matias who had to put a strangle hold on the youngster so he didn’t bolt to the outside fence. Whiskey Harbor with Carlos Montalvo settled in 3rd. Turning for home in the 4 1/2 furlong sprint it was Lucca’s Legacy and Mokki who had straightened out but Whiskey Harbor began to roll on the outside and would engage the pair of John Parker owned front runners at the 16th pole and then surge to a neck win of Mokki with Lucca’s Legacy holding on for 3rd and closing late was the filly Rockit A Day with Silvio Amador. Whiskey Harbor is owned by Lee and Connie Erickson and trained by Ryland Harwood. W-H ran the 4 1/2 in 51.88.

2nd Race

5 lined up for the mile run under sunny skies and Langston Road at 7-2 went straight to the lead and never looked back. Jockey Silvio Amador who was our Red Hot Mover of the week last week with 6 wins was looking for his 1st win of this weekend and took no chances pulling out to a clear lead going around the 1st turn. Langston Road set fractions of 23.17, 45.85 and 1:09.05 for 6-furlongs and at the top of the stretch held a 6-length lead. Classy Midnight Mojo went off as the 1-1 favorite and Carlos Montalvo had him closer to the pace than the deep closer usually likes and came through on the rail to close within a length and a half but Langston Road had flown the coup in a sizzling 1:33.83. 2nd choice Napoleonic Code and Luis Negron ran 3rd while Kahala and Alex Cruz ran on from last for 4th place. Langston Road races for BDW Racing and Charlie Wright. Trainer Blaine Wright was pleased with the effort and admitted he wasn’t sure if Langston was in shape enough to get a win at the mile.

3rd Race

Rocco Bowen was on the heavy 7-5 favorite and front runner Above the Stars. As the gates opened 5 of the 6 broke well it was Above the Stars who got caught flatfooted and was quickly 6-7 lengths behind the field and cost the 3-year-old filly any chance of winning. Bowen did get her into stride and she closed from far back to take 3rd. The late start was all that First Promise and Isaias Enriquez needed as the pair zoomed to the lead running the early chasers off their feet going 21.47 for the quarter and the half in 44.43. 3-1 Costrando and Silvio Amador sat 4th on the rail and made a move inside the quarter pole and ran on trying to cut into the lead of First Promise but fell a length short. Shemakescents and Alex Cruz held on for 4th. The final time was 1:03-flat for First Promise who is owned by Mike Hill and trained by Frank Lucarelli.

4th Race

Kevin Orozco got things going last week with 3 wins and had few chances this week but took full advantage on Beau Mischief at 6-1. Orozco and Beau broke from the 1 post and went to the lead with 2-1 Mister Midas and Luis Negron heads apart while 9-5 top choice Secret Saga and Silvio Amador sat to the outside of them in 3rd. 5-2 Deshambeau and Kevin Radke a length or so further back in 4th. Beau Mischief set the early pace and Mister Midas was right there to the 1/4 pole and Secret Saga began his move as Beau Mischief shook off Mister Midas who would fade to 4th now had to deal with his stablemate in Secret Saga and it looked like Saga would swoop on by but Beau had something left and about the 16th pole it was Secret Saga who hit the wall and Beau Mischief pulled away late to win by 2 lengths. Deshambeau ran on late for 3rd. Beau Mischief is owned by Ernest Sherman and trained by Blaine Wright. It was a Blaine Wright exacta with Secret Sage running 2nd and the $1 bet paid $23.20

5th Race
The unofficial result was winner was 5-2 New Every Morning with Kevin Radke followed by 6-1 Foster Boi with Rocco Bowen while the favorite Hunters Ghost at 4-5 ran 3rd and 25-1 longshot Hollywood as usual was 4th with Neptali Ortiz. The official result stunned the Sunday afternoon crowd as the Stewards double DQ’d the top 2 finishers for the 2nd time this season. The steward ruled early on in the 6-furlong race that both New Every Morning and Foster Boi squeezed the inside horses causing interference. The crowd clearly was not in agreement and the Emerald Downs Stewards remain in the spotlight with the 2nd double dq of the year. Hunter’s Ghost was given the win with Luis Negron aboard and owners MJVET Stables and TAK Racing will gladly take the win anyway they can get it. Justin Evans was the winning trainer.

7th Race

The in-between the Stakes races was a good one with 8 in the field and a well spread out field with 2 5-2 shots as the top 2 picks. One of them Code Charlie with Luis Negron was quick out of the gate and quickly went to the lead setting fractions of 21.77 and 43.70. Mojave was a close up 2nd to the stretch and faded but that early battle seemed to take it out of Charlie who hit the wall inside the 1/8th pole as 9-1 Tribal Impact at 9-1 with Jose Zunino came rolling by and to the far outside was 6-1 Pick Your Bid who closed well and ended up 2nd just a length back. 32-1 Orczy with Angela Straight riding came flying late to get the show money while Code Charlie did hold on for 4th. The final time was 1:09.66 and Tribal Impct is owned and trained by Jesus Garcia.

9th Race

In the finale Rocco Bowen got his 2nd win of his 2-day stay with 3rd choice at 7-2 Olympic Legend. Olympic Legend and favorite Super Classic with Luis Negron sat in 3rd and 4th early in this 6-furlong sprint and would overtake early speed Summanus at 6-1 with Kevin Radke up at the 1/8th pole and those two would go head and head deep inside the 16th pole when Olympic Legfend slightly eased out to a neck lead and would get the win by a neck. Moonlightwine at 10-1 would beat Summanus for 3rd by a head and just a neck back in 5th was 28-1 Validate with Jennifer Whitaker. Olympic Legend ran the 3/4’s in 1:08.73 and is owned by Bryan Smith and trained by Jose Raudales. 

Saturday Races

7th Race Feature Race The Muckleshoot Casino Purse

8 starters lined up for the 6-furlong feature event and Mary Walker a 5-2 morning line runner was dismissed by the betting public and went off at 7-1. Veteran Isaias Enriquez knew what to do with M-W and challenged 5-2 2nd favorite Miss Accelerate and Kevin Radke for the lead right out of the gate. Mary Walker took a head lead at the 1/2 mile pole setting a fraction of 44.71.

Turning for home Enriquez said he had plenty of horse left and just let her run as she pulled away to a length lead. Miss Accelerate could not keep pace but did well to hold onto 3rd place while Scatalicious got a huge ownership group excited making a move in the stretch with Silvio Amador. Scatalicious is one of the Emerald Racing Clubs horses and has about 150 owners. Scatalicious at 6-1 was a clear 2nd but could not get to Mary Walker. She Said My Way with Alexis Valdes closed strongly to just miss 3rd and settle for 4th place.

Mary Walker ran the 6-furlongs in 1:09.20 and improved her career record to 2-0-2 from 6 starts and picked up $8,120 to push her career earnings to just under $23,000 for owner Len Strandly Jr. Mary Walker is trained by Dan Markle, Markle’s 1st win of the 2023 season.

ESN talks with winning rider Isaias Enriquez

1st Race

No surprise in the 1st race as Alex Cruz rode a perfect race on the odds-on favorite Youonlylivetwice. Cruz sat just off the front speed of 5-2 Bells and Whistles with Isaias Enriquez and got 1st run to grind away and pull off a length victory in the 6-furlong dash in a time of 109.74. Sassy Einstein and Carlos Montalvo at 22-1 took 3rd by a head over 6-1 Yellen with Alex Anaya. Youonlylivetwice races for Hillary Durham and Rosales Racing F1 and is trained by Jorge Rosales.

2nd Race

9-2 Stand To with Isaias Enriquez had already won once this season however by the most interesting way when he finished 3rd b ut then was moved up to 1st with a double disqualification. Enrique and Stand To did not need any help in winning his 2nd time this year as they sat behind 32-1 longshot The Third Ring with Neptali Ortiz early on in this 6 1/2-furlong run. Enriquez took-over the lead just past the quartert pole and then had to fend off a deep closing Pistol Power with Rocco Bowen to prevail by a neck. 2-1 Westphal with Alexis Valdes ran 3rd and The Third Ring held 4th. Stand To races for Jerry Ackerman and Karen Clark and is trained by Frank Lucarelli. The 6-year-old Washington bred by Harbor the Gold out of Shootin’ High by Son’s Corona was bred by John Sneesby.

3rd Race

A field of 6 went 6 1/2-furlongs and Alex Cruz broke the 2nd choice Raajin Ribbon 2nd and sat just off the front speed of Decimate in this 1-mile run. By the halfmile pole Cruz and Ribbon had shaken off Decimate to lead by a length at the top of the stretch. Oxbow Park with Kevin Radke at 14-1 began to make a run and swung to the outside but Cruz had plenty left pulling away to win by 2. Oxbow Park held a good 2nd while Larsen Bay with Alexis Valdes closed from last to grab 3rd and 6-5 favorite Altitude with Luis Negron ran an even 4th. Raajin Ribbon ran the 6 1/2 in 1:15.71 and is owned by Steve and Letha Haahr and trained by Jeff Metz. The 50-cent trifecta paid a solid $109.85 and the $1 superfecta returned $404.30

4th Race

In the 4th race new trainer Faustino Patino otherwise known as Coco Patino was looking for his 1st win as a trainer in his 11th career start and Mangia Pane with Luis Negron up was able to get the job done. Negron took the 9-2 shot straight to the lead in the 1 lap around mile run and controlled the pace from start to finish keeping the other 5 at an arms length distance to win by 2 lengths. Favorite All the King’s Men with Alex Cruz made a move at the 1/4 pole to pull within a half length but flattened out to be 3rd while Brannigan with Alex Anaya closed well to be a clear 2nd but still a length being Mangia Pane at the wire. Westerberg with Carlos Montalvo took 4th. Mangia Pane ran the mile in 1:36.44 and is owned by Luigi Di Pietro. The 3-year-old is a Washington bred by Ministers Wild Cat out of Ghost Tree by Cahill Road and was bred by Di Pietro Thoroughbreds.

5th Race

A field of 7 went 6-furlongs and you definitely needed to be on or near the lead on Saturday and Candied Lute with Carlos Montalvo did just that breaking 2nd just off front runner Rousing Rubble with Alex Cruz. Cruz and Rubble set the early fractions while leading by a little over a length and Candied Lute with Montalvo waited patiently and at the top of the stretch had cruised by and pulled away for a clear lead winning by nearly 2 lengths in the end. Rousing Rubble ran a solid race holding 2nd while 19-1 Hula King got up for 3rd and Arthur Spooner ran 4th. Candied Lute ran the 6 in 1:08.03 and races for Dawn Spillman and is trained by Jorge Rosales. Candied Lute is a Washington bred by Lutes Gift out of Sweet Pleasure by Candy Ride and was bred by Horsehaven Creek Farm.

6th Race

Goats Rocks went wire-to-wire in the 6th race for Francisco Diaz-Lopez, his 1st win of the year and did so at a big price of 12-1. Goat Rocks broke from the far outside 9 post and went straight to the lead clearing off by 2 lengths in this 6-furlong dash for maiden 3-year-olds and up. Goats Rocks increased her lead to 3 lengths at the top of the stretch and was never challenged winning by 2 1/4-lengths. 7-5 betting choice Chrome’s Best Copy with Carlos Montalvo was a clear 2nd while 5-1 Classy Candy and Luis Negron took 3rd and completing the superfecta was 31-1 Goin’ Coastal with Rocco Bowen. Clemans View Racing is the owner and breeder of the 3-year-old Washington bred by Linchpin out of Nightwalker by Parker’s Storm Cat and trained by Jose Navarro. The 10-cent superfecta paid $175.52 or $1,755.20 for the $1 bet.

8th Race

Rocco Bowen who is visiting for 2 days got his 1st win at Emerald Downs since he won 3 races on August 29, 2021 and specifically on Take Charge Deputy in the 7th race on that day. Bowen sat in a stalking 2nd place in Saturday’s finale on 4-5 Royal Candy behind the front speed of the 2nd choice 2-1 Sparks Flyin with Alex Cruz. Turning for home Bowen had surged to the lead and drew away from Sparks for a 2+ length win. Cash’s Cat with Alex Anaya ran 3rd, Crawlingbacktoyou and Silvio Amador was 4th and completing the Super Hi-5 was Good Danny with Kevin Radke. Letha and Steve Haahr are the owners and Jeff Metz the trainer. This put a cap on the 2-cent Pick 6 that had a single ticket winner and returned the full jackpot of $7,628.30. The 50-cent pick 5 also paid boxcars $2,076.65.

Friday Night Races

5th Race Feature Race

The Kona Brewing Purse had a field of 6 going 6 1/2-furlongs and Dirt Road Red the 7-5 betting choice with Luis Negron aboard went straight to the lead setting comfortable fractions of 22.25 and 44.01 but was being challenged early by Cody’s Choice. This left plenty of gas in Red’s tank as they shook off Cody’s Choice, Negron set him down for the stretch run and he finished in a blazing final time of 1:13.80 to win by 2 1/2 lengths. This beat the fastest 6 1/2-furlongs from all of last year by a half second and was less than a second off the track record of 1:12.94 set back in 2014 by I Keep Saying.

The race was for the minor awards and it was 15-1 Muncey with Jennifer Whitaker closing late to be 2nd by a head over 5-2 Provost with Carlos Montalvo. Capping off the top 4 on the board was 15-1 Firewalker with Alex Valdes.

Dirt Road Red is owned and trained by Justin Evans and becomes the 1st 3-time winner of the 2023 Emerald meet. Dirt Road Red is a 6-year-old gelding and now has a career record of 9-14-8 from 46 starts and now 3-2-1 from 8 starts here in Auburn going 3-0 in his last 3 and is just a nose away from being 4-0 losing his 1st race of the season by a nose. The $13,920 winners share pushes Dirt Red Road’s lifetime earnings to just under $177,000.

1st Race
Alex Cruz had won in 18 straight Friday night cards dating back to 2020 and has always had at least 1 winner on every Friday night he has ridden and extended that streak with a front running win on betting choice Ramptious at 6-5 in a maiden race. Cruz and Rampatious cleared quickly by 2 lengths and won by nearly 4 in a time of 1:16.60 for the 6 1/2 furlongs. Teachersbugsaroo and Kevin Radke ran 2nd which was Teachers 6th 2nd place finish from 9 starts. Super Creative and Alex Anaya were 3rd at 21-1 while Treasure’s Reality and Silvio Amador finished 4th. Ramptious races for John Parker and is trained by Candi Cryderman.

2nd Race
In the 2nd race the track really tightened up and became a drag strip with sizzling times. 5 went 6-furlongs and 1-1 Gold Crusher did just that as Luis Negron let Gold Crusher go from the start and he set fractions of 21.77 an 43.52 on his way to a 2-length win in a final time of 1:07.41. 9-2 You Split Tens with Alex Cruz began in 2nd place and ended in 2nd while 8-1 Leprino and Silvio Amador was 3rd and finishing off the superfecta was 3-1 Gabby Hayes and Kevin Radke. Gold Crusher is owned by Josh Dieringer and Frank Ortiz and trained by Justin Evans. The 6-year-old gelding is a Washington bred by Harbor the Gold out of Brookie Girl by Proud Citizen and was bred by the Bar C Racing Stable.

3rd Race

A new track record was set in the 3rd for the 1-mile and 70 yards distance and it was Alex Cruz aboard Exclusive Speaker. Cruz and Speaker went to the front and was challenged by Sproston early Exclusive Speaker simply overwhelmed the rest of the field leading by 3 at the top of the stretch and nearly doubling that down the stretch to win by 5 1/2 and in a time of 1:38.20, beating the old record set last year by Complicate of 1:39.22. 1-1 betting choice Lookin for Eight with Luis Negron was 2nd, Hey Sequoia and Silvio Amador took the show and 4th place went to The Calabrese Kid with Alexis Valdes. Exclusive Speaker is owned by Michael Radovich and trained by Jorge Rosales.

4th Race
Front speed was the order of the night and Luis Negron got 5-1 Party Foul out cleanly and in 2nd place behind Zaccheus but sat just off the blistering fractions of 21.40 and 43.55 and cruised to the front by the top of the stretch and extended to an easy 2-length win in a final time of 1:01.74 for the 5 1/2-furlongs. 8-5 favorite Executive Action with Isaias Enriquez ran a clear 2nd while Abraaj Mirage and Alex Anaya was 3rd and completing the top 4 was Zaccheus and Kevin Radke. Party Foul runs for owner/trainer Jill Soranno her 6th win from 15 starts winning at a red hot rate of 40%.

6th Race
Defending Champion owner John Parker got rolling again on Friday night getting a pair of wins when Big Fashion and Kevin Radke pressed the pace sitting in 2nd and then pulling away in the stretch for a comfortable 2-length win in a time of 1:08.94 for 6-furlongs. 3-2 favorite Reign of Fire and Luis Negron tried to make a run at the winner but settled as the clear 2nd best, Smiling Thunder with Carlos Montalvo ran 3rd and hitting the board in 4th was early speed Fire Escape with Alex Anaya. Big Fashion was Parker’s 5th win of the season and is trained by Candi Cryderman who also doubled on the night.

7th Race
In the finale Kevin Radke on 17-1 Owhatarush nearly pulled off the stunner but Rigo Sarmiento aboard Time’er Too ran down the upset minded team in the final strides to get the win by a head at 3-1. It was Sarmiento’s 2nd win of the season with the well timed ride. Time’er Too ran the 3/4-mile in 1:09.46. Owhatarush settled for a close 2nd while 4-1 Howdoyoulikemenow with Jose Zunino got up for 3rd, 4th went to 7-2 The Golden Egg with Alex Cruz and completing the 50-cent Super Hi-5 was6-5 favorite Amara Mike and Silvio Amador which paid a nice $507.95 for the Super Hi-5. The 3-1 Time’er Too completed the 50-cent pick 5 with a nice return of $821.80. Time’er Too runs for Happy Hour Racing and is trained by Kay Cooper and was Cooper’s 2nd win of the season as well.

Larry’s Round-up

Rocco’s Back in Town

Rocco Bowen was a regular and crowd favorite for the decade he rode here at Emerald Downs and was a 3-time Champion all in a row from 2016-2018. Bowen left after the 2018 season but returns from time-to-time and likes to get back in the saddle at the track he dominated for much of his 10 years.

The one thing that alluded Bowen during his time at Emerald was a Longacres Mile Championship. That dream would come true in 2021 when Bowen came back to ride Background for local celebrity Bob Rondeau the former voice of the University of Washington Huskies and his wife Molly and for long time NW trainer Mike Puhich. Bowen won the 2021 Mile in a fairy tale ending just getting up in the final stride to beat Windribbon on the wire. It was a dream come true for all the connections of Background.

This past year has been tough for Bowen suffering a couple of serious injuries including a broken collarbone just before last year’s Mile that prevented him from coming back to defend his title on Background. We caught up with Bowen on Saturday who says he is back to get rides in and is now riding primarily at Presque Isle Downs in Pennsylvania but they race only during the week. We were able to sit down with Rocco and talk with him about his history here and where he is now getting back to full strength.

ESN talks with Rocco Bowen

Bowen rode 5 races on Saturday and 7 races on Sunday and finished with a 2-1-1-2 record from 12 rides for a 17% win rate. Bowen had to hurry after the races to catch a flight back to Pennsylvania where he is scheduled to ride Monday at Presque Isle Downs. Bowen just moved his tack to Presque Isle after riding at Oaklawn this past winter and spring where he finished with a 7-11-6 record from 105 mounts and racked up nearly 400k in purse earnings. So far at Presque Isle Downs he’s only been there for 3 days and has ridden 6 horses and looking for his 1st win and PID.

The Battle of the Former Emerald Downs Riding Champions swept by Isaias Enriquez

With Rocco Bowen back for a visit and Isaias Enriquez, Kevin Radke and Alex Cruz already here it was the largest collection of former Emerald Jockey Champions in the same room since 2006. When they all were lined up in Saturday’s 7th and feature race it was the first time that many former champs would race against each other since 5 former champs rode in the 2006 Longacres Mile. In 2006, Ricky Frazier guided Flamethrowintexan to the winners circle in the Longacres Mile. Former ridi9ng champs, Kevin Krigger ran 7th, Kevin Radke was 8th, Gallyn Mitchell 10th and Ben Russell was 11th.

This past weekend those 4 riders would face off head-to-head twice with Isaias Enriquez winning the 1st showdown when he went wire-to-wire with Mary Walker on Saturday. Radke was 3rd on Miss Accelerate, Bowen finished 5th and Cruz 8th. They were set to meet 3 times but Enriquez’s mount in the Hastings Stakes, Lets Declare Peace, was scratched.

So the only other time all 4 were in the saddle in the same race was the Budweiser Stakes in the 8th race and again Enriquez went wire-to-wire for the win on Bridleuptothebar. Bowen finished 5th, Radke 9th and Cruz 10th. Enriquez clearly won the battle of the former Champs winning both races all 4 were in.

Grandparents Day at the Track

It was Grandparents weekend where all grandparents got a chance to race on the track. A couple of the Grandpa’s were serious and then took serious spills. All in great fun, no one hurt other than their pride. There were also special prize drawings and other specials for all grandparents. It was a great 1st year event.

Head on View of the Grandparents race

The Overhead View with announcer Bill Downes

From the Saddle

After a pretty even week the top riders were back on top this week with Luis Negron and Alex Cruz each winning 5 races. Cruz also picked up his 1st Stakes win of the year as well taking the Hastings Stakes on Blazingbellablu. Cruz continued his Friday night win streak of winning at least 1 race for 19 consecutive Fridays. Cruz was 5-3-2-4 from 21 mounts this week a win percent of 24%. Negron was a little better and was the benefactor of the double DQ to get his 5th win of the week but still won at a clip of 26% with a 5-4-3-3 mark from 19 rides.

The shining star this week though was Isaias Enriquez who won 4 races and placed twice from 7 starts. Winning at a 57% rate and top 2 finish percent of 86% he was a must in all exactas he rode in this week. Enriquez also won the feature race on Saturday night with Mary Walker and then won the Budweiser Stakes with Bridleuptothebar. Enriquez won 2 both on Saturday and Sunday and was the only one to double on Sunday, Enriquez also did it with an average of 9-2 odds with the longest shot at 7-1 and shortest price of 2-1 so no overwhelming favorites for Enriquez. 

Carlos Montalvo we may start calling steady Eddy as he was 2-2-3-1 from 9 mounts with a top 4 percent of 89%. Carlos won the 1st race on Sunday on a 2-year-old 1st time starter, Whisky Harbor, with an impressive off the pace ride. Rocco Bowen was the other rider with more than 1 win this weekend getting 2 wins each in the final race on Saturday and Sunday. Bowen was 2-1-1-2 from 12 rides.

Kevin Radke had his toughest week of the season and it didn’t help that it was his horse the stewards took down in a very questionable call in that double DQ on Sunday. Radke still is one you have to keep in your exotic bets though as he went 1-3-2-3 for the week. Our Red Hot Mover in our Power Rankings last week was Silvio Amador and this week he cooled off a bit but was limited in chances with just 12 rides and got 1 win but had a strong presence on the board witrh 3 places, 4 shows and 3 4th place finishes for a 92% on the board finish. 

Kevin Orozco broke out last week with 3 wins and added another win this week on a 6-1 shot, Jose Zunino had a win and a big 2nd on Slew’s Tiz Whiz in the Budweiser Stakes and Francisco Diaz-Perez was a perfect 1-1 with a win on 12-1 Goat Rocks on Saturday for his 1st win of the season.

A couple of other notes, Neptali Ortiz was our 1st “Blazer of the Week” last week but could not get a win but still had 2 places and 2 4ths from 5 mounts. His rides were an average of 18-1 so he is a must in your 10-cent superfectas. Appentice Angela Straight had 1 ride this week and brought Orczy in for a show at 32-1 setting a new high show pay-off for the season of $15. And Amedeo Perez traveled south from Hastings to ride in the Budweiser Stakes with Aquitania Arrival and finished 3rd beaten by just a nose by Slew’s Tiz Whiz for 2nd again shows when they ship from Hastings you gotta pay attention as they went off at 21-1 paid $9.60 to show and kicked up both the tri and superfecta payouts.

From the Barn

Six different trainers had 2 or more wins this week with Justin Evans at the top with Jorge Rosales each with 3. Evans is now 27-8-14 from 77 starts. Evans has 28 more starts than the next highest which is Rosales at 49. Rosales is now 12-4-8 tied for 2nd with Blaine Wright who posed for 2 winners circle pictures and pushed his record to 12-10-6.

Frank Lucarelli is getting out of the 2nd place funk he had been in and scored 2 wins and now is 6-13-7 and says “the goal is to have more wins than places and shows so we have more work to do.” Jeff Metz was also stuck in that 2nd place window early in the season and has now begun picking up those important wins and had 2 himself. Metz is now 7-9-7 from 46 starts.

Candy Cryderman broke through this week as well with a pair of wins along with a place and a show from 7 starts. Cryderman now has 6 wins and a 6-6-7 record and is in a logjam with 6 other trainers all with 6 wins and tied for 5th overall.

The biggest win of the weekend though went to Niccolo Troiani who won the Budweiser Stakes for his 2nd win of the season but his 1st ever Stakes win as a trainer when Bridleuptothebar went wire-to-wire. Troiani is 2-2-0 from just 8 starts and is 21st overall in earnings.

Charlie Essex also picked up a big win with a mare he also is part owner with Blazingbellablu in the Hastings Stakes. This was Essex’s 4th win of the season and boosted to nearly 75k which outs him just on the outside of top ten in earnings at #11.

Faustino “Coco” Patino had a big win, his 1st ever as a trainer. Patino had been Blaine Wright’s assistant trainer for the last several years and has been ready to take this step. Patino says it was a great relief to get win #1 when Mangia Pane won by a length on Saturday to get his 1st winners circle picture as a full fledged trainer. We got a chance to talk with Coco about his big win:

ESN talks with Coco Patino

Jill Soranno remains red hot getting her 6th win of the season and a place from just 3 starts this week, Jose Narraro got his 3rd win of the year, veteran Kay Cooper got her 2nd win of the season while Dan Markle got his 1st win of 2023 at Emerald Downs and Jose Raudales grabbed his 1st win in Sunday’s get-away race.

Top 10 Trainers by Wins
1 Justin Evans 77 27-8-16  Win 35%  Top 3 66%
2 Blaine Wright 40  12-10-6 Win 30% Top 3 70%
2 Jorge Rosales 49  12-4-8 Win 24% Top 3 49%
4 Jeff Metz 46 7-9-7 Win 15% Top 3 50%
5 Jill Soranno 17 6-3-1 Win 35% Top 3 59%
5 Tom Wenzel 19  6-5-2 Win 32% Top 3 68%
5 Steve Bullock 28  6-4-4 Win 21% Top 3 50%
5 Frank Lucarelli 46  6-13-7 Win 13% Top 3 57%
5 Vince Gibson 47  6-8-7 Win 13% Top 3 45%
5 Candi Cryderman 48  6-6-7 Win 13% Top 3 40%

Top 5 Trainers by Earnings
1 Justin Evans $287,090
2 Blaine Wright $221,370
3 Tom Wenzel $145, 450
4 Frank Lucarelli $139,110
5 Jorge Rosales $104,404

From the Owners Box

Let’s start with the big races with Charlie Essex and Petra Lewin winning the Hastings Stakes with Blazingbellablu her 5th career stakes win and 3rd at Emerald Downs. It was also Blu’s 7th career win from 18 lifetime starts.

In the other Stakes, Holly Rydman owns Bridleuptothebar and watched the 4-year-old Cal bred she and her husband Mark bred win the 1st prep race for the $150,000 Longacres Mile.

Meantime, 3 owners doubled this weekend and included defending owner Champion John Parker taking a pair on Friday night to push his win total to 5 wins. Leader Justin Evans kept pace with 2 wins of his own to hold a 3 win lead over Parker and actually himself where he is also in 2nd with 5 wins in a partnership with Bill and Susan Tomasic. Steve and Letha Haarh were the 3rd owners with 2 wins taking the 3rd and 8th races on Saturday. The Haarh’s are now 3-1-0 from 12 starts.

Other owners adding to their stats this week were BDW Racing and Cherie Wright, Ernest Sherman and Jesus Garcia each picking up their 2nd wins of the season. There were a host 1st time winners and included Len Strandly, Dawn Spillman, Josh Dieringer and Frank Ortiz, Lee and Connie Ericksen, Karen Clark and Jerry Ackerman, Mike Hill, Luigi Dipietro, Jill soranno, Michael Radovich, Clemans View Racing, Happy Hour Racing and Bryan Smith.

Top 5 Owners by Wins
1 Justin Evans 24  8-2-4 Win 35% Top 3 61%
2 John Parker 37  5-4-5 Win 14% Top 3 38%
2 Bill and Susan Tomasic & Justin Evans 10  5-1-2 Win 50% Top 3 80%
4 Stable H. M. A. 12  4-1-3 Win 33% Top 3 67%
4 Remmah Racing 11  4-1-2 Win 36% Top 3 64%

Top 5 Owners by Earnings
1 Justin Evans $88,550
2 George Todaro $76,690
3 John Parker $65,330
4 Stable H. M. A. $55,110
5 Alvarez Racing Stables LLC $49,560

Claims

Sunday
5th Race Hunters Ghost $10,000 goes to the WilWin Stable and trainer Debbie Van Horne
New Every Morning $10,000 taken by Bryan Seymore, Ron Burner or Justin Evans and Evans will train
7th Race Dark and Dandy claimed by owner/trainer Justin Evans

Saturday
1st Race Youonlylivetwice $2,500 goes to Alexis Silva-Martinez and James Marshall and Silva-Martinez will train
2nd Race Westphal $15,000 was taken by Kenneth and Vicky Jo Ellison and heads to the barn of Debbie Peery
3rd Race Decimate $5,000 was claimed by Ramsey Rutt for trainer Blaine Wright
Altitude $5,000 goes to new owner the Purple Rose Ranch for trainer Mike Pierce
5th Race Arthur Spooner $2,500 was claimed by owner/trainer Alexis Silva-Martinez
Benny the Jet $2,500 taken by Dawn Spillman and goes to conditioner Jorge Rosales
Candied Lute $2,500 new owner is Horsehaven Creek Farm and goes to trainer Rosie Simkins
8th Race Cash’s Cat $5,000 was claimed  by Jane Catherine Maller for trainer Alexis Silva-Martinez

Friday
3rd Race Sproston $8,000 goes to Justin Evans and Brian Seymore and Evans is the trainer
4th Race Executive Action $8,000 was taken by new owners Bill and Susan Tomasic and Justin Evans and will be trained by Evans
7th Race Big Fashion $10,000 will be the 3rd horse going to Justin Evans’ barn for new owners Evans and Brian Seymore
Reign of Fire $10,000 was claimed by Rancho Viejo and Jerry Carmody and Rigoberto Velasquez will train

The Betting Parlor

Sunday

A field of 6 2-year-olds with only 1 having a race under his belt spread out the betting in the 1st race and 4-1 Whiskey Harbor got the win and returned $10, $5.20 and $3.40, 12-1 Mokki paid $9.60 and $4. The $1 exacta paid 39-1 or $40, the 50-cent trifecta was a solid $89 and the 10-cent superfecta of 4-1 to 12-1 to 2-1 to 8-1 paid $49.34 or $493.40 on the $1 bet.

In the 2nd race the best bet was a win bet on Langston Road who went off as the 7-2 3rd choice and won easily paying $9.20. Langston Road didn’t get any help underneath as the 1-1 fav was 2nd and 2-1 2nd choice ran 3rd and the 4th favorite at 7-1 completed the superfecta. The $1 exacta paid $7.40 the 50-cent tri $6.45 and the 10-cent super $2.47. The 4-1 to 7-2 opening daily double paid ok at $26.90 getting a 25-1 return.

Trainer Blaine Wright struck in the 4th race winning it with 6-1 Beau Mischief and taking 2nd with Secret Saga at 9-5. The exacta paid $23. Beau Mischief paid a nice $14.80 to win and capped off the first 50-cent pick 4 of the day paying $260.55. It was a good pay but thought it might be a little better with no favorite winning any of the 1st 4 races.

In the 5th race the stewards stunningly had their 2nd double DQ in a race this season. Some say this is as rare as finding a 2nd random match to a DNA sample you see in all the murder shows. So this is another good reminder not to throw your tickets away and take 5 minutes to go to an empty SAM machine and run all your tickets through to make sure you are not accidently throwing away a good ticket or a refund or consolation return. It is well worth making sure especially after confusing results such as the 5th race. We hope this is the last “Double DQ” and hope the stewards don’t try to break their record with a triple. 

In the end of this stunning call it pushed odds on choice Hunters Ghost to 1st paying 3.60 to win but also moved 25-1 Hollywood As Usual to 2nd which paid $19.40 to place and $7.20 to show. 9-1 Mirror Image was 3rd and 7-1 Manaalaboutdatmoney 4th. This triggered a $67 $1 exacta, a $169.10 50-cent trifecta and a $1,362.80 $1 superfecta.

In the 1st Stakes race is was a well matched field of 7 with the favorite at 5-2 and the 2nd longshot 9-1. Only one big outsider at 30-1. 3-1 won followed by a 7-2, 9-1 and 7-1 top 4. Nothing crazy but the $1 super paid $293.80 the 50-cent tri $36.70.

The 7th was a good betting race with 8 and the winner paid almost 10-1 or $21.60 on the $2 win, the $6 combo paid $36.80 which means $20 across the board was good for $368. 6-1 was 2nd and the old fashioned Longacres $5 exacta paid $280.50. Add in a 32-1 shot 3rd which paid a season high $15.00 for the $2 show also kicked up the 50-cent trifecta too $333.30 and the 5-2 favorite ran 4th but the dime super still paid a huge $408.80.

The 2nd stakes with 12 in the field and a morning 8-1 did not fool the bettors who bet it down as the 7-2 2nd choice just a few dollars behind the 7-2 favorite. A 21-1 shot ran 3rd and 6-1 4th. So the straight bets paid well with the winner paying 9.40, 4.60 and 4.00, the favorite 5.00 and 3.60 and the 21-1 show paid 9.60. The top 2 favorite exacta was a good 19-1 payout of $20.90, the all button to catch that 3rd place horse in a $1 trifecta paid $423.10 and the $1 super good for $1,872.60. The 3-1 to 9-1 to 7-2 50-cent pick 3 paid $151.75.

And in the finale the horizontal bets all paid well with the 7-2 3rd choice winning. The last pick 3 at $125.85, the last pick 4 $551.60, the 50-cent pick 5 returned $1,152 which was a 4-5 to start in that double DQ race to 3-1 to 9-1 to 7-2 and 7-2. The 20-cent Jackpot pick 6 though only paid $223.54, HOWEVER, that was for 5 of 6, no one had all 6 so again be sure to check your tickets!!

Saturday

A new high pay-out for a bet and overall highest pay-out of the year was collected on Saturday with 1 single winner in the 20-cent Jackpot Pick 6. 1 ticket connected 6 winners for $7,628.30. The winner skillfully strung together winners with odds of 5-2, 9-2, 2-1, 12-1, 7-1 and 4-5. The key was hitting 12-1 Goat Rocks in the 6th and coming right back with 7-1 Mary Walker in the 7th although M-W was morning line 5-2.

In the 2nd race of only 5 starters the 32-1 shot of The Third Ring held on for 4th place and 9-2 Stand To held off 1-1 favorite Pistol Power, 2-1 Westphal was 3rd and the 10-cent superfecta paid $18.73 or $183.30 for the $1 bet. In a 5-horse field a bet of 2x3x5x5 costs $24 for a $1 super and this is how you can make small fields work in your favor. Of course if all favorites come in and in order your pay-out will be small and you could lose a few dollars on that bet.

In the 3rd race there were 6 horses and they were split down the middle with the top 3 at 6-5, 2-1 and 5-2 and the bottom 3 at 14-1, 20-1 and 20-1. In this case the 5-2 won and 14-1 ran 2nd and 20-1 3rd. In a 6 horse field this fueled the place and show bets with the 5-2 shot paying 7.60, 4.00 and 3.60 to show. the 14-1 shot 7.60 to place and 6.40 to sh0w and the 20-1 3rd place 5.20 to show. The $1 exacta was $36 or 35-1, the 50-cent trifecta paid a whopping $109.85 or 218-1 and the $1 super with the 6-5 running 4th returned $404.30 or 403-1.

The 1st 50-cent pick 4 paid a solid $179.70 which was a string of winners no larger than 9-2. Here are the winning odds for the 1st 4 races, 3-5, 9-2, 5-2 and 9-2. The 50-cent pick 3 didn’t pay bad either for a 9-2 to 5-2 to 9-2 returned $80.25. When the 1st pick 3 bets came out in the late 80’s the minimum bet was $3 so in those terms this pick 3 would have paid $361. Just remember, if you are confident it’s ok to bet more than the minimum.

In the 5th race a big show return of $9 on Hula King and the rolling 50-cent pick 3 to 2-1 Candied Lute paid $85.35 this was 5-2 to 9-2 to 2-1. This was lower odds than the race prior that paid $80.

In the 6th race Goats Rocks at 12-1 paid $27 on the $2 win and $42 on the $6 combo. The 7-5 favorite paid an astounding $3.20 to show while the 5-1 3rd place horse was good for $4.80. This is what happens when you get decent sized fields, this one was a field of 9. place and show bettors need to look for these opportunities even with the favorites.

The exacta I would list as disappointing and returned just $40 with the 12-1 winning over the 7-5. I also would have been disappointed with the 50-cent trifecta that paid just $130 with a 12-1 winning, 7-5 to 5-1. But the superfecta with a 31-1 4th place runner blew this up to $1,756.20 for the $1 bet. The pick 3’s continued on paying well $194.95 while the 2nd pick 4 returned $707.75.

Race 7 also had some big returns with 7-1 Mary Walker paying the $2 across bets of $30.20, 6-1 Scatalicious was good for 5.60 and 3.80. The $1 exacta paid more than with a 12-1 shot winning in the last race, $53.60. The super was $129.08 for the dime bet, the $1 daily double was $169.10 and this pick 3 paid $421.20.

And in the finale, outside of the pick 6 and pick 5, the final pick 4 paid $534.35, the pick 3 paid pretty good all day and the last one cashed for $170.40.

Friday Night

The betting favorite won 3 races on Friday night while also taking 2nd in another 3 races to make sure the exactas didn’t pay much. The top $2 win of the night went in the 4th race to Party Foul paying $12.40 all other $2 win bets paid 3-1 or less. Owhatarush in the 7th at 17-1 paid the best place and show at $11.20 and $7.60.

Owhatarush combined with 3-1 Time’er Too who won the race by a neck kicked off all the high pays of the night including a $64 exacta, a $133.35 50-cent trifecta and the 10-cent superfecta paid $52.23 while the 50-cent Super Hi-5 returned $507.95.

The only other race that had some solid pays was the 4th where Party Foul won at 5-1 combined with the 8-5 favorite paid $34 on the $1 exacta and capped off the 1st 50-cent pick 4 at $114.75.

The final 50-cent pick 4 returned $242.15, the 50-cent pick 5 was good for $821.80 and the 20-cent pick 6 gave back $743.80 with a carryover of nearly $6,000.

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