7/11/2023

Things got started quickly this week at emerald Downs as trainer Blaine Wright won his 1,000th race in Friday’s Feature race. Alex Cruz says hold the phone on handing over the rid9ing title and the hottest couple at the track are trainer Luciano Medina Gabriel and jockey Neptali Ortiz who are now 6-1-1 from 10 starts after Ortiz tripled again on Saturday. Also a new high pay-out for the year as the Jackpot Pick 6 was hit on Saturday.

The 2-year-olds had their first 2 Stakes races with the fillies in the Angie C and colts and geldings in the King County Express. Plus lots of jockey, trainer, owner updates, a kids race and more. Let’s get started with the race re-caps followed by Larry’s Round-up of odds and ends, claims and the Betting parlor.

One more note, we will be looking to break up our coverage and not put everything in one post. We will begin to try and get each day out after the races of the race re-caps and then add additional posts later in the week on the betting, jockey, trainer and owner news along with other news and notes.

Sunday Races

Two 2-year-old Stakes races were the highlights of Sunday afternoon racing. Up first was for the fillies and mares in the Angie C Stakes in the 6th race and then in the 8th race for colts and geldings the King County Express Stakes. 

6th Race The Angie C Stakes $50,000

A field of 7 broke from the gates in this 50k stakes and the co 2-1 favorites #1 Bourbon Tiger and #7 Mocktails Anyone went to the front despite the day proving to be an off the pace kind of track. The one front runner that made it start to finish though was in the 2nd race another 2-year-old race but it would not work a 2nd time in the Angie C.

Appeal Factor with Silvio Amador aboard first got bumped right out of  the gate by Mocktails Anyone but straightened away quickly and let Mocktails Anyone and Carlos Montalvo engage the other front runner Bourbon Tiger with Alexis Valdes. Those two would pair off and Appeal Factor settled in 5th early. The front 2 set the 1st 1/4 in a blazing 21.71 and kept up the hammer and tongs battle to the quarter pole running the half in 44.89.

Meantime, Amador and Appeal Factor began making up ground with a clean trip from the outside to make it a trio turning for home and Amador had all the momentum rolling out to a 2-length advantage just inside the 1/8th pole and went on to win by nearly 3 lengths. Mocktails Anyone held on well to be 2nd as did Bourbon Tiger taking 3rd while late closing Bring A Smile and Kevin Radke got up for the 4th place finish.

Appeal Factor was a first time starter and races for Oak Crest Farm and trained by David Martinez. The filly is a Washington bred by The Factor out of Karula by Colonel John and was bred by Oak Crest Farm. Appeal Factor ran the 5 1/2-furlongs in 1:04.16 well off the stakes record held by Appeal Factor’s Mom Karula. Appeal Factor pocketed the $27,500 winner’s share of the purse for her 1st earnings of her career.

Oak Crest Farm has now won the Angie C 3 times since it’s inception and head of Oak Crest Farms Jack Hodge says this is always an especially nice win and calls this his favorite race because of who the race is named in honor of. Angie Crockett, the mother of Ron Crockett was a huge supporter of her son’s efforts to save racing in the Pacific Northwest. She was a daily visitor for several years prior to her passing. The Crockett family was on hand  for the running of the Angie C.

The next race for 2-year-old fillies is on August 6 in the WTBOA Lassie Stakes going 6 1/2-furlongs.

Stretch Run of the Angie C

Winners Circle ceremonies with Joe Withee

8th Race The King County Express Stakes $60,000

A field of 8 went in the boys 2-year-old stake, the King County Express and the expected and Whiskey Harbor at 6-1 with Kevin Radke found himself  alone on the lead. Favorite Bourbon Dancer with Silvio Amador broke a bit slowly then had to weave his way through traffic. Whiskey Harbor although on the lead did not set blazing fractions, on fact very pedestrian numbers of 22.03 and 45.34 for the half.

As they raced inside the quarter pole Radke turned Whiskey Harbor loose with a reminder as they straightened away for the stretch and Whiskey began to draw off. Radke kept busy on Whiskey and he continued to respond blowing away the field with an impressive run all on the front end to finish more than 4 lengths in front in a time for the 5 1/2-furlongs of 1:03.88. 7-1 Freightline and Alex Cruz were never far back from Whiskey and remained in a battle for the minors with favorite Bourbon Dancer who made a big move on the turn but flattened out.

Cruz and Freightline took 2nd by a 1/2 length over Bourbon Dancer and Silvio Amador. 15-1 Mokki with Javier Matias was just a length and a half from 2nd place but was well clear of the rest of the field taking the 4th place money. Mr. Executive finished 5th and the top 5 had all had at least one race under their belts, the bottom 3 finishers were making their 1st career starts.

Whiskey Harbor races for Connie and Lee Erickson and is trained by Ryland Harwood. It was the 1st stakes win for both the owners and trainers. Whiskey Harbor is now 2-0-0 from 2 career starts and the $33,000 win earnings pushed his total to $42,570.

The next race in the 2-year colts and geldings series is the WTBOA Lads Stakes going 6 1/2-furlongs on August 6.

Stretch Run of the King County Express

Winners Circle ceremonies with Joe Withee

1st Race

The field of 6 went 1-mile and despite a slow start for odds-on 4-5 favorite Outright jockey Alex Cruz was able to settle the 6-year-old gelding and work him into position. As the front speed collapsed, Hey Sequoia and Isaias Enriquez got 1st run from their stalking position and took the lead but Cruz had built up great momentum with Outright and caught Hey Sequoia in the final 50 yards to win by a half length. Sproston with Luis Negron also got a slow start from the 1 hole and threatened at the top of the stretch but flattened out to take 3rd while Wear the Crown and Kevin Radke had the early pace and held on for 4th. Outright covered the 1-mile in 1:36.75 and is owned by Belico Racing and Rosales Racing F1 and trained by Jorge Rosales.

2nd Race

A bunch of untested maiden 2-year-olds went 5-furlongs and in the end one of the 3 who had run a race rolled to a clear win at 9-2. Carlos Montalvo on Beer Begone was close and held the inside position from the 2 hole while longshot Conrad Meadows put pressure from the outside with Francisco Diaz-Perez. But down the backstretch Diaz-Perez was having trouble keeping Conrad in and he was drifting and blew the turn completely to lose all chance. This left Beer Begone to do just that and won by more than a length. 1st time starter Well Imagine That ran well closed well for 2nd, Victor Aly with Alex Cruz ran a solid 3rd while Cheshire Kid and Kevin Orozco completed the superfecta. Beer Begone races for Warlock Stables and Aaron Bresko and trained by Frank Lucarelli. The Washington bred by Pontiff out of Copy Begone by Demon Warlock stopped the clock in a time of 59.24.

3rd Race

From 10-1 to 2-1 For You Only with Jennifer Whitaker ran down Awesome Daze in the final strides to get up for the win by a neck. Awesome Daze with Silvio Amador had 1st run on the front speed and pulled out to a convincing lead but For You Only proved to have too much and got the win. Purple Night and Rocco Bowen ran 3rd while Miss Mensa and Kevin Radke took 4th. For You Only was 10-1 morning line and ended up as the 2-1 favorite. The 6-year-old Washington bred by Abraaj out of Slew Tunes by Slewdledo is owned by Howard Belvoir and Rhonda and Randi Ackerman and trained by Belvoir. For You Only ran the 5 1/2 in 1:03.91.

4th Race

8 went 6-furlongs and again front speed was not holding today as Summanus and Kevin Radke came from just off the pace for the 1st run on the early speed to take control but saving ground and energy was Lie and Deny with Isaias Enriquez who wound the 4-year-old gelding up and flew past the leaders to win by a couple of lengths. Summanus held on for 2nd while Validate and Jennifer Whitaker closed from last to just miss the place and took 3rd while Royal Candy and Rocco Bowen finished 4th. Lie and Deny races for the Two Putts for the Win #21 and Trifecta King Stable and trained by Frank Lucarelli and ran the 3/4’s mile in 1:09.80.

5th Race

If it wasn’t clear through 4 races the 5th should have proven the front end is not where you wanted to be on Sunday at the Auburn oval known for it’s front speed bias. 5-1 Leprino under a perfectly timed ride by Silvio Amador ran past the front 3 pace setters who ended 5th, 6th and 7th in the 7 horse field. Leprino cruised to an easy win while Gabby Hayes with Rocco Bowen had to go wide and cost him any chance of winning but did get up for 2nd at 9-2 while Hunters Ghost and Javier Matias took the rail from last to 3rd and You Split Tens with Alex Cruz ran an even 4th. Leprino is owned by Kenneth and Vicky Jo Elison and trained by Debbie Peery and ran the 6 1/2 in a brisk 1:15.57.

7th Race

Front speed did not hold on to win the 7th but it was close as You Go Girl and Kevin Orozco came from just off the pace to hold off a very game Ms Parkside. Ms Parkside known for her early speed went to the front with Luis Negron but Orozco and You Go Girl had them measured perfectly to post the 1/2-length win at 4-1. Ms Parkside held 2nd while initially Our Lyla Grace with Jose Zunino ran 3rd as the 8-5 favorite and 26-1 In the Vault ran 4th. But after a stewards inquiry they ruled a slight brush in the stretch was enough to flip the 3rd and 4th place moving In the Vault up to 3rd and Our Lyla Grace down to 4th. You Go Girl is owned by Ron and Nina Hagen, Alice and Don Whitmore and Steve Bullock and trained by Bullock.

9th Race

A big field of 11 went 6 1/2-furlongs and Arma d’Oro wore down the front speed of 10-1 outsider Prayer of Jabez with Carlos Montalvo inside the 16th pole and rolled to a nice 1 1/4-length win in a well timed ride by Rocco Bowen at 7-2 odds. 15-1 You’re the Cause with Javier Matias made a nice late run getting up for 3rd on the rail while 36-1 El Alto Hombre and Jose Zunino ran an even race taking 4th. Arma d’Oro stopped the clock in a blazing 1:14.37 and races for the estate of Glyn Kelly, Anne MacLennan and Len Strandly Jr and trained by Dan Markle. The 10-cent superfecta paid a big $286.20.

10th Race

2nd favorite Awesome Move with Javier Matias did just that and made an Awesome Move on the turn sticking to the rail and getting inside of front speed and favorite Theuntouchableone with Alex Cruz to zoom past and pull away for a 1-length+ win. Theuntouchableone did well to run a clear 2nd by 7 lengths. Treasure’s Reality and Silvio Amador at 20-1 ran a solid 3rd while Rocco Bowen brought in 15-1 Seventh House 4th and capping the Super Hi-5 was Big Galute with Kevin Orozco. Awesome Move ran the 6-furlongs in 1:09.03 and races for owner/trainer Tena Birdwell. Awesome Move wrapped a huge 50-cent pick 5 which paid $7,356.90.

Saturday Night Races

The 2nd night of Saturday racing featured 8 races and a total of 50 starters for an average of a little more than 6 per race. One lucky winner was the lone ticket holder in the Jackpot Pick 6 and took home a season high pay-out of nearly $16,000. Here’s the Saturday wrap-up!

7th Race Feature Race “Muckleshoot Casino Purse”

Dirt Road Red came into Saturday’s race as the lone horse who had won 3 races so far this season and was on a 3 race win streak after finishing 2nd in his 1st outing by a nose. The Justin Evans owned and trained 6-year-old Kentucky bred gelding went off at 2-1 and the slight 2nd favorite with Alex Cruz aboard. The favorite was Evans 2nd horse in the race Gold Crusher with Luis Negron.

8 horses broke for starter Mark Gibson at 6-furlongs and Dirt Road Red went straight to the lead with Coastal Jazz and Kevin Radke and neither giving an inch through the first half mile setting a fraction of a quick 43.94. By the top of the stretch Dirt Road Red eased out to a 1/2 length lead while the brutal pace took a toll on Coastal Jazz, Dirt dug in and extended pulling away for a 2 1/4-length win in a sizzling time of 1:08.37.

Evans’ other entry got goin after getting caught flat footed and a slow start. Negron Crusher caught a very game Coastal Jazz in the final 100 yards to take 2nd by 3/4’s a length. Holiday Hustle with Alexis Valdes closed well to be 4th at 13-1. 3rd choice Executive Chef may be one to keep an eye on as he checked hard at the 5/16th’s pole and then finished well for jockey Kevin Orozco, keep that in mind in his next race.

Dirt Road Red paid $6.40 on the $2 win and the Justin Evans exacta didn’t fool anyone either paying $9.30 but is an 8-1 pay-off. Dirt also capped a nice 50-cent pick 3 of $239.65. Dirt Road Red picked up his 10th career win and is now 10-14-8 from 47 lifetime starts and picked up a check for nearly $14,000 to push his career earnings to just shy of 190k.

Trainer Justin Evans earned his 31st win of the meet which has been a total of 24 race days and is averaging 1.3 wins per day. This pushes his lead in the trainer standings to a 31-14 lead over Blaine Wright and Jorge Rosales. Owner Justin Evans recorded his 9th win of the season and has a 2 race lead over Luciano Medina Gabriel but more importantly to the owners is he re-took the earnings lead over George Todaro and is the 1st owner over the 100k mark this season with a total of $107,870.

1st Race

After 2 late scratches the field dropped to just 4 and there was no show betting. You’d think in a 4-horse race there would be plenty of room for all to run but instead there was some contact and ultimately a DQ by the stewards. Odds on choice Special Diva with Javier Matias was the benefactor of the decision when she finished 2nd by a nose to Shelby Shortstop and Luis Negron. As the two came down the stretch Shelby Shortstop did drift out a bit and there was contact. The two then leaned on each other for the rest of the stretch run and Shelby got her nose down on the wire. But after further review the stewards ruled the minor contact could have been the difference and switched the order. Fly Parker Fly was a distant 3rd with Alex Cruz and Soda Springs with Francisco Diaz-Perez was further back in 4th place. Special Diva is owned by Jeff Cissell and trained by Vince Gibson. Diva is a Washington bred by Misremembered out of Special Holiday by Private Gold and was bred by Connie Belshay.

2nd Race
The track was razor fast and front speed was the name of the game early and in the 2nd race Young Life Laura with Neptali Ortiz at 9-1 went straight to the lead in the 6 1/2-furlong run and denied them all with a dominating 3 1/2-length win in a time of 1:16.04. Betting choice Scatalicious owned by the Emerald Racing Club closed well for 2nd with Silvio Amador but could not threaten Laura for the win. Miss Accelerate with Kevin Radke ran 3rd and completing the top 4 was Tennessee Moon with Rocco Bowen. Young Life Laura is owned by Sergio Perez and trained by Hilario Perez. The 3-year-old filly is a Washington bred by Mr. Rancho Vista out of Chedoodlejo by Liberty Gold and was bred by Keith and Jan Swagerty.

3rd Race
Neptali Ortiz would get his 2nd win connecting a 9-1 to a 2-1 shot when he came from just off the pace with Nomi Lackee to run down the leaders in the stretch and pull away for a 2-length win. 16-1 Mischief Mama with Carlos Montalvo controlled the early pace and led by 3 lengths at one point while odds-on California Halo with Javier Matias sat 2nd and tookover the lead just before the 1/8th pole. That’s when Ortiz and Nomi hit their best stride and rant past them leaving California Halo settling for 2nd, Mama taking 3rd and Dancing to Gold with Alex Cruz taking 4th. Nomi Lackee is owned and trained by Luciano Medina Gabriel and ran the 5 1/2-furlongs in 1:04.65. The Ortiz daily double paid a nice $46.

4th Race
Howard Belvoir bred owned and trained Decimate from the start but lost the 4-year-old to a claim in his last race and went to trainer Blaine Wright. Wright maintained Decimate and had him ready to fire in his 1st outing for his new home and Alex Cruz knows how to send a horse and that’s what Decimate wanted quickly taking a 2-length lead then pushed it to 3 lengths while setting fractions of 22.03 and 44.18. Meantime 9-5 favorite Hadlees Honor with Luis Negron settled well back in the 6 1/2-furlong run and by the time they turned for home Hadlees was too far back as he engaged Oxbow Park and Kevin Radke but Decimate did just that decimated the field with an easy win leaving the race for 2nd in which Hadlees Honor got up for by a neck over Oxbow Park who had to hold off Larsen Bay and Alexis Valdes closing from last. Decimate ran the 6 1/2 in 1:16.63 and is owned by Rutt Ramsey. Decimate is a Washington bred by Atta Boy Roy out of Star Protocol by He’s Tops and bred by Howard Belvoir. Decimate completed the 1st pick 4 paying $238.15.

5th Race
This was a big race for the 20-cent Pick 6 as Rocco Bowen got his 3rd win of the meet with 9-1 Smiling Thunder. Bowen and Thunder sat off the pace oif Feather inthe Wind and Classic Leah. Feather would fade to last but Classic Leah with Isaias Enriquez would get 1st run at the top of the stretch and take the lead. Leah shook off Big Mama Thornton and Silvio Amador who finished 3rd but then had to face the fast closing Smiling Thunder and they would go head-and-head to the wire with Thunder pulling out the upset win. Classic Leaf was the 2nd choice at 2-1 and no doubt knocked many out of the Pick 6 along with 1-1 favorite Big Fashion who ran an even 4th. Smiling Thunder runs for Michael Messing and is trained by Jennifer Nunnally and paid $20 on the $2 win while covering the 6-furlongs in 1:10.08.

6th Race

Luciano Medina Gabriel and Neptali Ortiz hooked up for their 2nd win of the day and Ortiz’s 3rd win and if the 9-1 shot in the 5th didn’t boot most everyone out of the Pick 6, this 11-1 shot likely reduced the field down to the lone winner. Lago de Oro began the 1-lap around mile journey sitting in 4th place while Rampatious set the early pace leading by 3 lengths but would ultimately run out of gas and finish 2nd last. Meantime, Ortiz and Lago de Oro stayed in touch and on the far turn began to make his move on the rail and at the quarter pole the inside opened up and Ortiz released the break and in an eye catching move quickly blew this race open with his own 3 length win and extending that to nearly 6 lengths by the time he stopped the clock in 1:35.59. 1-2 odds on favorite Super Classic with Luis Negron closed from further back but was no match for the winner, Moonlightwine and Javier Matias ran 3rd with Nation of Faith and Rocco Bowen 4th. Gabriel owns and trains Lago de Oro who paid $24, $8.60 and $4.60 and ended the 2nd pick 4 with a whopping $694.15 pay-out.

8th Race
In the Saturday finale Alex Cruz got on his wife’s horse Rousing Rubble and grabbed his 3rd win of the day and her 2nd win of the season. Cruz and Rubble battled with Dusalut early for the lead but edged away for a 1 length lead at the 1/8th pole and held off deep closers Spire with Kevin Radke at 7-1 and 36-1 Thirsty Kiss with Neptali Ortiz who finished 2nd and 3rd while Tapit at Midnight and Jose Zunino ran 4th and completing the Super Hi-5 was Gold Rush Candy and Luis Negron. Rousing Rubble is owned and trained by Jaymie Pearman Cruz and ran the 6-furlongs in 1:09.28. Rubble handed 1 lucky ticket holder the $15,897.96 Jackpot Pick-6 a new high pay-off for the 2023 season. The 50-cent pick 5 also paid handsomely of $2,140.35. For more on the betting side of Saturday scroll down to the Betting Parlor below.

Friday Night Races

Friday night had a 7 race card with a total of 39 starters for an average of less than 6 but it did not help to have 7 late scratches which would have put the average close to 7. The Betting handle was $840,717 and there was an 8k+ carryover in the Jackpot 20-cent pick 6. Here’s what happened on Friday.

6th Race Feature Race “Muckleshoot Casino Purse”

Two entries were highly favored in Camden High with Alex Crux at 1-1 and 8-5 shot LaPopis with Alex Anaya aboard. The field of 7 were set to go the mile and Munnings Tale the 3rd choice at 7-1 broke from the outside and went straight for the lead. Alexis Valdes set some very patient fractions while building a length and half lead turning for home. The 2 favorites poised in 2nd and 3rd ready to make their run but no one had worn down the front speed of Munnings Tale and Valdes gave the 5-year-old mare a tap on the shoulder and she shifted into 5th gear and blew them out down the stretch winning by nearly 5 lengths. Camden High settled for 2nd LaPopis 3rd and getting up for 4th was Ted’s Candy Girl with Silvio Amador.

Munnings Tale ran the 1-lap in a time of 1:37.23 and was the 2nd win on the card for Valdes. But the win was extra special for trainer Blaine Wright who had another winner earlier in the day at Pleasanton in Northern California which was his 999th career win. Munnings Tale was #1,000! Wright has been the leading Stakes trainer for many years and comes from a racing family where his father Richard Wright was a jockey at Longacres and then longtime trainer. Blaine was so thankful to his Dad and Mom and all the others that had helped him get to this milestone.

It was also nice for the 1,000th win to come from a horse owned by a longtime NW horseman Dr. Rodney Orr a longtime client of Wright’s. Also Munnings Tale winning it in a $5,000 claiming race and not getting it in a Stakes race seems appropriate as Wright comes from that blue-collar, hard-working with love and empathy for his horses that most in this industry comes from. Reaching this achievement in such a race and a 7-1 outsider on top of it really is perfect.

Race 1
A field of 6 went a mile and Mamacallmeboo with Luis Negron went to the lead and and set every fraction on his way to a 2+length win in a final time of 1:36.75. 14-1 Freestone ran 2nd with Kevin Orozco, Bel Ragazzo and Alex Anaya were 3rd and completing the top 4 was Arthur Spooner with Neptali Ortiz. Mamacallmeboo is owned by Rakoczy Racing and Justin Evans. Leading trainer Evans got off to a quick start winning the week’s opener. Mamacallmeboo is a Washington bred by Abraaj out of Holy Mama by Holy Bull and was bred by Horseplayers Racing Club.

Race 2
2 late scratches left just 4 to go and eliminated show betting. Starry Beach with Mr Friday night Alex Cruz went coast to coast for the clear win. However, Cruz and Starry had to survive a stewards inquiry and a rider objection from Carlos Montalvo on 2nd place Chrome’s Best Copy. At the top of the stretch Starry Beach on the wrong lead got a reminder from Cruz and the filly veered out to make slight contact. The Stewards ruled although there was slight contact it did not change the outcome and Sarry Beach got the win for owner Jane Maller and for trainer Jeff Metz going the 6 1/2-furlongs in 1:18.05. Chrome’s Best Copy was 2nd while Another Ten with Alexis Valdes was 3rd and favorite Sailing In with Kevin Orozco took 4th. Starry Beach is a 3-year-old Washington bred by Harbor tghe Gold out of Hit a Star by Ihtimam and bred by Shady Valley Ranch and Jeff Harwood.

Race 3
Alex Cruz won his 2nd race on Friday night aboard Cielo Diamonte with a brilliant rail run saving ground while sitting 4th and darted through on a big opening at the rail to win going away as the 2nd choice in the betting. Mean Sharon at 12-1 with Kevin Radke ran her heart out but could not deny the winner and settled for 2nd while 1-1 favorite Preskitt ran 3rd with Rocco Bowen and capping the superfecta was Miss Aggie Bling with Carlos Montalvo. Cielo Diamonte ran the 6-furlongs in 1:09.88 and races for Jeffrey Jacobs and trained by Jaymie Pearman Cruz getting her 1st win of the meet. The 4-year-old filly is a Washington bred by Cupid out of My Palmilla by Tribal Rule and bred by Mr and Mrs William Griffin.

Race 4
A field of 5 went 6 1/2-furlongs and 4 of them allowed 2nd longshot My Moondancer at 5-1 with Carlos Montalvo go to the lead and quickly build a 2 length lead. Montalvo expertly set pedestrian fractions of 22.02 and 44.30 and had plenty left in fact drew off for a dominant 4 length win in a final time of 1:17.24. Favorite Spanish Channel with Luis Negron got up for 2nd while Dontforgetthesugar and Alex Cruz was 3rd and Head Start with Neptali Ortiz finished 4th. My Moondancer runs for Rosales Racing F1 and is trained by Jorge Rosales. The 1st pick 4 of the day paid $189.90.

Race 5
After 2 late scratches the field dropped from 8 to 6 and Low Dose with Silvio Amador got bet down to 1-1. Amador and Low Dose went to the lead and had a 1/2 length advantage at the top of the stretch of this 6-furlong dash but Kiss Ride Goodbye with Alexis Valdes had been hugging the rail from the start and at the 1/8th pole unleashed the 6-year-old mare who overwhelmed the early leader for a comfortable win in a time of 1:09.75. Low Dose was a clear 2nd while Heat Seeking Leta was 3rd with Luis Negron and completing the super was Mischief Mama and Neptali Ortiz. Kiss Ride Goodbye races for Round Table Stable and is trained by Tom Wenzel. The 2nd pick 4 of the day paid $278.35.

Race 7

Heading into the 7th and final race of the night and the final of the 20-cent Jackpot Pick 6 where it was in danger of being picked off with a single ticket. There was a late scratch that may have made a big impact when Street Mogul was sent to the paddock prior to the race. This meant all those pick 6 tickets were transferred to the betting favorite that ended up being #1 The Golden Egg with Alex Cruz. The pair took the lea and drew off by a length and a half at the top of the stretch but Super Creative at 7-1 had been lurking behind and then Alex Anaya let the gray gelding go at the 6-furlong mark of the 1-mile race and made an eye catching move blowing right past The Golden Egg to win going away by nearly 4 lengths to spoil the Pick 6 party. No one had Super Creative with any of the live tickets going into the final leg and no one hit 6 of 6 leaving a carryover of more than 10k for Saturday’s races. 20-1 Good Danny and Carlos Montalvo got up for 3rd, Exit Stage Left with Rocco Bowen was  4th and completing the Super Hi-5 was Forever Amber and Jennifer Whitaker. Super Creative races for Kimberly, Rebecca and Linda Johnston and trained by Kimberly Johnston who also got her 1st win of the season.

Larry’s Round-Up

Blaine Wright hits win #1,000

Blaine Wright has racked up a lot of accolades in his time as a trainer at Emerald Downs and at many other tracks. He is the son of former jockey and trainer Richard Wright and grew up in the business. He clearly learned the skills of being a conditioner very well as he has already put himself in a very elite group of Northwest trainers.

On Friday night Wright accomplished something most trainers do not and that is winning a thousand races. He began the day with 998 and got number 999 at Pleasanton earlier in the day when Twice Fooled won the 7th and final race of the day. That race went off just before 5pm. Then about 4 1/2 hours later Munnings Tale with Alexis Valdes would go wire to wire in a claiming $5,000 race for win #1,000.

Wright has 6 horses entered in the 2 Sunday Stakes races at Emerald Downs and as much of a storybook ending it would have been to get #1,000 in a stakes race, there is something that seems more perfect that Wright did it with a 5k claimer. Wright and his family come from that blue-collar work ethic that so many in our industry can relate too and it just seems the perfect way to reach such a milestone for Wright.

Wright’s successes include winning the Emerald training title in wins in both 2016 and 2017 and then was the earnings leader in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2022. He is #6 in all-time wins just passing the legendary Roy Lumm this season and entered the season as the #3 all-time highest win percent. He’s 7th all-time in earnings nearing the 6.5-million mark.

Wright has led in Stakes wins in 2017, 2018 and 2019 with 2017 his highmark of 11 stakes win, 1 behind Doris Harwood’s 12 stakes wins in a year in which she did twice in 2007 and 2009. He has won the Longacres Mile doing it in 2020 with Anothertwistafate.

He also has won 3 stakes races in a single day not once but twice and with 6 different horses. On August 27, 2017 he won the Wa Cup Juenile Filly Stakes with Bella Mia, the Wa Cup Sophomore Stakes for colts with Pulpits Power and the Wa Cup Filly and Mare Stakes with Exit Sixty Slews. On July 15, 2018 he won the Mt Rainier Stakes with Riser, the King County Express with Baja Sur and the Boeing Stakes with Top Quality.

He also had a double stakes win day last season on June 19, 2022 when Slack Tide won the Seattle Stakes and Executive Chef took the Auburn Stakes. He also had a 4-win day which was on July 15, 2018 when Fortunate Cookie also won on his 2nd triple stakes win day.

ESN talks with Blaine Wright on his 1,000th win

From the Saddle

Alex Cruz is trying to become the 1st jockey is Washington State history to win 4 straight riding championships at any of the former tracks that used to dot the state. Entering this week he had fallen behind leading rider Luis Negron by 10 with Negron threatening to run-away with the lead. Cruz has made it clear this is important to him and he came out firing this week cutting that lead in half to just 5 by winning 6 races to Negron’s 1.

Now Negron did have one, in our opinion stolen from him with a very questionable DQ but still would have given up 40% of that lead had that win stood. Cruz went 6-4-3-3 from 23 rides this past week for a win percent of 26% and a top 4 finish rate of 70%. Negron caught the 2nd”itis” bug this week with 1 win 7 places and 2 shows for a 5% win rate from 19 rides and 53% superfecta finish rate. The biggest difference between Negron and Cruz is that top 4 finish rate, although Negron is getting more in the top 4 at 66% for the season, Cruz is 2nd overall for the year at 72% just 1% behind Neptali Ortiz who has 33 mounts compared to Cruz’s 180 so Cruz’s consistency is incredible.

Speaking of Ortiz he had the 2nd most wins on the weekend with 3 and he did not ride on Sunday and had a total of 8 rides. He also is finishing well with a show and 3 4th places for 7 of 8 in the top 4, his win percent was 38% and an 86% top 4.

5 riders had 2 wins led by Silvio Amador who went 2-3-3-1 from 12 rides for a 17% win rate and 75% top 4 this week which was the best for riders with 10 or more mounts. Ortiz and Carlos Montalvo were both 7 of 8 top 4 finishes at 86%. Amador’s big win came in the Angie C Stakes for his 1st Stakes win at Emerald Downs. The other riders to score a pair of wins included Rocco Bowen, Javier Matias, Carlos Montalvo and Alexis Valdes. 

Riders who got 1 win included Kevin Radke but his win was a big one taking the King County Express Stakes to become the 1st rider this season to win a 2nd Stakes after taking the season opener with Clovisconnection in the Auburn Stakes. Alex Anaya got his 3rd win of the season after breaking the ice last week, Jennifer Whitaker also got her 3rd win of the season, Kevin Orozco picked up his 7th win of the year and although he cooled off from the past 2 weeks, Isaias Enriquez still got a win and only rode 2 of the days. 

From the Barn

The wins were well spread out for the trainers with no one having more than 2 wins and there were 6 who did that led by Blaine Wright which included his 1,000th career win. Wright sits in 3rd with 14 wins in the trainer standings. Leading trainer Justin Evans whose #1 rider is Luis Negron and as we pointed Negron got hit with that 2nd”itis” bug well that also spread to Evans this week as he went 2-6-1 from 16 starts. Evans still has a commanding lead in the standings up 16, 31-15, over Jorge Rosales. Rosales had 2 wins from just 3 starts this week to keep pace with Evans but needs to start chipping away at that huge deficit if he has any thoughts of defending his Championship. 

The all-time leading trainer at Emerald Downs Frank Lucarelli is beginning to turn a bunch of 2nds into wins. Lucarelli is hitting his stride and is up to 11 wins with a 2-3-0 record from 10 starts and in 4th place. Luciano Medina Gabriel continued his blazing hot streak with 2 more wins from just 3 starts. Gabriel now has 8 wins from 32 starts winning at a rate of 25%. And finally Jaymie Pearman Cruz won her 1st and 2nd  races of the year. Husband Alex Cruz brought home Cielo Diamante in the 3rd on Friday and took the finale on Saturday wire to wire with Rousing Rubble. Cruz was a perfect 2-2 this week.

Those with just 1 win this weekend were led by David Martinez and Ryland Harwood who won the 2 Stakes races. Martinez took the Angie C with Appeal Factor and Ryland Harwood won his 1st Stakes in the King County Express with Whiskey Dancer. The other trainers picking up wins included 2 who started just 1 and were 1 for 1 which included Harwood, and  Tena Birdwell won the final race of the weekend with Awesome Move. It was her 3rd win of the season. 

The other trainers with a win were Howard Belvoir, Steve Bullock, Vince Gibson, Kimberly Johnston which was her 1st win of the year, Dan Markle, Jeff Metz, Debbie Peery and Tom Wenzel.

From the Owners Box

Short owners report this week, no one won more than 1 race.. The big winners were of course the Stakes race winners beginning with Jack Hodge of Oak Crest Farms as Appeal Factor won the Angie C. This was the 3rd time Oak Crest Farms has won this race and Hodge calls it his favorite race of the season. 

Lee and Connie Erickson won the King County Express with Whiskey Harbor. The Erickson’s were also the breeder and Lee Erickson gave a ton of credit to his wife Connie for finding the sire back east in Rise Up. The Erickson’s bred Whiskey Harbor in Oregon.

Leading owner by wins and earnings Justin Evans extended his lead in both wins and earnings and now has 9 wins to 7 for Luciano Medina Gabriel. Evans has part of 3rd place too as he with Bill and Susan Tomasic have 6. And defending Champ John Parker is sitting in 4th place with 5 total wins.

Claims

Sunday
1st Race Hey Sequoia $5,000 goes to new owner Round Table Stable and trainer Tom Wenzel
Sproston $5,000 was claimed by new owner 509 for trainer Jennifer Nunnally
3rd Race Awesome Daze $5,000 was red tagged by Camden High Corp and will be trained by David Martinez

Saturday Night
4th Race Hadlees Honor $5,000 goes to new owner/trainer Debbie Van Horne
5th Race Big Fashion $10,000 was claimed by Ron Schmid and heads to the Frank Lucarelli barn
Classic Leah $10,000 was taken by Richard Larson and heads to trainer Vince Gibson
8th Race Gold Rush Candy $3,500 went to new owners Kelsey Drescher and Heath Lawrence, Lawrence will train
Manaalaboutdmoney $3,500 was red tagged by Lynn Hebdon and goes to trainer Jorge Rosales

Friday Night
1st Race Mamacallmeboo $3,500 was claimed by Purple Rose Ranch for trainer Mike Pierce
Bel Ragazzo $3,500 was red tagged by owner/trainer Luciano Medina Gabriel
Two Princes $3,500 was taken by new owner Bryan Smith for trainer Jose Raudales
3rd Race Mean Sharon $3,500 was claimed by new owner Ashley Potts and Blue Diamond Syndicate for trainer Vince Gibson
Preskitt $3,500 goes to Michael Pattison and Sheldon Longnecker and heads to the barn of Charlie Essex
4th Race My Moondancer $5,000 was tagged by new owners Lusk Racing and goes to Vince Gibson
6th Race Camden High $5,000 was taken by Chloe Dixon and Michael Morris and Morris will train
La Popis $5,000 goes to owner/trainer Luciano Medina Gabriel

The Betting Parlor

It was a good week to make money while no massive longshots came rolling into win the favorites took a beating week with none winning on Friday or Saturday night and 2 on Sunday or 2 of 25 races, just a 8% win rate. While 13 or 52% ran 2nd. This opened the door for some great pay-offs in the horizontal bets (daily double, pick 3, 4, 5 and 6). In fact a new high pay-out on Saturday for the season with a single 20-cent Pick 6 ticket of more than 15-grand. Two 7k pick 5’s and the 3rd one was more than 2k. The pick 5 paid out an average of $5,505.50. 

The weird component here is the Friday pick 5 paid over $7,000 and the odds that won were 5-2, 5-1, 3-1, 7-1 and 7-1 averaging 5-1. The Sunday pick 5 paid well over 7k and the winning odds were 4-1, 4-1, 6-1, 7-2 and 5-2 or an average of 4-1. On Saturday the winning odds were 2-1, 9-1, 11-1, 2-1 and 2-1 averaging almost 5.5-1 but only paid $2,100. 

The 20-cent pick 6 had a single ticket with all 6 on Saturday paying $15,897.96 which was four 2-1 shots in the 3rd and 4th, 7th and 8th bookending the 9-1 and lone double digit winner of the weekend at 11-1. Friday and Sunday the lower odds winners had 2 7k pick 5’s and only 5 of 6 correct on both pick 6’s.

It just shows if you beat the favorites the pays pop and they did just that this past weekend.

Sunday

1st Race the 4-5 favorite won and paid $3.80 on the $2 win, the best play was the place on 4-1 Hey Sequoia which returned $4.60.
2nd Race was a field of 8 maidens and the money well spread. 9-2 shot Beer Begone ran a solid front end race and returned $11.20 $7.60 and $4.60 for a nice $6 combo return of $23.40 or a $20 combo ticket pays $234. The 9-2 to 3-1 to 7-1 to 6-1 10-cent superfecta paid $70.32 or $703.20 on the $1 bet.
3rd Race saw 2-1 For You Only getting up to win in the final strides and was bet down from a 10-1 morning line. The $1 daily double paid nicely at 48-1 returning $49.30 on a 9-2 to 2-1 shot and the 1st 50-cent pick 3 returned $35.35.
4th Race went to 4-1 Lie and Deny and wrapped up the 1st 50-cent pick 4 and paid a decent $205.25 while the 2nd pick 3 of the day returned $126.95. The 4-1 to 5-2 to 8-1 to 7-2 superfecta paid $37.06 for the dime a 50-cent super would have gotten you $135.30.
5th Race was a great straight betting race with the 5-1 winner Leprino paying across the board $13.20, $6 and $4.80. The 9-2 2nd choice returned $6.60 and $4.20 and the 8-1 show horse paid $5.20. The $1 trifecta was good for $270.50 add the 5-2 4th place horse and your dime superfecta paid $87.89 or $878.90 for your $1 bet.
6th Race was the Angie C stakes and 4-1 shot Appeal Factor paid solid of $10.20, $4.60 and $3.20. Coupled with the 5-1 winner in the 5th race the $1 daily double returned a healthy $89 or 88-1. The 50-cent pick 3 also scored big at $151.40 or $302.80 for the $1 bet of connecting a 4-1 to 5-1 to 4-1 shot.
7th Race You Go Girl at 4-1 paid $10.20 on the win but place bettors were mad when she returned $3.80 to place, the same as the show pay of $3.80. That happens when the favorite runs second which was 9-5 Ms Parkside which paid $3 to place and the place bettors even more upset than the You Go Girl supporters as she returned more to show at $3.20. That was pushed up when the 26-1 shot got moved up to 3rd vi DQ and In the Vault paid $7 on the $2 show. You Go Girl capped off a big 50-cent pick 4 that paid $1,508.60.
8th Race was the 2nd Stakes of the day the King Co Express and the winner Whiskey Honor at 6-1 paid $15.60, $7 and $4.20 for a $26.80 $2 Combo ticket, combined with 7-1 2nd place the $1 exacta returned $45.40 or in the old days of the $5 minimum  exacta bet would have been good for $227. The 7-5 favorite ran 3rd but a 15-1 shot was 4th and that $1 dollar super returned $794.60.
9th Race had some great pay-offs especially if you could key in on the 7-2 winner. 10-1 ran 2nd, 15-1 3rd and 36-1 4th so all vertical bets were good to great. I did think with 10-horses the 3rd favorite at 7-2 over the 10-1 that the $1 exacta would have paid more than the $53.50 for the $1 but it was still 52-1. But if you had that exacta and hit “all” for 3rd the 50-cent trifecta paid $174.70 or $348-1. If you had that exacta dialed in and thought a former Stakes winner sitting at 15-1 had a great shot of hitting the board for 3rd and hit “all” for 4th in your 10-cent superfecta you would have gotten $286.20 or 2,861-1 odds. If you are sold on the winner and you were able to single Arma d’Oro you could also bet single in the win, take say 4 runners to run 2nd and go all for 3rd and all for 4th that bet would cost you $22.40 for a return of $286.20 or a profit of $263.80. Maybe you liked it so much and with no big favorite you could go a single winner to all to all to all so if your horse wins, you win the superfecta. That bet would have cost you $50.40 for a profit of $217.80. But remember a 10-1 ran 2nd, 15-1 3rd and 36-1 4th so if the top 2 favorites get in there you would not get that kind of return but it a great bet to roll the dice on an even field and you can find the winner it can lead to a really nice profit.
10th Race The 10th race didn’t provide any big numbers in the vertical bets but the 5-2 2nd choice capped off some bit horizontal bets with pick 3 of a 6-1 to 7-2 to 5-2 paying $123.50, the pick 4 with a 4-1 kicking off that sequence paid $556.20. The pick 5 of 5-1 to 4-1 to 6-1 to 7-2 to 5-2 returned a whopping $7,356.90. Then believe it or not the 20-cent pick 6 that began with a 4-1 followed by those in the pick 5 did not have a single 6 for 6 ticket and in fact only 2 had 5 of 6 and the consolation paid an eye popping $2,566.38. In that series of 6 races no horse was great than 6-1 but none were less than the final winner at 5-2. But it shows you do not need some crazy longshot to come in, you need races that will spread out the money, those races really pay off in these pick 3, ,4 and 5’s and the 20-cent pick 6.

Saturday
1st Race Not much here other than the winner at odds-on was DQ’d and placed 2nd moving up the 7-5 shot to 1st. Be sure to check your tickets!!
2nd Race 5-horse field an the 9-1 2nd choice blew out the 1-1, 9-5 and 2-1 who finished 2nd, 3rd and 4th in that order. The $2 win was good for $21.40 and the $2 place in a 5 horse field was good at $7.40 in fact a $20 combo paid $322. The $1 daily double of 7-5 to 9-1 paid a nice 17-1 at $18.80. The $1 exacta paid a great 22-1, the tri was good for $19.10 or 37-1 but the super even with the 9-1 only paid $5.27 on the dime bet.
3rd Race 2-1 2nd choice beat an odds on which helped the 1st 50-cent pick 3 paying $52 and the $1 double 9-1 to 2-1 was a solid $46.
4th Race The trend of the favorite running 2nd continued but the 2nd choice won at 2-1. A 12-1 took 3rd and 23-1 4th for an $11.21 or $112.10, still a little light in my view even tho the 2 top fav’s ran 1-2.
5th Race A late closing 9-1 shot rolled up to get the 2-1 2nd choice by a head at the wire and paid a nice $20, $7.40 nd $3.60 across the board. 4-1 ran 3rd and 1-1 favorite was 4th so the $1 exacta was decent at 31-1 or $32.50, the 50-cent tri paid $52 or 103-1 and the super $14.85 on the dime or a 147-1 odds return. This was the 1st one that dropped many out of the pick 6 run. 
6th Race saw the only double digit winner of the weekend get the job done at 11-1 and definitely knocked everyone but the eventual winner out of the pick 6. The winner paid $24 on the $2 win but the 1-2 odds on ran 2nd so the exacta didn’t blow up but paid $30. The 50-cent pick 3 paid a good $293.35 and the 2nd pick 4 returned $694.15.
7th Race The slight 2nd favorite won at 2-1 in the Saturday feature and the 11-1 to 2-1 daily double did pay a solid $68.80 but the 9-1 to 11-1 to 2-1 pick 3 with no favorite winning the $239.65 return was good but I would have been a bit disappointed would think it would have been $300+. 
8th Race The 2-1 2nd choice wired the race to win by a length with the favorite running 5th. So not sure if the 7-1 place horse had gotten up if that would have carried over the pick 6t or not. 36-1 ran 3rd and 10-1 4th so the 50-cent trifecta paid big $208.30 or $416.60 on the $1 bet and the 10-cent super returned $136.56 or more than $1,300 on the $1 bet. The pick 4 paid $757.25, the pick 5 $2,140.35 and of course the pick 6 set a season high pay-out for all bets. The 50-cent Super Hi-5 also rewarded it’s winners with $1,500.20.

Friday

1st race 2-1 2nd choice Mamacallmeboo won while 14-1 outsider Freestone took 2nd and paid huge at $7.20 to place and $7.80 to show. The $1 exacta returned 26-1 or $27.70. Add the 8-1 3rd for a $75.30 50-cent trifecta and the 9-2 4th in a 6 horse field for a $470.30 $1 superfecta.
2nd race with only 4 going after late scratches the 6-5 favorite ran 4th giving you a chance at some return. The winner paid $6.60 and $3.80 both great returns in a 4 horse race and 2nd place 5-2 paid $3.20. The $1 exacta was 8-1 an d paid $9.
3rd race had 5 entries and the 1-1 favorite took 3rd leaving open some decent money returns as the 5-2 2nd choice won and the 12-1 longshot was 2nd. The 12-1 paid $10 on the $2 place, the exacta was a solid 25-1 at $26.50 and the $1 tri in the 5 horse field was nearly $50.
4th Race also had just 5 horses and the 5-1 2nd longshot won paying $12.60 to win and $4.60 to place. the 7-5 favorite ran 2nd and the $1 exacta returned 18-1 or $19.80 and a 2-1 to 2-1 to 5-2 to 5-1 50-cent pick 4 paid $188.90
5th Race 2 scratches at the gate dropped the field of 8 to 6 and the winner went from 8-1 to 3-1 when the gates opened which hampered the WPS and verticals but the 2nd pick 4 paid $278.35 so still good returns in these short fields. Remember you do not have to bet the minimum for example if you took the 2 favorites in the 1st 2 races, the 2nd fav won both, then go all in the 5 horse 4th race and then 4 deep in the 5th which began as an 8 horse field this is a $40 bet at 50-cent, $80 for the $1 and you would have gotten back nearly $560. Or if you singled the winner of one of the 1st 2 races your 50-cent bet is $20 and you go big and bet a $2.50 pick 4 it costs you $100 and you get back $1,391.75.
Race 6 again saw the big 1-1 favorite run 2nd and the 9-5 2nd choice run  3rd while Blaine Wright’s horse was winning the trainer’s 1,000th career victory was let go at 7-1. Great win pay of $16.40 or $164 on the $20 win. The 50-cent Pick 3 paid $145.45. No doubt this horse knocked many out who were chasing the 20-cent Pick 6.
Race 7 Odds-on betting favorite The Golden Egg at 1-2, took 2nd and it was another 7-1 shot zooming to nearly a 4-lenght win that finished off a string of horizontal big pays with the pick 3 paying $305.55, the 50-cent pick 4 returning $2,629.60 and the pick 5 $7,019.25. The 20-cent Pick 6 was not hit and 5 of 6 paid $185.12 in a decent 5 of 6 pay. The 50-cent hi-5 returned a big $2,744.20 for a 7-1 to 1-2 to 20-1 to 4-1 to 14-1 in a 6 horse field.

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