6/5/2025

(Auburn, WA) Numbers are a fascinating thing and can mean so much more than 1+1=2. Numbers help us keep track of important benchmarks, birthdays, anniversaries and important events. They can tell you how much you can spend depending on the number you have on a green bill or available to you on your credit card. They divide us into categories from youth to geezer. They let you know who to cheer for whether it’s on a jersey or a saddle cloth. And sometimes it’s just a curious random order they come up that grabs our attention like when the speedometer clicks over to 100,000 miles.

This past weekend there were several interesting numbers that popped up from a huge benchmark to the curiosities of random orders.

**Added Note**
Emerald Downs was set to host the Bulldog races on Sunday but with temperatures expected in the lower 90’s they have postponed the Bulldog races.

From their Facebook post, “The Bulldog races will be rescheduled for either Saturday, June 28, or Friday night June 27.

1,000!

This is a big number in each jockey’s career and for Alex Cruz that occurred on Sunday in the 2nd race aboard Willing to Burn. Cruz scored his 999th win on Memorial Day in the 4th race. There’s always the big win jinx that you worry about when you are about to hit a big number. Kinda like a kid on Christmas Eve, it can’t get here fast enough.

This was beginning to get concerning for Cruz as he finished 2nd three straight races on Memorial after getting #999. He finished the day with a 4th place. That pushed 1,000 to last Saturday, May 31. Cruz had 5 rides with 0 wins and 2 more places and 2 3rds. Then on Sunday he opened up with a 4th place finish in the 1st race. 

Then we line up the numbers. This was his 11th ride since getting #999. He was on #1 Willing to Burn going 1-mile. Willing to Burn went to the front and his chart has him placed 1 at all five calls of the race and he “Cruz’d” home for the win and #1,000 was recorded.

An additional side note is that the trainer of Willing to Burn is Charlie Essex. Essex is also the trainer of Nation of Faith who won last year on June 29, 2024. Alex Cruz was the jockey, and it was his 900th career win. We can’t wait until next year around Memorial Day to see who Essex will be training for Cruz’s 1,100th win. Congratulations Alex!

Sharing the Wealth

There were 17 races this past weekend and a bit unusual there were no double winners for trainers or owners. There were literally 17 different winning trainers and 17 different owners. No owner has more than 2 wins at this time.

First time winners for trainers included Howard Belvoir, Jamie Pearman Cruz, Michael Lenzini, Dan Markle and Alexis Silva-Martinez. Owners getting their 2nd wins of the season were Susan Hunter, George Todaro and Sergio Perez.

Curiosity Numbers

Just a couple of fun random number combinations that came up on Saturday. The 1st Daily Double winning numbers were 2-1 and it paid $21.21. So, for races 1 & 2 the winning numbers were 2-1 and it paid $21.21. In the 3rd race, #8 Ruby Rendezvous with Javier Matias won and the $2 win paid $8.88.

Also on Saturday, trainer Jaymie Pearman Cruz won the 6th race with Mojave and she also finished 2nd with Khaiky’s Command to sweep the exacta. The bettors were wise to the potential of this as the $1 exacta paid just $12.75. It’s not all that strange to have a trainer sweep the exacta but it is a bit strange when it happens 2 races in a row.

Frank Lucarelli followed up in the 7th and featured race with odds-on favorite Grease Missile winning and his 2nd entry 6-1 Zippin Sevenz running 2nd. The public was even less surprised as this exacta paid $6.25. The winning exacta combinations were 5-6 and then 7-8, just more fun with numbers.

From the Saddle

This past week only 3 riders won more than 1 race with Manny Americano leading the way with 5 wins. He would finish the week with a 5-3-2-2 record winning at a 36% clip, top 3 71% and a 79% superfecta rate. Americano now trails Kevin Krigger by just 2 in the jockey standings 18-16. Americano has won at least one race in 6 consecutive days.

Krigger kept that 2 race advantage with a 2 wins this past week and he currently has the longest win streak with 7 straight days of at least one win. That ties Kevin Orozco’s 7 day streak that was snapped on Memorial Day. 

The other double winner was David Haldar winning the 3rd race on Sunday with 7-2 Tiz’s Harbor by a head and then getting a neck win on 6-1 Roy Hobbs in the 7th race. Haldar is tied for 6th in the standings with 6 wins,

A few riders got their first wins of the 2025 season at Emerald including veteran rider Frank Alvarado. Alvarado of course had been a staple in Northern California and had ridden at Emerald in the past coming up for a stakes race, but this is his first full season run in Auburn. Alvarado won on Veritas Aequitas at 7-1 in the 8th race on Sunday. His agent, Keith Drebin, posted on Facebook that it’s been a grind so far but getting that first one takes off the pressure and looks forward to Alvarado getting into a groove here. It will be fun to watch the wily veteran start to get cranked up.

The Queen of Emerald Downs rode an incredible race on 28-1 Settler’s Cove for Howard Belvoir in the 4th race on Saturday. Going 6-furlongs, you don’t see many 28-1 shots take the lead, lose that lead to the 8-5 favorite at the top of the stretch only to come back, on the rail, and pull away for a 1/2 length win. This was Whitaker’s first win on her 4th ride back this season after missing all of last year with a serious leg injury. 

Ever since Carlos Montalvo first arrived in 2023, he has had a big impact on the jockey room and led all riders last year on Stakes wins. This year he got off to a slower start, but he still is one of the main go-to’s for trainer Tom Wenzel in his smaller but powerful stable.

That combination handed Montalvo his first win of the season this past Sunday when he guided the blazing fast Aloha Breeze to another career win getting her ready to defend her older filly or mare award from last year. An added note, Aloha Breeze was Montalvo’s first win ever at Emerald Downs on May 13th, 2023. 

Montalvo is beginning to heat up as he got the win but also had 4 2nd place finishes this past week. He’s currently 1-4-3-2 from just 19 rides. Look out for Carlos when the big purses are on the line.

Other winners this week included Alex Cruz, Isaias Enriquez, Javier Matias, Kevin Orozco and Silvio Amador.

From the Barns

As mentioned above, 17 races this past week and 17 different trainers collected a win. The current leaders in the trainers race are Tim McCanna and Howard Gibson both with 8 wins. Blaine Wright is 3rd with 7 but still leads all trainers in earnings. 

There is a 3-way tie for 4th with Frank Lucarelli, Isidro Tamayo and Justin Evans all with 6 wins. Jorge Rosales is 7th with 4 victories and a 4-way tie for 8th with 3 wins to round out the top 11 include Charles Essex, Tena Birdwell, Sergio Perez and Scott Tubbs.

The Betting Window

At the Betting Window there was one new season high return and it was in the 50-cent Pick 4. On Saturday, 9-5 favorite Clay’s Opal Lady won the 1^st race combined with 3-1 Spectacular Tiger in the 2^nd to 3-1 Ruby Rendevzvous in the 3^rd. This doesn’t seem like this should be a new season high pay-off. The favorite and two 3-1 shots?

Then the 28-1 freight train came bombing home in the 4^th called Settler’s Cove and only 4 bettors likely hit the “All” button for the 4^th race as it returned $2,784.12 for a new pick 4 high payout for the season.

In comparison, the $1 Daily Double of 3-1 Ruby Rendezvous to 28-1 Settler’s Cove only paid $81.77.

On the flip side there were several new low pays set over the weekend. With the smaller fields and with 9 favorites winning with 7 of them on Sunday and included 3 odds-on.  

The 50-cent Trifecta and 10-cent Superfecta’s paid season lows in the 5-horse field of the 2^nd race when Willing to Burn won at 4-5, 2^nd place was 5-2 Gold Coast Girl and 3^rd place was 9-1 Vhagar and your 50-cent bet paid $5.33. Add 6-1 Austin City Girl in 4^th place and the 10-cent super returned $2.04.

The $1 Daily Double also hit a season low on Sunday in the 4^th and 5^th races with 2-5 Aloha Breeze winning the 4^th to 3-5 Golden Serenade in the 5^th triggering just a $3.22 return on your $1 wager.

Additionally, the $2 place low pay has now entered the multiple times the low pay has hit the bare minimum pay-off of $2.10. The $2 win got close to the $2.70 low pay of the year with Aloha Breeze at $2.98.

The Claim Report

Claims for Saturday, May 31, 2025
1^st Race
She’s a Bossy Girl was claimed by Dawn Spillman and goes to trainer Jorge Rosales for $3,500
2^nd Race
Dominate was red tagged by Chad and Josh and heads to trainer Howard Gibson’s barn for $10,000
Fortyshadesoftiger was taken by Jerald Carmody and will be trained by Rigoberto Velasquez for $10,000
5^th Race
 Party with Paddy’s new trainer is Pablo De Jesus and will be owned by Lydia Tatsey for $5,000
8^th Race
Burnin at Midnight was claimed by Terra Firma Too and trained by Joe Toye for $5,000

Total Claims: 5
Total Amount: $33,500

Claims for Sunday, June 1, 2025
1^st Race
Artemus Gordon was taken by Billy Christian, Bill Christian, Alaina Marie Delp and will be trained by Billy Christian for $2,500
El Berrinches goes to new owner Lydia Tatsey and heads to the Pablo De Jesus barn for $2,500
2^nd Race
Gold Coast Girl was tagged by Luanne Bean for trainer Bob Bean for $6,250
5^th Race
Golden Serenade was picked out by new owner Rage ‘n RYDRX for trainer Joe Toye for $8,000
7^th Race
It’s Turbo has a new owner in Rakoczy Racing and Justin Evans and Evans will train for $15,000

Total Claims: 5
Total Amount: $34,250

Weekend Total Claims: 10
Weekend Total Amount: $67,750

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