7/27/2025

(Auburn, Wa) Sunday was already going to be a big day with the Premilo Esmeralda celebration wrapping up plus 4 quarter horse trials for the big finals slated for August 16. But add in the Irish stakes that was postponed from last week to Sunday was an added bonus.

The racing was great with several tight finishes, family day in the park with free pony rides and kids activities and of course the dancing horses. Check out these incredibly trained equines and check out our Premio Esmeralda photo gallery at the bottom of the page.

The Dancing Horses always a Fan favorite

The Numbers

The crowd is always big for Premio Esmeralda and it didn’t disappoint again this weekend. The crowds were big and they stayed for the whole program and Sunday was a 6-our card. There was a total of 11 races and 88 horses on Sunday averaging 8 per race. The betting public was solid but the quarter’s don’t draw quite the number thoroughbreds do and an early post time of 1pm likely missed some people. But the quarters didn’t do bad for sure really strong numbers for the first 4 races. The total handle was $1,680,455 averaging $152,769 per race.

The Quarters

There were 3 double winners in the 4 races and were the owner, trainer and jockey team of owner Adrian Aleman, trainer Jorge Paredes and jockey Minor Arana. They swept the AQHA Emerald Downs Championship Challenge trial heats in the 3rd and 4th races. Winning the opening trial with Look James and the 2nd heat with A Famous Ribbon.

In the John Deere Emerald Downs Juvenile Challenge the opening win went to KR Cartels Calamity for owner Luis Gonzales, trainer Jose Rosales Gomez and jockey Cesar Moreno. In the 2nd heat and 2nd race of the day, Jess F Y I won for owner Michael McKay, trainer Hector Magallanes and rider Jaime Lopez.

Familiar Faces compete in the Quarters

Two familiar faces to Emerald Downs fans were here on Sunday riding in the quarters. Alex Anaya spent several seasons in the Emerald Downs jockey room before stepping away from the sport. Anaya now works in the Tri Cities but returned to racing working horses for quarter horse trainer Benito Curiel and began riding races aboard the quarters at the Oregon Fair meets and at Emerald on Sunday. Anaya finished off the board in the 1st and 2nd races but placed 3rd in the 3rd race on Jesstafiably Jess losing the race by just a neck in a 3-way photo. Hew completed his day with a 4th place finish in the final quarter horse run on Five Bars Blazin.

The other familiar face was Jake Samuels who had ridden at Emerald Downs in 2022 finishing 8th with 20 wins. His future wife Kassie Guglielmino, now Kassie Samuals also was riding in 2022 when she suffered a broken leg. Kassie won 7 races and finished 11th in the standings. The couple now make their home in the Northport area of Eastern Washington and have a daughter.

Jake hit the board in the 1st race with a 3rd place finish on 22-1 Angel J then ran off the board in the 2nd and 3rd races. Both had 2 of their runners qualify but both in the same race so Anaya will likely stick with Jesstafiably Jess in the AQHA Championship and Samuels will likely be aboard Angel J in the John Deere. They could each also pick up rides in the other Championship on Saturday, August 16.

Qualifiers

$30,000 John Deere Juvenile Challenge qualifiers (350 yards): 1-Kr Cartels Calamity, :18:18; 2-Heeled, :18.33; 3-Jess F Y I, :18.36; 4-Angel J, :18.46; 5-Toast to Jac, :18.48; 6-Mercurio, :18.53; 7-Camila Girl, :18.56; 8-(tie) Flyin Summer and Miss Sigarra, :18.63; 10-(tie) You Tuber and Gangster On Da Run, :18.64.

$40,000 AQHA Racing Championship Challenge qualifiers (440 yards): 1-A Famous Ribbon, :22.10; 2-Shaundas Eagle, :22.12; 3-Look James, :22.25: 4-Dc Ladys Dashn Eagle, :22.25; 5-Radar, :22.26; 6-Jesstafiably Jess, :22.29; 7-Five Bars Blazin, :22.34; 8-B the One, :22.38; 9-Snobird, :22.45; 10-Da Bros Cartel, :22.57.

The Kevin’s were Hot

After the quarters were run that left 7 thoroughbred races for Sunday and out of those 7 races a Kevin won 5 of them and a Kevin was in the top 4 in 6 of the 7 races and 3 times they were both part of the superfecta. 

Leading rider Kevin Krigger scored a triple winning the 5th and 6th races for a back-to-back and taking the 10th race for his 3rd. In the 6th race he defeated the other Kevin by slipping along the rail and getting up by a neck on Sexzie over Empirical. Krigger pulled it off again in the 10th when he sent Fifty Cent up on the rail to nail Ballyvaughn Gig by a nose for his 3rd win. Krigger said, “I look for that rail hole to open and when it does that’s where I go, it’s the fastest way to the finish line.”

Krigger also finished 3rd in the Irish Day Stakes on 7-1 He’s Not Talking and 3rd in the 11th on Jazzy Love missing the top 3 and off the board only once as he did not ride in the 7th.

The other Kevin, Kevin Orozco was a stride away from being the one who tripled as he just got beat by a fast closing Sexzie over his ride Empirical in the 6th. Orozco came back to win the 7th on Nation’s Belle in front running style. He ran 4th in the Stakes on 10-1 Adios Jojo and won the 11th in upset fashion on 12-1 Libby’s Gambit. He missed the board twice, 

Combined the Kevin’s were 5-1-2-1 from 12 rides for a 42% win rate, 67% trifecta finish and 75% in the top 4. 

From the Barn

7 different trainers posted wins on Sunday with leader Justin Evans picking up his 20th win of the season. Tim McCanna and Blaine Wright got wins along with Kay Cooper, Scott Tubbs, Mary Pirone and Ruby Thomas. It was the 4th win of the year for Cooper, Tubbs picked up #5, Thomas got #4 and Pirone scored her 2nd win of the season. 

Evans leads the trainer race with 20 wins followed by 19 from Wright and McCanna got his 17th. 

ESPN TO SHOWCASE T-REX & CORGI RACES

Emerald Downs will have a national audience Thursday when the T-Rex World Championship Races and Corgi World Championship Races air back-to-back on ESPN2.

The 2025 T-Rex World Championship Races air at 11 p.m. (PDT), followed by the 2025 Corgi World Championships at 11:30 p.m. Held recently at Emerald Downs, both events have generated enormous social media followings, with views skyrocketing into the multi-millions.

T-Rex World Championships and Corgi World Championships air in conjunction with “ESPN8: The Ocho” the enormously popular four-day extravaganza featuring programming of “Seldom-Seen Sports and Absurd Athleticism.”

T-Rex racing, which began in 2017 as a pest control company’s quirky team-building activity, has grown into a spectacle of competitive 100-yard dashes with racers wearing inflatable Tyrannosaurus rex costumes. Corgi Racing also began here in 2017 and quickly became one of the highlights on the promotions calendar, This year featured the first-ever Corgi Weekend with the event expanding to two days.

The T-Rex show re-airs Saturday at 9 p.m. while the Corgi show is rebroadcast Sunday at 12:30 p.m.  Both shows will air periodically on various ESPN networks including ESPNews.

Let’s get to the Sunday Races!

The Irish Day Stakes race is first and then we re-cap the other thoroughbred races. The four Quarterhorse Trials follow that coverage.

8th Race and Feature Race Muckleshoot Casino Resort Purse

By Vince Bruun

Providing conclusive evidence that he’s king of the local 3-year-olds, Si That Tiger powered to a four-length victory over Candy Caballo in Sunday’s $50,000 Irish Day Stakes at Emerald Downs.

With regular pilot Silvio Amador carrying high weight of 123 lbs. Si That Tiger ran 6 ½ furlongs in 1:15.58 and paid $2.74 as the prohibitive betting choice. Blaine Wright is the winning trainer for owners John and Janene Maryanski and Gerald and Gail Schneider.

With the victory, Si That Tiger improved to three for three this season while becoming the meet’s first two-time stakes winner.

A California-bred colt by Smiling Tiger, Si That Tiger has an overall mark of 5-0-0 from seven starts with earnings of $114,150 including $27,500 for Sunday’s triumph.

Wright has now won the Irish Day Stakes a record seven times, including five wins in the last six years and six in the last eight. The Maryanskis and Schneiders have been a big part of Wright’s dominance, scoring Irish Day wins with Baja Sur (2019), Top Executive (2021), and now Si That Tiger.

Sunday’s outcome was never really in doubt. Breaking from the outside in a nine-horse field, Si That Tiger stalked Adios Jojo and Candy Caballo through a half-mile in :44.64, surged to the lead at the quarter pole and widened the margin to the wire.

The handicappers left little doubt in their preference, with Si That Tiger accounting for $38,628 of $63,865 in the win pool.

We talked with jockey Silvio Amador on the trip he got with Si That Tiger.

Candy Caballo, ridden by Carlos Montalvo at 119 lbs., battled gamely through the stretch, but was no match for the winner in the final furlong. It’s the fourth stakes placing for the son of Twirling Candy, a resume that features thirds in the Gottstein Futurity, Auburn Stakes and Irish Day Stakes at Emerald Downs and a third in the Lost in the Fog Juvenile at Turf Paradise.

Montalvo said, “I couldn’t have asked for a bigger effort. He did everything right but we weren’t going to catch the winner.”

We also talked with trainer Tom Wenzel. Wenzel was pleased with Candy Caballo’s run saying, “What else could anyone ask? We just got beat by a better horse. It’s fair to say though we beat some pretty good ones.”

He’s Not Talking, ridden by Kevin Krigger at 119 lbs. was three lengths farther back in third place while rounding out the order of finish were Adios jojo, My Vino, Big Bowie, F B I Bob, Kiss the Tiger, and Goin South.

The 3-year-olds reconvene Sunday, Aug. 17, in the $50,000 Muckleshoot Derby at 1 1/16 miles. In his only previous race around two turns, Si That Tiger ran fourth in the 2024 Gottstein Futurity.

Pay-Outs
9 Si That Tiger (Amador)  $2.74  $2.26  $2.10
5 Candy Caballo (Montalvo)  $4.80  $3.40
3 He’s Not Talking (Krigger)  $2.72
$1 Ex 9-5 $5.76
$1 Tri 9-5-3 $20.46
$1 Super 9-5-3-2 $56.60
$1 DD 3-9 $3.87
50-cent Pick (3) 1-3/7-9 $5.69
50-cent Pick (4) 6-1-3/7-9 $21.40

Race Replay

The rest of the Sunday’s races.

5th Race

1st time starter Subtle Shimmer broke well under leading rider Kevin Krigger and pulled away in the stretch for a clear win running the 5-furlongs in 58.42. Subtle Shimmer races for Ty Leatherman, Justin Evans and Addison Evans and trained by Justin Evans. Subtle Shimmer is a Washington bred by Convenience out of Private Fortune by Private Gold and was bred by Mr and Mrs Frederick Pabst.

Lotsa Kitty and Julien Couton ran a solid 2nd at 9-2. Betting favorite Scarlett Letter didn’t seem to like the inside and traffic, backed out and then came running again in the stretch under Carlos Montalvo to capture the show and More Trouble with Kiaman McGregor took 4th.

Pay-Outs
6 Subtle Shimmer (Krigger)  $7.92  $4.48  $2.98
5 Lotsa Kitty (Couton) $5.48  $2.90
2 Scarlett Letter (Montalvo)  $2.36
$1 Ex 6-5 $19.92
$1 Tri 6-5-2 $35.72
$1 Super 6-5-2-3 $153.90
$1 DD 7-6 $7.61
50-cent Pick (3) 7-7-6 $37.03

Race Replay

6th Race

The betting public has been right on today so far so why not a photo finish between the 8-5 2nd choice and 3-2 favorite in the 6th. 3-2 Empirical and jockey Kevin Orozco got the first run at the top of the sgtretch from the fading early speed to take a length and half lead over Sexzie and Kevin Krigger. At the 16th pole Sexsie dug down and found a little more to nip Empirical on the wire. 42-1 Misty Malibu was further back in 3rd under a solid run from Carlos Montalvo and Delayed not Denied with Manny Americano finished 4th.

Sexzie races for Saints or Sinners and Seahawk Racing and trained by Tim McCanna. The final time of the 6-furlongs was 1:11.25.

Pay-Outs
1 Sexzie (Krigger)  $5.28  $2.98  $2.78
5 Empirical (Orozco)  $3.00 $2.58
10 Misty Malibu $8.50
$1 Ex 1-5 $6.39
$1 Tri 1-5-10 $159.44
$1 Super 1-5-10-9 $678.50
$1 DD 6-1 $16.18
50-cent Pick (3) 7-6-1 $11.95

Race Replay

7th Race

Nation’s Belle and Kevin Orozco went straight to the lead and no one went with them so Orozcol and Belle relaxed set easy fractions of 23.05 and 45 and change leaving plenty for the stretch. Turning for home, Orozco said go and Nation’s Belle responded with a dominating 5 length win in a final time of 1:16.90 for the 6 1/2-furlongs. Nation’s Belle is owned by Blue Ribbon Racing #21 and trained by Kay Cooper. She’s a Washington bred by Nationhood out of Belltown Beauty by Speighttown and was bred by Mr and Mrs Frederick Pabst.

Vhagar and Carlos Montalvo ran on for 2nd, Happy Is with David Haldar took 3rd and Cheering for Layla and Manny Americano finished 4th.

Pay-Outs
3 Nation’s Belle (Orozco)  $5.04  $3.34  $3.12
1 Vhagar (Montalvo)  $3.72  $2.72
5 Happy Is (Haldar)  $9.54
$1 Ex 3-1 $7.90
$1 Tri 3-1-5 $108.42
$1 Super 3-1-5-2 $697.10
$1 DD 1-3 $10.58 Consolation 1-7 $2.63
50-cent Pick (3) 6-1-3/7 $17.67
50-cent Pick (4) 4-6-1-3/7 $31.20

Race Replay

9th Race

Code Charlie and Alex Cruz, the expected front speed drew off by 6 lengths on the far turn and led by at least that turning for home but set some sizzling fractions of 21.57 and 43.83 but still at the 1/8th pole looked like Charlie was a winner. 6-5 favorite Royal Halo with Carlos Montalvo always a very patient rider took his time and then launched at the 1/8th pole. As Royal Halo picked up steam the fast fractions were catching up with Code Charlie and in the final 25 yards Royal Halo caught and passed Charlie for the win in a final 6-furlong clocking of 1:10.07. Royal Halo races for the Win for Fun stable and trained by Mary Pirone.

Candy’s Wildcat ran 3rd with Manny Americano and Stretch Run under Pablo Castillo completed the superfecta.

Pay-Outs
8 Royal Halo (Montalvo)  $4.54  $2.76  $2.24
3 Code Charlie   $3.70  $2.56
4 Candy’s Wildcat (Americano)  $3.46
$1 Ex 8-3 $11.25
$1 Tri 8-3-4 $47.20
$1 Super 8-3-4-1 $205.60
$1 DD 9-8 $4.22
50-cent Pick (3) 3/7-9-8 $5.94
50-cent Pick (4) 1-3/7-9-8/5/6/7 $13.89

Race Replay

10th Race

Ballyvaughn Gig and Silvio Amador repeated the previous race by taking a big lead into the stretch but getting nailed on the wire to just miss the win. Under a patient and perfectly time rideby Kevin Krigger, Fifty Cent rode the rail and stunned the front runner just before the wire on the inside to get the win by a nose. Hot Chicks Only ran 3rd with David Haldar up and running 4th was Fantastic Day and Carlos Montalvo.

Fifty Cent races for Ruby Thomas and William Heck and trained by Thomas. The final time for the 3/4’s mile was 1:09.44.

Claimed: Fifty Cent was tagged by new owners Ramon Chavarria-Delgado, Kevin Chavarria and Rosales Racing F1 and will be trained by Jorge Rosales at a claiming price of $15,000. 

Pay-Outs
2 Fifty Cinco (Krigger)  $9.44  $4.22  $2.84
3 Ballyvaughn Gig (Amador)  $3.74  $3.06
5 Hot Chicks Only (Haldar)  $4.50
$1 Ex 2-3 $13.13
$1 Tri 2-3-5 $82.90
$1 Super 2-3-5-1 $204.00
$1 DD 9-2 $9.37
50-cent Pick (3) 9-8-2 $9.20

Race Replay

11th Race

12-1 Libby’s Gambit surprised the day of favorites with a nice pay-off in the get-away race. Jockey Kevin Orozco had Libby sitting just behind the front speed and took the 1st run at the top of the stretch expanding that lead to 2 1/2 lengths. Had they only led by 2 lengths they would have likely lost as they had just enough to hold off the fast closing Roses R Blue with Alex Cruz to win by a neck. 12-1 Jazzy ove and Kevin Krigger took 3rd with 7-2 La Popis under Julien Couton finished 4th and completing the Super High 5 was 29-1 Princess Payton and Jose Rodroguez.

Libby’s Gambit races for Alex and Vincent Ortega and trained by Scott Tubbs. Libby’s Gambit is a Washington bred by Rallying Cry out of Libby Creek by Langfuhr and was bred by Allaire Farms.

Claimed: Bango’s Heat was claimed for $2,500 by new owner/trainer Sarah Jennings.

Pay-Outs
3 Libby’s Gambit (Orozco)  $27.92  $10.30  $6.72
8 Roses R Blue (Cruz)  $4.38  $3.58
5 Jazzy Love (Krigger)  $9.16
$1 Ex 3-8 $61.47
$1 Tri 3-8-5 $450.80
$1 Super 3-8-5-4 $1,286.70
50-cent Super High Five 3-8-5-4-6 no winner, Carryover $4,123
$1 DD 2-3 $80.88
50-cent Pick (3) 8-2-3 $70.16
50-cent Pick (4) 9-8-2-3 $128.67
50-cent Pick (5) 3/7-9-8-2-3 (5 correct) $257.11
20-cent Pick (6) 1-3/7-9-8-2-3 (6 correct) $282.10 Carryover $1,385

Race Replay

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