4/29/2026
(Auburn, WA) Opening day of the 30th racing season at the Auburn oval is set for Saturday afternoon. The 51-day season begins on Kentucky Derby Day and features 6 races. First race post time is 1:50pm.
The opening day card is a bit light with the 6 races and 30 starters but the horse population will get a big boost when Turf Paradise ends their season on Saturday as well. Over the next 2 weeks another 100-200 horses are expected to arrive that have been racing down south. Additionally another week of training will help get horses on the grounds ready to compete after a pretty wet early Spring that slowed the training schedule of the many horses that have been off since last Fall.
Saturday’s opening day will be highlighted with the running of the 152nd Kentucky Derby set to start at 3:57pm. The Derby will run between Emerald’s 3rd and 4th races with plenty of time to get in your Derby bets and not miss any of the live races.
Familiar Faces in the Saddle
There are several familiar faces ready to get started in 2026 at Emerald Downs beginning with the jockeys. The defending Jockey Champion and 2-time winner Kevin Krigger is back on Saturday and will ride the card. Former 5-time jockey champion Alex Cruz takes 3 mounts on opening day. Silvio Amador finished 4th in the standings last season and is back. Amador rides all 6 and Adrian Castellanos who finished in the top 10 last year after arriving late is here on day 1 with 3 rides.
Journeyman Jose Rodriguez is back and rides 5 on Saturday and two apprentices are back for opening day. Talliyah Timentwa and Pablo Castillo will each ride two.
There’s one new face on opening day jockey Lenny Seecharen will make his U-S debut after riding since 2017 exclusively in Canada. Seecharen has ridden mostly at Hastings but also Woodbine, Fort Erie and Northlands. He has a little over 1,000 career rides and 80 wins. Seecharin will get 3 mounts on opening day.
Leading Trainers back in 2026
Last year’s Training Champion Jorge Rosales is back and has one in on Saturday in the 6th and final race. 6 of the 7 top conditioners from last year are set to be back on the Auburn backside. Leading money earner Blaine Wright, all time leading winner at Emerald Frank Lucarelli, 2nd leading trainer of all time in Auburn is back along with Howie Gibson and Tom Wenzel.
Other familiar names are returning this year as well including Charles Essex,Vince Gibson, Rigoberto Velasquez, Alexis Silva-Martinez, Shelly Crowe, David Martinez, Alan Bozell, Doug Carlson and Jorge Maravilla all have entries on opening day.
Several new trainers from Canada have opened up barns at Emerald and we’ll see Mark Cloutier and Patty Leaney both have entries on Saturday. Ian Jewell, Robbie Gilker and Steve Henson have also set up shop in Auburn.
Betting Schedule
The wagers available for the Emerald bettors remain the same as last year with the traditional $2 win, place and show bets along with $1 exacta, 50-cent trifecta and 10-cent superfecta. In the final race of the day the 50-cent Super Hi 5. The horizontal bets begin with the $1 rolling daily double, 50-cent pick 3, 50-cent pick 4 and 50-cent pick 5. And the popular 20-cent Jackpot pick 6 is back but even cheaper! The Jackpot pick 6 minimum bet is now 10-cents. The Jackpot is only paid fully if there is one winning ticket.
Feature Race on Opening Day
A field of 5 will go 6-furlongs in the 5th race for older claimers at 25k. The $23,000 purse will feature some familiar Emerald runners like 9-year-old veteran Dirt Road Red with Kevin Krigger aboard trained by Shelly Crowe
Adios Jojo for trainer Howie Gibson and owners Chad and Josh a 4-year-old old is coming off a solid season with a maiden win, an optional allowance/claiming win and a 4th place finish in the Irish Day Stakes. Adrian Castellanos is up for the ride.
Opening Day is Kentucky Derby Day
There will be plenty of time between the 3rd and 4th races to bet and watch the Kentucky Derby. Emerald Downs will also have their annual Fabulous Hat and Best Dressed contest with $1,000 on the line.
Information
For information on all things Emerald Downs from parking options to a full list of promotions and of course information on the races, entries, horses, jockeys, trainers and owners you can find it all at emeralddowns.com.
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