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Familiar Names Close Remington Standings

Remington Park in Oklahoma City closed its 66-day season Tuesday with familiar names atop the final standings. Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen was the runaway leading trainer by both wins, with 76, and earnings, with $1,529,824. It marked his 16th leading training title at the Oklahoma track and his fifth in a row. David Cabrera won his third consecutive riding title at Remington, both by wins and earnings, with 96 victories and $2,033,449 in purses.

Danny Caldwell, an Oklahoma resident, secured his 11th owner title with 28 trips to the winner’s circle and $612,751 in earnings. Caldwell has won 371 races at Remington, making him the all-time winningest owner in the track’s history.

“I want to thank Remington Park for its hospitality and the six different trainers I’ve used to win all over the country this year and it doesn’t stop there,” said Caldwell, a former high school coach. “It’s a big team effort with everyone in the barn and I still use my coaching philosophy to recruit the talent [in claiming horses]. A lot goes into the formula.”

The Oklahoma oval also had a record handle of $101,313,352, exceeding $100 million for the first time in the track’s 32-year history.

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Welder Attempts To Tie All-Time Win Record At Remington Park

Two-time Oklahoma Horse of the Year Welder is costing Remington Park a lot of money in ink. Virtually every time he steps on the track here, Remington has to re-write its history book.

Such is the case on Saturday, Dec. 19, when this 7-year-old Oklahoma-bred millionaire gelding will be trying to tie the track record for most career wins at Remington Park – 15. If he wins the $34,000 Guthrie Sprint allowance race on the next-to-last night of racing this meet, he would move into a three-way tie with Highland Ice and Elegant Exxactsy. Each of those horses won 15 times at Remington Park. The Guthrie goes as the eighth race and is scheduled to go to post at 10:23pm-Central.

“It would be exciting to tie the win record but I am so happy with everything he has done so far in his career that I'm just pleased he is still running and winning,” Luneack said. “Welder is training really well. It was a nice easy workout for him Thursday. He should be happy and ready.”

Welder worked five furlongs over a fast track at Remington Park on Dec. 10 with regular jockey David Cabrera aboard, going in 1:03.47, handily.

The last time Welder raced here, he won the $70,000 Silver Goblin Stakes on Nov. 13. He set a new record in that event, winning his 11th career stakes at Remington, breaking the tie he held with Okie Ride in that category. It was also the 11th stakes win in a row here for the gelded son of The Visualiser, out of the Tiznow mare Dance Softly. That was a record he already owned and was extending.

Here is a quick look at the other records this greased-streak of gray lightning has set along the way under the tutelage of trainer Teri Luneack for owner Ra-Max Farms (Clayton Rash), both of Claremore, Okla.

Two-time Oklahoma Horse of the Year (2018 & 2019).
Only horse in Remington Park history (since 1988) that has won back-to-back Horse of the Meet trophies (2018 & 2019).
Only horse in Remington Park history to win four stakes races in one season (2018).
Set track record for six furlongs of 1:08.13 in winning the David M. Vance Stakes on Sept. 29, 2019.
Eleven consecutive stakes wins in a row at Remington Park – two Remington Park Turf Sprints (one was taken off the turf and moved to a sloppy main track), four wins in the Silver Goblin Stakes, three wins in the Oklahoma Classics Sprint, and two David M. Vance Stakes.

An indication of just how well Luneack has prepped this big-hearted Okie-bred the past couple of years could be seen as far back as the $150,000 Hot Springs Stakes on March 9, 2019 at Oaklawn Park when he ran two lengths behind Whitmore. All Whitmore did was come back and win the 2020 Breeders' Cup Sprint by 3-1/4 lengths. Those two could meet again during the 2021 Oaklawn season next spring.

Welder was made the 6-5 morning line favorite for the Guthrie allowance by Remington Park odds-maker Jerry Shottenkirk. The seven-horse field includes two horses that have actually finished ahead of Welder in the past. That pair – Share the Upside (5-1) and D' Rapper (6-1) – have not, however, beaten Welder on the track he loves the most, Remington Park.

Share the Upside, from Remington Park all-time leading trainer (by wins) Steve Asmussen's barn, also ran in the 2019 Hot Springs Stakes and finished a half-length ahead of Welder for second in that race. D' Rapper last beat Welder this summer by 1-1/4 lengths in the Iowa Sprint Stakes at Prairie Meadows on July 5. Welder beat D' Rapper in the $150,000 David Vance Stakes by 7-3/4 lengths, the last time they went head-to-head at Remington Park, in September 2019.

Welder has started 19 times in Oklahoma City and won 14 of those for $819,859 here. Overall, Welder has won 25 of 37 starts, run second five times and third four times for lifetime earnings of $1,179,018. Luneack found him as a yearling at Center Hills Farms' division in Pryor, Okla., at Mighty Acres and Rash purchased him for $6,400.

If Welder can extend his win records and keep accumulating records, he could be well on his way to his third Oklahoma Horse of the Year and unprecedented third Remington Park Horse of the Meet.

“The prospect of having a third year Horse of the Meet is unimaginable,” said Luneack.

Here's a look at the field in the Guthrie allowance, race eight on Dec. 19, from rail to the outside with horse, trainer, jockey and morning-line odds:

1) Gordy Florida: Kenny Smith, Richard Eramia, 12-1

2) Direct Dial: Danny Pish, Lane Luzzi, 9-2

3) Welder: Teri Luneack, David Cabrera, 6-5 (morning-line favorite)

4) American Dubai: Clinton Stuart, Ken Tohill, 10-1

5) Tiz Alluptome Now: Steve Asmussen, Kevin Roman, 8-1

6) D' Rapper: Oscar Flores, (no rider named), 6-1

7) Share the Upside: Steve Asmussen, Stewart Elliott, 5-1

Remington Park live racing continues with five more race dates left in this 2020 season. Action resumes Monday and Tuesday, Dec. 14 & 15 with the first race at Noon. The final weekend is Friday through Sunday, Dec. 18-20. The first race on Friday night is at 5pm, featuring the $200,000 Springboard Mile. The Saturday and Sunday programs each begin at 7:07pm. All times are Central.

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‘Such A Blessing’: Welder Now All-Time Leading Stakes Winner At Remington Park

The Remington Park history book was rewritten Friday night as Welder moved into the number one spot all-time in stakes wins here with 11.

He was in a tie for first with Oklahoma Horse Racing Hall of Famer Okie Ride going into the $70,000 Silver Goblin Stakes at Remington Park on Friday. He also set a record for winning four Silver Goblin Stakes, one more than Okie Ride. Welder also extended his record of most Remington Park stakes wins in a row to 11.

Trainer Teri Luneack put all the records broken and Welder's name being etched in stone in the Oklahoma racing history book in perspective.

“I'm obviously never going to see another horse in my lifetime like this,” Luneack said. “In fact we probably won't see another horse at Remington Park like this in our lifetimes. I mean what horse goes out in 44 (seconds) and change for the half-mile and just drives away without David (Cabrera) ever having to cock the stick? It's craziness.”

Welder, owned by Ra-Max Farms (Clayton Rash) of Claremore, Okla., finished the 6-1/2 furlongs in 1:15.49 seconds over a muddy track and wasn't even breathing hard, returning to the winner's circle. Jockey David Cabrera never asked him to run.

Early on, Welder and Fly to the Bank looked each other in the eye with that lightning fast :44.55 seconds half-mile and the winner was gone by the time he hit three-quarters of a mile in 1:09.04. The 7-year-old gelded son of The Visualiser, out of the Tiznow mare Dance Softly, just turned on the gas from there to win by 5-1/2 lengths over Fly to the Bank. In fact, Welder, who may be the calmest horse ever to be saddled in a paddock, always seems far less worried than his jockey and trainer.

“I'm always so nervous,” said Luneack. “I'm standing over there watching and saying, 'Oh gosh! Oh gosh! Oh gosh!' He's going 44 and just keeps going. I mean, who does that?”

Cabrera reiterated the concern.

“Sometimes I think he goes out there faster than he should but I just let him do what he wants to do, and then he just does it all on his own,” Cabrera said.

Welder, a two-time Oklahoma Horse of the Year and the only horse in Remington Park History to be voted two-time Horse of the Meeting, also won for the 14th time at the Oklahoma City track. That puts him one win behind Highland Ice and Elegant Exxactsy, who had 15 apiece. Luneack said Welder would be back to race at 8 years old in 2021 as long as he stays sound. It's possible he could face the Breeders' Cup Sprint winner Whitmore at Oaklawn in Hot Springs, Ark., in the spring. Whitmore beat Welder by two lengths in the 2018 Hot Springs Stakes.

“It's such a blessing to have this horse,” Luneack said as she held her brand new grandbaby girl Ava in the winner's circle. Then nodding to Ava, she said, “She's perfect,” like the legendary Oklahoma-bred sprinter she trains. He was bred by Center Hills Farm's division of Mighty Acres Ranch in Pryor, Okla.

Welder, the last Oklahoma-bred to hit the $1 million mark in earnings, added to that bankroll Friday with $42,000 of the purse pocketed. His race record improved to 37 starts, 25 wins, five seconds and four fourths for $1,179,018. He was purchased as a yearling for $6,400 by Rash.

Welder was sent off at 1-10 odds by the betting public and paid $2.20 to win, $2.10 to place and $2.10 to show. It was the 13th race in a row he has gone off as the odds-on favorite. The last time he was higher than even money was when he went off 9-1 when facing Whitmore in 2018. Fly to the Bank returned $5.80 to place and $2.10 to show. Quality Rocket, one length back of the runner-up in third, also paid $2.10 to show.

Welder's record stakes wins in Remington Park history have been four Silver Goblins, three Oklahoma Classics Sprints, two David M. Vance Stakes and two Remington Park Turf Sprints, one of those being taken off the grass and moved to a sloppy track.

The Silver Goblin Stakes is named after the gray Oklahoma-bred millionaire who won multiple stakes races at Remington Park and numerous graded stakes events around the nation, in a career spanning 1993-1999.

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‘So Proud Of Him’: Welder Continues Assault On Remington Park Record Books

In 2016, Welder ran second in the Oklahoma Classics Sprint to Oklahoma Horse Racing Hall of Fame runner Okie Ride.

Four years later, if Welder wins the $70,000 Silver Goblin Stakes on Friday, Nov. 13, he will pass Okie Ride for most stakes wins in the history of Remington Park with 11. Welder, a 7-year-old gelding owned by Ra-Max Farms (Clayton Rash) of Claremore, Okla., would also pass Okie Ride for most wins in the Silver Goblin Stakes with a fourth career score in the event.

The son of The Visualiser, out of the Tiznow mare Dance Softly Now, is trained by Teri Luneack and ridden by Remington Park leading rider David Cabrera. Another score in the Silver Goblin Stakes would also give Welder his 11th stakes win in a row, extending that Remington Park record he already holds at 10 consecutive.

Welder holds the main track record for six furlongs 1:08.13, set in the David Vance Stakes on Sept. 29, 2019. He was voted Oklahoma's Horse of the Year for the second year in a row in 2019 and is the only horse ever voted Remington Park's Horse of the Meet in two consecutive years. A win Friday would move him to within one of the all-time victories total at Remington Park. He would have 14, one behind Highland Ice and Elegant Exxactsy.

Welder is the most recent Oklahoma-bred to become a millionaire. He became the eighth Oklahoma-bred to achieve the mark when he won the TRAO Classic Sprint in April this year at Will Rogers Downs in Claremore. It was his fifth consecutive win in that stakes event.

Asked what record or accolade Welder holds or is chasing that has meant the most to her, Luneack said, “the most significant thing for us was when he passed the $1 million mark. It was the one goal that Clayton and I talked about and had set.”

As far as her favorite stakes win for Welder, Luneack said it had to be the David M. Vance Stakes in 2019.

“I was so proud of him for beating all those shippers that came in from around the country,” said Luneack. “The funniest story I heard was that the shippers were over in the test barn and they were all asking (the veterinarian), 'What is this Okie-bred doing in this race?' And he said, 'because he is one fast SOB.' Winning that race was my proudest moment with him.”

An indication of just how fast this gray streak of lightning is came in the Hot Springs Stakes at Oaklawn Park in Arkansas on March 9, 2019. He came up against a legendary sprinter, Whitmore, in that race. That 7-year-old gelding just won the Breeders' Cup Sprint this past weekend by 3-1/4 lengths at Keeneland. In the Hot Springs Stakes, he beat Welder by two lengths.

“Whitmore is a war horse,” Luneack said. “I was screaming so much for him to win (the BC Sprint). “I respect him so much. No one is more deserving of that win. If they do bring him back (at 8 years old, just like Welder) for Oaklawn, I imagine we could run into him again. We have every intention to run Welder in Hot Springs. It all depends on the Oklahoma weather that time of year.

“We run into a problem, since we don't have stalls (at Oaklawn), of vanning him over there and finding a track to work him on leading up to the race,” Luneack noted. Will Rogers Downs, Welder's local track, is not open early in the year for workouts, when Oaklawn begins racing.

The first major sprint race on Oaklawn's calendar is the King Cotton Stakes on Feb. 6 at six furlongs.

Okie Ride was inducted into the Oklahoma Horse Racing Hall of Fame in 2017. He won four Oklahoma Classics Sprints, three Silver Goblin Stakes and three Remington Park Turf Sprints. He was owned by the Richter Family Trust of Perkins, Okla. and conditioned by Kenny Nolen.

“I do remember running second to him with Welder,” said Luneack. “You don't like to lose, but he was such a cool horse and meant so much to Kenny. I was genuinely happy for Kenny. I was sad we lost, but it's okay to lose to a horse like that.”

Welder has been made the 2-5 morning-line favorite to break and extend another set of Remington Park records Friday night in a field of six horses.

Here's a look at this year's edition of the Silver Goblin Stakes, 6-1/2 furlongs for Oklahoma-breds, three and older, with post positions, horse, jockey, trainer and morning line odds:

1) Fly to the Bank: Lindey Wade, James Helzer, 12-1

2) Welder: David Cabrera, Teri Luneack, 2-5 (morning-line favorite)

3) Rockport Kat: Richard Eramia, Teri Luneack, 15-1

4) Dominante: Obed Sanchez, Shon Dunlap, 20-1

5) No Lak of Speed: Luis Quinonez, Jesse Oberlander, 8-1

6) Quality Rocket: Garrett Steinberg, Boyd Caster, 3-1

The Silver Goblin Stakes is the eighth race of nine on Friday night. The first race is set for 7:07pm, with the Silver Goblin Stakes scheduled for 10:23pm.

The Silver Goblin Stakes is named after another Oklahoma-bred millionaire who was adept at winning stakes races at both sprint distances and at more than one mile in the 1990s.

Remington Park will also conduct a Saturday card on Nov. 14, beginning at 7:07pm.

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