TVG’s Weekend Coverage Highlighted By Road To The Kentucky Derby Preps

The road to the 2021 Kentucky Derby will run through Remington Park and Los Alamitos this weekend with live coverage of the $200,000 Remington Springboard Mile on Friday and the $200,000 Los Alamitos Futurity (G2) on TVG, America's horse racing network. Additional stakes races from Fair Grounds and Gulfstream Park will highlight the weekend's broadcast.

With qualifying points for the 2021 Kentucky Derby on the line, Friday night's $200,000 Remington Springboard Mile has drawn a field of eleven juveniles to compete in the one-mile contest. Outadore, third in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1) for trainer Wesley Ward, will square off against a pair of rivals for trainer Steve Asmussen including Cowan, the runner-up in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint (G1). Post time for the Remington Springboard Mile is 11:28 p.m. Eastern.

TVG's Mike Joyce and Britney Eurton will be live on-site at Los Alamitos this weekend with expert analysis and insights into Saturday's ten-race card including the $200,000 Los Alamitos Futurity (G2), the fourth race of the day. The race offers points towards a spot in the starting gate at the 2021 Kentucky Derby and has drawn a field of six including Spielberg for trainer Bob Baffert. Baffert has won the last six editions of the Los Alamitos Futurity and saddled Thousand Words to victory in 2019 with Flavien Prat aboard. Prat also has the mount on Spielberg.

The action will continue at Fair Grounds this weekend with a supersized thirteen race card which will feature six stakes races. The thirteenth and final race on the card, the $75,000 Tenacious Stakes, will mark the return of promising 3-year-old Maxfield for trainer Brendan Walsh. A homebred for Godolphin, the dark bay son of Street Sense is undefeated from three starts and has been on the sidelines since a victory in the Matt Winn Stakes (G3) at Churchill Downs in May. Florent Geroux will be in the irons.

The featured race at Gulfstream Park on Saturday is the $100,000 Mr. Prospector Stakes (G3) which has attracted a contentious field of twelve including the 2019 winner, Diamond Oops for trainer Patrick Biancone. The 5-year-old gelding, sixth in the Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) will face off against multiple graded stakes winner Firenze Fire for trainer Kelly Breen.

In addition to racing from Los Alamitos, Remington Park and Fair Grounds, TVG will also be featuring Aqueduct, Tampa Bay Downs, Laurel Park and more. Fans can tune in on TVG, TVG2 and the Watch TVG app which is available on Amazon Fire, Roku and connected Apple TV devices.

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Equibase Analysis: Outadore Looks Tough To Beat In Springboard Mile

Friday's $200,000 Remington Springboard Mile Stakes is a traditional December showcase for 2-year-olds who are just starting out on the Road to the Kentucky Derby, as this race awards a total of 17 points, including 10 to the winner.

Eleven colts and geldings are entered in this race, led by a pair of horses who last competed on Future Stars Friday as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships last month. Outadore is one of the two, having finished third in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf following a victory in the Juvenile Turf Sprint in September. The other is Cowan, runner-up in the G2 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint, following a runner-up effort in the Indian Summer Stakes one month earlier.

Game Day Play enters the race off a win in the Clever Trevor Stakes at Remington Park at the end of October and tries two turns for the first time. Number One Dude won the Don C. McNeill Stakes at a mile last month versus Oklahoma-breds and faces open (not restricted) company for the first time. Gushing Oil was sent to the post as the prohibitive favorite in the Clever Trevor but only managed seventh.

Red and Wild missed by a head in the Clever Trevor before stretching out to this mile distance and winning so he appears to be ready to compete. Vim and Vigor was beaten just a half-length by Red N Wild when finishing third in that one mile race and may also be competitive in this situation.

Recent maiden winners Flash of Mischief and Senor Buscador are facing much tougher competition here and are of unknown quality. Saffa's Day earned his maiden win first time out in October in a sprint before a sixth place effort in the Nyquist Stakes. Similarly, Joe Frazier won smartly in his debut sprinting in October but when asked to stretch out to two turns last month faded to third after leading early and was beaten by six lengths.

Outadore was fairly impressive winning the first two starts of his career, including the Juvenile Turf Sprint in a field of 10 in September. Earning a 91 Equibase Speed Figure for that win, Outadore stretched out to a mile on grass for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf and ran very well as he lead early and was beaten just a neck for the runner-up spot; the winner drew off by three lengths. That effort was a career-best and field high 109 figure. Although all three of his career races to date have been on turf, I see no reason Outadore won't run as well on dirt as a son of Outwork, who is by exceptional sire Uncle Mo. On the dam's side of his pedigree, two of the dam's other foals have run very well in dirt routes, including Piedi Bianchi, who has earned over half a million dollars. With blinkers off to help him relax and a very strong five furlong workout on dirt coming into this race, plus  the ability to be sitting in second or third position early off likely early leader Saffa's Day, Outadore has a big shot to win the Remington Springboard Mile Stakes and put his name in the hat as an early Derby contender.

Cowan will likely have to deal with more traffic than Outadore as he routinely comes from much further back in the pack, but other than that he has a strong probability to compete effectively. In the Juvenile Turf Stakes won by Outadore in September, Cowan rallied nicely but too late when third in new blinkers, then next out rallied fast once again, this time for second in the Indian Summer Stakes. Staying around one turn for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint last month, Cowan put in a big late rally which fell just three-quarters of a length short of victory at 11-1 odds. That effort earned Cowan a strong 97 figure which may be good enough to win if Outadore does not repeat or improve off his last race. Jockey Stewart Elliot rides for the first time but has been aboard many of trainer Steve Asmussen's winners at Remington Park in the last year and will likely give Cowan a great trip on his way to an in-the-money finish at the least.

Number One Dude is a perfect three-for-three in his career, including his only try at this mile trip. That win came at Remington Park last month in the Don C. McNeill Stakes. Although that race was restricted to horses bred in Oklahoma, Number One Dude improved 16 points to an 89 figure and with a similar improvement may be capable of running as fast as the two top contenders in this year's Springboard Mile so finishing off a trio of top contenders.

The rest of the field, with their best Equibase Speed Figures, is Flash of Mischief (78), Game Day Plan (81), Gushing Oil (83), Joe Frazier (84), Red N Wild (80), Saffa's Day (89), Senor Buscador (77) and Vim and Vigor (79).

Win Contenders, in preference order:
Outadore
Cowan
Number One Dude

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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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Remington Cancels Monday, Tuesday Cards Due To Winter Weather Conditions

Remington Park has postponed both of its 10-race cards for Monday and Tuesday, Dec 14 & 15, due to winter weather and freezing conditions experienced since Sunday morning. The programs will move in their entirety to next week on Dec. 21 & 22, respectively.

After a heavy snowfall ended at nightfall on Sunday, temperatures plummeted into the teens overnight, forcing a frozen track situation. Monday racing had been postponed from Noon to 2:30pm. However, at 2pm, track management announced the cancellation of the program.

More winter weather is expected to arrive in central Oklahoma overnight with snow and freezing conditions. Therefore, racing for Tuesday, Dec. 15 has been postponed in advance.

Both of the programs for Monday, Dec. 14 and Tuesday, Dec. 15, are being moved to Monday, Dec. 21 and Tuesday, Dec. 22, respectively. The first race both days will be at Noon.

The 2020 Thoroughbred Season at Remington Park will end with five consecutive race dates. Friday, Dec. 18 features a 13-race card, led by the $200,000 Springboard Mile, the top 2-year-old stakes race of the season at Remington Park. The first race Friday is at 5pm.

Saturday, Dec. 19, two-time Oklahoma Horse of the Year Welder will attempt to win his 15th career race at Remington Park. If successful, the gray 7-year-old will tie the all-time career wins mark in Oklahoma City. Saturday action begins at 7pm.

Sunday racing on Dec. 20 starts at 7pm. All times are Central.

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