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Sky’s Not The Limit For Jockey Marcus Swiontek

Jockey Marcus Swiontek became interested in horse racing really by chance. He grew up in Jordan, Minn., just 14 miles down Highway 169 from Canterbury Park, yet the racetrack was never on his radar. Marcus happened to be flipping through TV channels on a Saturday afternoon in the mid-2000s and stumbled across the Kentucky Derby.

“From that moment I said 'Hey, I'm going to do that,'” he recalled during a 2017 interview.

His professional race riding career began in 2011 aboard a Thoroughbred at Turf Paradise in Phoenix, Az. He gravitated more to the Quarter Horse side of the industry over the years at Remington Park, Prairie Meadows, Canterbury, and Phoenix earning a living race riding and galloping in the mornings.

Swiontek won the Gopher State Derby in Shakopee on Zoomn On Bye July 7. He suffered an ankle injury three weeks later during a race and has not ridden since.

“I got on my first horse three or four days ago,” he said, admitting that the time away left him a bit muscle sore as he strives to get back in shape galloping for trainer Sandi Gann.

All along though Marcus has had a plan: prepare for his next career and be ready without delay. That career would be as an airline pilot. He studied in Minnesota, at Flying Cloud Airport, just across the Minnesota River and up the bluff from Canterbury, earning his student pilot license in June of 2017 and his private pilot license in March of 2018 while still race riding.

Last month, he made another stride toward the goal, getting a commercial license. He will still need additional coursework and 1,500 hours of flight time before the major airlines or cargo haulers come knocking. Marcus explained that those hours for many pilots, come through flight instruction, teaching others to fly. He can begin doing that in Phoenix in short order.

The racetrack still has an allure that is hard to walk away from. But unlike many athletes, Swiontek has an exit strategy taking him seamlessly from one world to another.

“I'd love to [return to Canterbury] this summer,” he said, but time and circumstances will dictate.

For the time being however he can have one foot in both worlds, flying and instructing while also preparing for opening day at Turf Paradise January 4.

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Derby Prep: Undefeated Hometown Hero Number One Dude Tops Nominees To Springboard Mile

Locally undefeated hometown hero Number One Dude was one of 35 horses nominated to race in the $200,000 Springboard Mile on Friday, Dec. 18, as well as four horses that ran in Breeders' Cup races.

The Springboard Mile is the cornerstone race for 2-year-old Thoroughbreds annually at Remington Park in Oklahoma City, and carries important Kentucky Derby qualifying points for the 2021 start of the Triple Crown series. Horses running first through fourth place in the Springboard Mile accumulate points (10-4-2-1). Long Range Toddy gained 10 points in the 2018 Springboard Mile and earned his way into the Kentucky Derby field.

The race has been won by the nation's leading trainer, Steve Asmussen, six times since its inception in 2001. Jockeys of national acclaim pepper the history of the Springboard with victories, riders such as Victor Espinoza, Luis Saez, Ricardo Santana, Miguel Mena, Brian Hernandez, Jon Court and Jeremy Rose. Oklahoma Horse Racing Hall of Famer and Remington Park's all-time leading jockey Cliff Berry (2,125 wins here) has won the Springboard the most with three victories.

“We knew Remington Park would draw the very best 2-year-olds for the Springboard Mile,” said owner-breeder of Number One Dude, Terry Westemeir of Broken Arrow, Okla. “Having one (horse) to nominate in good faith for the race is like living the dream right now.”

Westemeir utilizes the services of trainer Kari Craddock for this horse, and jockey Ezekiel Lara has ridden him in two of his three wins.

“Kari will have him well prepared and Dude will be game,” said Westemeir.

Number One Dude broke his maiden with Oklahoma-bred maiden special weight horses, going 5-1/2 furlongs, winning easily by 7-1/2 lengths on Sept. 18. He was entered in two subsequent stakes races – the $100,000 Oklahoma Classics Juvenile on Oct. 16 and the $75,000 Don McNeill Stakes on Nov. 13 – and won both of them. The Juvenile was at six furlongs for Oklahoma-breds and he finished one length ahead at the wire. Richard Eramia rode him to that win when Lara was sidelined with a minor injury. When Number One Dude raced around two turns for the first time, he blew them away by six lengths at the Springboard Mile distance on a muddy track.

A start in the Springboard Mile would be the first outside of Oklahoma-bred company for Number One Dude.

The four horses nominated for the Springboard coming from the Breeders' Cup races are:

· Cowan, second-place runner in the Grade 2, $1 million BC Juvenile Turf Sprint, owner William and Corinne Heligbrodt, Madaket Stables and Spendthrift Farm.

· Outadore, third-place finisher in the Grade1, $1 million BC Juvenile Turf, owner Breeze Easy, trainer Wesley Ward.

· Sittin On Go, ninth in the Grade 1, $2 million BC Juvenile, after winning the Grade 3, $200,000 Iroquois Stakes at Churchill Downs, owned by Albaugh Family Stables and trained by Dale Romans.

· Camp Hope, a Churchill Downs maiden winner that ran 12th of 14 in the BC Juvenile, owned by Walking L Thoroughbreds, trained by Ken McPeek.

The noms also include local stakes winner Game Day Play, winner of the $60,000 Clever Trevor Stakes here on Oct. 30 at seven furlongs. He is owned by Tom Durant and trained by Bret Calhoun. Lindey Wade rode him to victory in that stakes race.

Brad Cox, second-leading trainer in the country behind Asmussen in money earned, has the most horses nominated with five – Caddo River, Gagetown, Inspector Frost, Joe Frazier and Swill. Asmussen's horses have earned a little more than $19 million this year while Cox runners have garnered $18 million-plus.

The Springboard Mile will headline a stakes-laden card on Dec. 18. Also on tap that night:

– $75,000 She's All In Stakes, older fillies & mares, 1 mile-70 yards

– $70,000 Jim Thorpe Stakes, 3-year-old Oklahoma-breds, 1 mile

– $70,000 Useeit Stakes, 3-year-old Oklahoma-bred fillies, 1 mile

– $60,000 Trapeze Stakes, 2-year-old fillies, 1 mile

– $60,000 Jeffrey Hawk Memorial, 3-year-olds and up, 1 mile-70 yards

Remington Park racing continues Friday and Saturday, Dec. 11 & 12 with the first race nightly at 7:07pm-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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