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Welder Chasing All-Time Win Record At Remington Park On Friday

Oklahoma-bred millionaire Welder makes his late summer debut at Remington Park on Friday night and in the process could set a record as no other horse in the history of the track has ever won 16 races here.

Welder is currently tied for the most all-time wins with 15, deadlocked with Highland Ice and Elegant Exxactsy. Welder, a gray 8-year-old gelded son of The Visualiser, out of the Tiznow mare Dance Softly, has been made the slight 6-5 favorite over Fair Grounds stakes winner Nitrous (7-5 odds). All-time winningest trainer in racing history, Steve Asmussen, conditions Nitrous.

Welder is owned by Ra-Max Farms (Clayton Rash) of Claremore, Okla., trained by Teri Luneack and will once again be ridden by three-time defending champion jockey at Remington Park, David Cabrera. The streak of lightning gray has earned $1,218,902 in his career, racing 41 times, winning 26, running second five times and third another six. He is one of only eight Oklahoma-breds that have ever earned more than $1 million on the racetrack. That list is led by Kip Deville at $3,325,489, followed by 1986 national Horse of the Year Lady's Secret at $3,021,325; Shotgun Kowboy, $1,548,684; Clever Trevor, $1,388,841; Welder; She's All In, $1,102,489; Mr. Ross, $1,091,046, and Silver Goblin, $1,083,895.

Welder tied the record of 15 wins at Remington Park on Dec. 19, 2020 when he won an open allowance race by three-quarters of a length over Share the Upside, a horse that had beaten Breeders' Cup Sprint winner Whitmore at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark. Welder's overall record at Remington Park is 20 starts with 15 wins.

“He's already done everything I've ever asked him to do,” said Luneack. “If he sets more records, that's great for him. If he doesn't, that's great for him, too. I don't feel like the horse owes me or us anything. I don't feel he has anything more to prove. Welder never disappoints me. I love him.”

Here's a list of milestones Welder already has notched in his racing belt:

Only thoroughbred in Oklahoma horse racing history to win All-Breeds Oklahoma Horse of the Year three years in a row. He has won the past three, a reward from Thoroughbred Racing Association of Oklahoma, presented by the Oklahoma Horse Racing Commission.
Was voted Horse of the Meet at Remington Park for third year in a row. No other thoroughbred has won that award more than once. Welder has swept all four Champion categories he's been in those three years – Horse of the Meet, Okie-bred, Sprinter and Older Male.
Only horse in Remington Park history to win four stakes races in one season (2018)
Set track record for six furlongs in 1:08.13, winning the David M. Vance Stakes on Sept. 29, 2019.
Eleven consecutive stakes wins at Remington Park, a record that is still live. Those 11 stakes wins is also a record for overall stakes wins here. Okie Ride had 10. Welder has won four Silver Goblins, three Oklahoma Classics Sprints, two David M. Vance Stakes, and two Remington Park Turf Sprints (one was taken off the grass and run on a sloppy track).

This could be Welder's toughest race at Remington Park since he won the Remington Park Turf Sprint by a neck on Sept. 25 last year. This allowance race has horses that certainly are stakes caliber, if not now, in the past.

Nitrous, a 5-year-old son of Tapit, out of the City Zip mare Speedinthruthecity, won the $125,000 Thanksgiving Classic at Fair Grounds in New Orleans in 2020. In October, he lost by only a head in the Grade 3, $200,000 Frank DeFrancis Memorial Dash Stakes at Pimlico in Baltimore. Back in 2019, Nitrous came close to winning a Grade 1 Stakes, running second by a neck at Belmont in the Woody Stephens Stakes. Welder has won 18-of-31 races at six furlongs; Nitrous is 2-for-6.

Another two that could upset for the gold are Gold Street and Gold Speed Go. Gold Street was actually on the Kentucky Derby-trail last year, winning the $150,000 Smarty Jones Stakes at Oaklawn by 2-3/4 lengths. He finished more than 23 lengths back in the subsequent Grade 3 Southwest Stakes, however. Gold Speed Go has won two of his last three starts and is 4-for-6 in the winner's circle here.

The allowance race with post position, horse, jockey, trainer, odds:

Gold Street, Ramon Vazquez, Frank Lucarelli, 8-1
Gold Speed Go, Lane Luzzi, Danny Pish, 10-1
United Patriot, Luis Quinonez, Larry Frazee, 20-1
Warrior's Map, Reylu Gutierrez, Karl Broberg, 10-1
Nitrous, Stewart Elliott, Steve Asmussen, 7-5
Welder, David Cabrera, Teri Luneack, 6-5
It Makes Sense, Jose Alvarez, Shawn Davis, 15-1

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Top Oklahoma-Bred Welder Preparing For Rare Out-Of-State Appearance At Oaklawn Park

Oaklawn will run two $1 million races Saturday (Apple Blossom and Oaklawn Handicap) and have a millionaire running in an allowance event when Welder makes a rare appearance outside Oklahoma for trainer Theresa Sue Luneack and owner Ra-Max Farms LLC.

Oklahoma-bred Welder is the 2-1 program favorite for the 10th race – the Oaklawn Handicap and Apple Blossom are bookends – a conditioned sprint for older horses. Welder will be making his first start since a Dec. 19, 2020, allowance victory at Remington Park. It was his record-tying 15th career victory at the Oklahoma City venue.

Luneack said the 8-year-old gray gelding was rerouted to Oaklawn after the $50,000 Highland Ice Stakes Tuesday at Will Rogers Downs near Tulsa was canceled because of lack of entries. Will Rogers is Welder's home track and he is based just a couple of miles away.

“He's fit, ready to run and ready to rock,” Luneack said after Welder galloped Thursday morning at Oaklawn under regular rider David Cabrera. “Jose Santos said, 'Bring him to Oaklawn.' I said, 'Well, I'll see what I can do.' The race came up on the extras and it was a perfect fit.”

Santos is the agent for Cabrera. In Welder's only Oaklawn appearance, he finished third, beaten two lengths by future Eclipse Award winner Whitmore, in the $150,000 Hot Springs Stakes for older sprinters in 2019. Welder is a legend in Oklahoma, amassing 15 career stakes victories between Remington Park and Will Rogers Downs and has a 26-5-4 mark from 38 starts overall and earnings of $1,204,042.

Luneack said Welder was under consideration for the $500,000 Count Fleet Sprint Handicap (G3) last Saturday at Oaklawn, but the gelding's priority has always been Oklahoma.

“We try to help Oklahoma racing, so we really wanted to run in the Oklahoma stake,” Luneack said. “We passed on the Count Fleet because we were trying to promote Oklahoma, but obviously that didn't work. He probably should have run in the Count Fleet.”

Luneack said Welder arrived Wednesday night for Saturday's 6-furlong race, which has a $108,000 purse – roughly three times higher than his last start.

“It's always a challenge for us,” Luneack said. “We don't haul him a lot. But now that we have to be here three days prior, I actually think that might be to Welder's advantage because he can come in and go to the racetrack to gallop and relax. Maybe a couple of trips to the track without racing will help him settle in a little better.”

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Welder Earns Third Straight Oklahoma Horse Of The Year Title

Welder, the millionaire Oklahoma-bred Thoroughbred that has earned endless records racing in Oklahoma, added another award to his record book the size of the novel “War and Peace.” He has added, for the third year in a row, Oklahoma's All-Breeds Horse of the Year, presented by the Oklahoma Horse Racing Commission.

The now 8-year-old gray gelded son of The Visualiser, out of the Tiznow mare Dance Softly, owned by Ra-Max Farms (Clayton Rash) of Claremore, Okla., trained by Teri Luneack and ridden by three-time Remington Park Champion Jockey David Cabrera, is the only thoroughbred to have ever won this award more than once. Welder is fresh off being the only Thoroughbred horse in Remington Park history to win Horse of the Meet honors three years in a row.

The Oklahoma All-Breeds Horse of the Year award spans Oklahoma-bred Thoroughbreds, Quarter Horses, Paints and Appaloosas and is based on annual Oklahoma-bred money earned by any horse on the racetrack among any of those breeds for the year.

“He is a phenomenal horse,” said Luneack. “My crew there at the farm makes this whole thing work. It's not always easy to run racehorses from off the track. The hauling and all sure takes its toll.”

Only one horse has ever won it more years than Welder, going back to 2001 when the award was first recorded. That was Country Chicks Man, a Quarter Horse that took the prize from 2005-2008. Country Chicks Man was owned by Rafter SM Ranch, which is the property of trainer Sparky Mullins of Wagoner, Okla. Hall of Famers G.R. Carter and Jacky Martin were the regular riders for this horse in those years. Country Chicks Man was a mainstay in stakes company winner's circle photos at Remington Park throughout 2005-2008. He won 13-of-38 races lifetime before being retired in 2009 with $736,793 in his bankroll. Welder has won 26-of-38 starts for $1,204,042.

Welder banked $40,795 in Oklahoma-bred money in his 2020 races, winning the $70,000 Remington Park Turf Sprint, the $130,000 Oklahoma Classics Sprint and the $70,000 Silver Goblin Stakes all at Remington Park. He also was the easy winner in the $55,000 TRAO Classics Sprint at Will Rogers Downs in Claremore for the fifth consecutive year. His $40,795 in Oklahoma-bred money won was about $6,000 more than runner-up Eagles Fly Higher, a Quarter Horse, who had $34,800.

It was the closest race yet for Welder in the past three years for Oklahoma All-Breeds Horse of the Year. He won the 2019 version with $41,620 earned to Thoroughbred filly Alternative Slew's $32,670, and the 2018 title with $48,170 banked compared to Thoroughbred Perfect to Please's $31,348 in second.

Eagles Fly Higher, the Champion Quarter Horse of the Year in Oklahoma, won the $84,000 Sooner State Stakes at Remington Park for Okie-breds. This 5-year-old sorrel is owned by Darling Farms of Lamont, Okla., trained by Casey Black of Augusta, Kan., and ridden by Mario Delgado at Remington Park.

The following is a list of Oklahoma's All-Breeds Horse of the Year winners, their breed, and their Oklahoma-bred money earned for the year, going back to 2001, from the OHRC registrar for that category, Linda Earley:

2020 – Welder (TB), $40,795

2019 – Welder (TB), $41,620

2018 – Welder (TB), $48,170

2017 – VF Red Surprise (QH), $30,954

2016 – AJ High (QH), $39,300

2015 – Shotgun Kowboy (TB), $42,494

2014 – Im A Fancy PYC (QH), $34,750

2013 – More than Even (TB), $38,140

2012 – A Toss Up (QH), $75,500

2011 – Ted's Folly (TB), $76,020

2010 – She's All In (TB), $57,560

2009 – Marq French (TB), $29,000

2008 – Country Chicks Man (QH), $22,500

2007 – Country Chicks Man (QH), $25,000

2006 – Country Chicks Man (QH), $13,410

2005 – Country Chicks Man (QH), $12,050

2004 – Apollos Ten Bears (QH), $11,250

2003 – A Real Man (QH), $15,750

2002 – Dance and Dazzle (TB), $10,650

2001 – Devout Sinner (TB), $12,675

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Welder Chalks Up Another Win, Equals Remington Park’s All-Time Record Of 15

Oklahoma's millionaire hero of a horse, Welder, tied the all-time mark for most wins at Remington Park in Oklahoma City, Okla., on Saturday night, winning for the 15th time in his career here.

Welder equaled the all-time mark in winning the $38,675 open-company allowance feature, titled the Guthrie Sprint. The race came up strong for open stakes-caliber horses as the 7-year-old gelding tied Highland Ice and Elegant Exxactsy for the most Remington Park wins in history. He gained a little revenge in the historic victory, beating Share the Upside in the process.

Trained by Steve Asmussen, Share the Upside had beaten this year's Breeders' Cup Sprint winner Whitmore in the $125,000 King Cotton Stakes at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark., on Feb. 8. The previous year, Share the Upside had finished a half-length ahead of Welder in the Hot Springs Stakes at Oaklawn when Whitmore won that race by two lengths. Share the Upside was second and Welder third.

Welder's trainer, Teri Luneack, jockey David Cabrera and owner Ra-Max Farms (Clayton Rash of Claremore, Okla.) were excited and looking forward to facing Share the Upside again.

“We really thought we had to redeem ourselves,” Luneack said. “We knew we could beat that horse. Welder got caught down on the inside against him at Oaklawn and didn't run his race.”

They say revenge is sweetest served cold and the temperatures were in the mid-30s when Welder and Share the Upside broke from the gate, going six furlongs. They were heads apart for the first half mile as it turned into the match-race most expected. It was only at the top of the stretch when Welder pushed his head in front and started to edge ahead of his rival. At the wire, the two-time Oklahoma Horse of the Year, had gained his vengeance, winning by three-quarters of a length.

“This horse,” said Cabrera of Welder, “you have to let him do what he wants to do. If you try to do something different, he doesn't like it. We knew that other horse was going to go and Welder wanted to go, so we went. I felt Welder was running comfortably. The only worry I had was the saddle didn't feel right before we went into the gate. So we were trying to fix it because he doesn't like the gate anyway. Thank goodness we got it fixed and it felt great during the race.”

Luneack was on pins and needles watching the race. When did she feel comfortable?

Welder holds off Share the Upside by three-quarters of a length under David Cabrera

“When he crossed the finish line,” she said with a sigh. “What an amazing horse.”

Welder, a gelded son of The Visualiser, out of the Tiznow mare Dance Softly, set fractions of :22.35 for the first quarter-mile, :45.01 for the half-mile and :56.97 for five furlongs. He stopped the timer in 1:09.79 seconds over the fast track, well off his own track record of 1:08.13 he set in the David Vance Stakes on Sept. 29, 2019.

Welder was sent off as the 3-5 wagering favorite and Share the Upside took his share of the money at 5-2 odds. Welder paid $3.40 to win, $2.20 to place and $2.10 to show. Share the Upside was another 3-3/4 lengths ahead of third-place finisher Direct Dial (4-1), who had a three-race win streak ended, that included a pair of stakes wins this summer at Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie, Texas. D' Rapper, who has beaten Welder multiple times in stakes races at Prairie Meadows in Iowa, came up fourth, three-quarters of a length behind Direct Dial. Tiz Alluptome Now, second to Welder in the 2019 Vance Stakes, was fifth, while American Dubai finished last.

Luneack said she is honored to train Welder and is so humbled by being tied with Highland Ice and Elegant Exxactsy. “That's crazy to have won 15 here,” Luneack said. “And to win 26 races in a lifetime; how many horses do you think have ever done that? This is a great way to end the meet, a great way to end the year and a greatest Christmas present ever.”

Highland Ice's record at Remington Park was 24 starts, 15 wins, five seconds and two thirds for $390,810 at this track. Elegant Exxactsy's record at Remington Park was 59 starts, 15 wins and earned $95,809.

Welder earned $25,024 in winning Saturday night and now has a record at Remington Park of 20 starts, 15 wins, three seconds and one third for $844,883 in Oklahoma City.

Bred in Oklahoma at Center Hills Farm, Welder has now won 26 of 38 career starts with five seconds and four third, for total earnings of $1,204,042.

According to Equibase statistics, Welder would need seven more wins to move into the top 100 all-time North American winners.

Welder now gets a bit of a respite at his home stall in Claremore before Luneack maps out a possible rematch with Whitmore at Oaklawn.

“We would really like to take him there again,” she said. “Our problem is there is no place in Oklahoma to train him that's open in the down-time where we don't have to van him. If the weather gets bad, it's a tough haul to Oaklawn. We took him over the day of the race in 2019, but you can't do that anymore. With the COVID rules, you have to be there three days in advance. We'll just have to see.”

For now, she said Team Welder can bask in his latest glory. They will just have to hope that four wins again at Remington Park in one meet, three stakes victories and an allowance race that was his toughest spot of the year, will be enough for him to win an unprecedented third Horse of the Meeting honor.

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