Washington Racing Hall of Fame | Horse Racing Free Tips

Frazier, White and Flag de Lune Join Washington Racing Hall of Fame

Jockey Basil Frazier, Grade I-winning mare Flag de Lune (Flag Officer), and racing writer/broadcaster Jon White will be inducted into the Washington Racing Hall of Fame this summer, Emerald Downs announced Wednesday.

Washington's Horse of the Year in 1984, Flag de Lune was a multiple stakes winner on dirt, including the inaugural running of the Longacres Lassies S., and became a Grade I winner on turf when she won the the 1984 Ramona H. at Del Mar.

A native of Spokane, Washington, Frazier rode in Canada and the United States, retiring in 1985 with 2,218 career victories. Frazier's crowning moment was a dramatic victory aboard Times Rush in the 1974 Longacres Mile.

Another native of Spokane, White has been a local and national force in racing media for over five decades. Beginning with Daily Racing Form as chart-caller at age 19, White has been a publicist, television host, morning-line maker and steward, his byline appearing in The BloodHorse, Los Angeles Times, Thoroughbred Record, Canadian Horse, and The Washington Thoroughbred, among others.

White currently writes a weekly column for Xpressbet.com, appears weekly on Steve Byk's national racing show, and produces morning lines for Santa Anita and Del Mar, including the morning lines for eight Breeders' Cups.

“What a tremendous honor it is for this Washington-bred to go into the Washington Racing Hall of Fame,” White said. “I consider it to be the pinnacle of my career in racing. I just wish that my father [Quentin White] was still alive to see this. As a lifelong racing fan, he'd be over the moon.”

The official induction ceremony will be held Aug. 10 at Emerald Downs. Also to be honored at the ceremony, longtime trainer and former NFL and University of Washington running back Junior Coffey will be presented with the 2024 Lifetime Achievement award.

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Jockey Juan Gutierrez Becomes All-Time Leading Rider At Emerald Downs

Juan Gutierrez made riding history Wednesday afternoon at Emerald Downs, supplanting Gallyn Mitchell as the track's all-time leading rider.

With a 1¼-length victory on Stay in Grace in the featured $17,000 Muckleshoot Casino Purse, Gutierrez moved one ahead of Mitchell—1,420 to 1,419—to become No. 1 all-time at Emerald Downs. He had tied Mitchell's mark with a victory aboard Mike Operator earlier on the card.

“You know, I was excited the last eighth of a mile when I was pretty sure we would get there,” Gutierrez said in the winner's circle after the victory on Stay in Grace. “This is a great record because it has taken a long time to get there.”

Gutierrez, 51, notched his first Emerald Downs' win April 29, 2000 and has been a mainstay here ever since. He recorded 15 consecutive top-five finishes in the riders' standings during one stretch, including a riding title in 2012 with 117 wins. He also ranks No. 1 in track earnings with over $15 million and No. 3 in stakes victories with 68, including three wins in the Longacres Mile. He ranks second at the current meet with 47 victories through Wednesday.

A 2018 inductee into the Washington Racing Hall of Fame, Gutierrez has 2,031 overall wins, hitting the 2,000 mark aboard Semi Sweet in July.

Gutierrez will be honored with a winner's circle ceremony before Thursday's first race.

Mitchell, the leading rider at Emerald Downs since 2002, retired four years ago and now resides in southern California.

Stay in Grace, a 5-year-old Oregon-bred mare by Understatement, has three wins in her last four starts and improved to 10 for 22 lifetime with earnings of $78,347. Rigoberto Velasquez is the trainer for owners Jerry Carmody and John Sneesby.

In Wednesday's victory, Stay in Grace ($3.20) gained command into the turn and held off B C Z Middleton in the drive, running six furlongs in 1:09.79

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Jockey Juan Gutierrez Bags Four Winners On Opening Day Card At Emerald Downs

Juan Gutierrez was in mid-season form as Emerald Downs launched its 25th season of live racing Wednesday.

Taking aim at Gallyn Mitchell's all-time track record for most wins, Gutierrez rode four winners on the 10-race card capped by a five-length victory on a razor-sharp Makah Lane in the featured $13,600 Muckleshoot Casino Purse for 3-year-olds and up.

Gutierrez, 50, is a 2018 Washington Racing Hall of Fame inductee and appears poised to notch another major milestone in 2020. With four victories Wednesday, Gutierrez boosted his Emerald Downs' win total to 1,377, and is just 42 wins away from Mitchell's mark of 1,419.

Gutierrez scored a natural hat trick with wins aboard Vroysky ($7.20), Benny the Jet ($45) and Freestone ($4.80) in races two, three and four, and finished off the four-bagger aboard Makah Lane ($7.60) in the ninth.

Winner of last year's Washington Cup Sophomore Stakes, Makah Lane tipped his hand as an up and comer in the older horse ranks. Stalking This Great Nation and Wine At Nine through fractions of :22 1/5 and :45.08, Makah Lane advanced three deep into the stretch, powered to the lead a furlong from the wire and won with total authority.

A four-year-old Washington-bred gelding by Atta Boy Roy, Makah Lane has won three of his last five starts and boasts an overall mark of 3-1-0 in seven starts with earnings of $51,143. Bonnie Jenne is trainer and co-owner with husband Wally Jenne and Doug and Nancy McPhee.

Mutuel handle on the 10-race card totaled $1,636,000.

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