6/14/2023

We have now begun the heart of the racing season at Emerald Downs with 3 days of racing Friday thru Sunday until the end of August. Between now and then there will be the 1st and majority of the Stakes races run, the traditional Indian Relays, Bulldog, Weiner dog and Corgi races, the fabulous 3rd of July Fireworks display and of course Championship Sunday highlighted by the $150,000 Longacres Mile.

Saturday was also the final leg of the Triple Crown and with no Triple Crown Champion in the running it was a nice race but without the interest of a Triple Crown winner didn’t have the buzz that comes with a horse shootin’ for 3 in a row.

Last year 3 time defending jockey Alex Cruz can point to Friday nights as a huge reason why he defended his title and is going for 4 in a row, a feat that no jockey has ever accomplished. Last year Cruz won 31 races on the 15 Friday nights of racing which was a total of 105 races. Cruz likely didn’t ride in all of those races but probably at least 90 of them. The 31 wins ended up being 30% of all Friday night races whether Cruz rode or not. He won 2 or more races 8 times on Friday nights and 5 races twice. Cruz finished with 90 wins on the season and those 31 wins were 34% of his total. His win percent for the season was 24%.

We bring this up again because Cruz went off to bring in the Friday night racing by winning the 1st 3 races and just missing on another and added a 4th win later. On top of that the bettors were fooled as he won at 5-1 in the 1st race, 23-1 in the 2nd and 9-2 in the 3rd to pay nearly $1,400 on the opening 50-cent pick 3.

This was a busy weekend and the last weekend before the Stakes schedule begins next Sunday. The 1st big “Dog” promotion was run on Sunday with the “Running of the Bull…Dogs”. All our coverage is below with a re-cap of each race beginning with the Belmont Stakes, plus Larry’s Round-up with news and notes, jockey, trainer and owner updates and more, so here we go!

Belmont Stakes

9 starters went the 1 1/2-mile 3rd Jewel of the Triple Crown and history was made on this day 50 years ago when Secretariat won the Belmont setting records still intact today by winning by 31 lengths and running a 2:24 flat. A new record and history was made on Saturday when Jena Antonucci became the 1st female trainer to ever win the Belmont Stakes or that matter the 1st to win any of the vaunted Triple Crown races. For more coverage on the Belmont click this link to ESPN’s coverage of this historic race.

The 155th Belmont Stakes

Sunday Races (Track Condition Fast)

3rd Race Feature Race “Cutwater Spirits Purse”

5 broke from the gate in this 5 1/2-furlong dash and this time the front speed did not hold on as the last out of the gate won and 2nd last out of the gate was 2nd. Kevin Radke on 3-1 Coastal Jazz went straight to the back of the pack while Cody’s Choice at 6-1 with Alex Cruz sat in 4th.

Favorite Alleva with Luis Negron went to the lead and set fractions of 22.22 and 46.47 which caught to him setting up the two closers. Cody’s Choice made the 1st run going 4 wide and engage to top 3 and quickly took the lead b y the 1.8th pole. Meantime Radke swung Coastal Jazz to the far outside in the 5 path and Radke let Jazz loose and he burst down the lane to pull away for a 1 1/2-length win stopping the clock in 1:03.87. Cody’s Choice ran a good race but was clearly 2nd best on this day while Alleva held on for 3rd and A View From Above with Alexis Valdes completed the super.

Coastal Jazz races for Gold Coast Racing and is trained by Steve Bullock. The 5-year-old gelding is a Washington bred by Coast Guard out of Jasmine’s Melody by Artax and bred by Ron and Nina Hagen. Coastal Jazz paid $8.20 on the $2 win. Coastal Jazz collected $13,920 for the win to push his lifetime earnings above the 100k mark to $106,769 and is now 7-1-4 from 24 lifetime starts.

1st Race

A field of 5 went a mile on the first fast track of the weekend. 9-5 2nd choice Regulation Dazed went straight to the lead with Luis Negron and set all the fractions to win by 3-lengths over 3-1 Sargent Kline with Isaias Enriquez in the saddle. Betting favorite Olympic Legend with Kevin Radke at 7-5 ran an even race starting 3rd and finishing 3rd while Moonlightwine with Javier Matias ran 4th. Regulation Dazed is trained by Justin Evans and owned by Evans along with Susan and Bill Tomasic and ran the 1-mile in 1:38.20.

2nd Race
Trainer Justin Evans and Jockey Luis Negron teamed up for the 18th time in Sunday’s 2nd race for a win with Anticipated sweeping the early daily double when Negron rode a perfectly timed stalking race to get up and win by a nose over race favorite Rampatious with Alex Cruz. Rampatious went to the lead in this 1-mile journey and just failed to hold on while Negron and Anticipated sat in 4th early on and simply stayed in contact and made his run for the narrow win. Crawlingbacktoyou with Louis Zacherle at 17-1 ran a good 3rd in Zacherle’s 1st race of the season and African Prince with Silvio Amador ran 4th. Anticipated is owned by Addison Evans and the Evans/Negron to Evans/Negron daily double paid $13.80 for the $1 bet.

4th Race

Six 3-year-old maiden fillies and 7-5 favorite Shesrsecretweapon and Alex Cruz did not disappoint her backers and ran a great race breaking 2nd and giving the lead to 2nd choice Goat Rocks with Francisco Diaz-Lopez. Turning for home Cruz let Shesrsecretweapon go and she responded quickly taking the lead to win handily by 2 lengths. 4-1 Pocket Knife and Jose Zunino closed well to pick up the place while Goat Rocks held 3rd and Goin’ Coastal with Kevin Radke hit the board in 4th. Shesrsecretweapon races for the Friendship Stable, Q Stable and Craig Fredrickson, their 2nd win in 2 days and trained by veteran Bonnie Jenne with her 2nd win of the year as well. Shesrsecretweapon capped off the 1st pick 4 which paid $44.

5th Race
9 maidens 3-years-old and up went 6 1/2-furlongs and odds-on favorite J C’s a Legend was sent to the lead by Isaias Enriquez and he led gate to wire setting all the fractions and finishing in a time of 1:16.67 nearly 4 lengths in front of the other 8. 5-1 A Skip in the Park with Jose Zunino was the clear place horse by 2 lengths, 24-1 all the King’s Men and Alex Cruz got up by a nose for 3rd and completing the top 5 Vorpai with Carlos Montalvo. J C’s a Legend is owned by Two Putts for the Win, Lucarelli Racing and Aaron Bresko and trained by Frank Lucarelli. Getting the 24-1 shot to run 3rd help the odds on choice to the 2nd favorite trifecta paid $20 or 40-1.

6th Race

A field of 6 went 6 1/2-furlongs and Dodropin with a beautiful stalking and rail trip got jockey Rigo Sarmiento his 1st win of the season and at a nice 6-1 price. Dodropin had run a solid 2nd and 3rd in her 1st two starts and then an incident at the gate which impeded her start in her 3rd attempt led to her being declared a non-starter so this was really like her 3rd start off the bench and it paid off. Confidence Builder with Silvio Amador went to the lead and Dodropin sat 3rd on the rail while favorite Cocoa Cents and Kevin Radke was 2nd early. Turning for home the rail run was wide open and Sarmiento pushed Dodropin right up the rail, engaged Confidence Builder and outdueled her in the final 16th for the 1/2-length win. Confidence Builder was 2nd, Cocoa Cents 3rd and Jacana and Alex Cruz got up for 4th. Dodropin is owned by Bill Jensen and trained by Joe Toye and ran the 6 1/2 in 1:17.95 and paid $14.60 on the $2 win and $25.80 on the $6 combo bet. The 2nd 50-cent pick 4 returned $54.15.

7th Race
2 late scratches left 5 to dispute the 6-furlong sprint and a field where none of the 5 looked like they wanted the early lead including the odds-on favorite Super Classic with Silvio Amador. And Super Classic did not waver from his normal come from behind style and broke last. Northern Blend, Attorney Louis and Tap the Bank all went to the lead with 9-2 Hadlees Honor and Javier Matias stalking from 4th. Matias stuck to the rail and waited and at the top of the stretch shot through on the inside and cleared away for a 2-length win. Super Classic got rolling at the 1/4 pole but it was too little too late but was a clear 2nd, Tap the Bank and Kevin Orozco held on to 3rd and Northern Blend with Luis Negron was 4th. Hadlees Honor is owned and trained by Debbie Van Horne and paid $11.40 on the $2 win.

8th Race
2 late scratches dropped the field to 6 with 2 favorites at 8-5 and they would come in 1-2. Dads Estrella and Carlos Montalvo broke well and sat just a half length off the early speed. Meantime, Reservoir the other 8-5 runner with Kevin Radke sat back further. As they approached the 1/4 pole Dads Estrella took the lead and got the jump on Reservoir and the two went down to the wire with Dads Estrella pulling off the win by a neck. Reservoir was 2nd while Driveway and Alex Cruz closed late for 3rd and Donne Cattive with Javier Matias flattened out in the stretch for 4th. Dads Estrella races for Alvarez Racing Stables and trained by Sergio Alvarez.

9th Race

In the get-away race for the week, a field 8 maidens went 5-furlongs and Shesalilrunaway dropped to her lowest in the claiming ranks and jockey Javier Matias decided to change how she had been running and pushed her straight to the lead. Shesalilrunaway set all the numbers going 22.46 for the 1/4 and 46.09 for the half while building a 3 length lead to the top of the stretch. That’s when the nearly 14-1 shot stunned the rest of the field and simply increased her lead for an easy 4 length victory. 9-1 Settlers Cove tried to close the gap but Jennifer Whitaker was able to fend off all other challengers for the place, Percy’s Sis the betting choice with Alex Cruz closed from last to get 3rd, Sensuous Kitty and Kevin Orozco held on for 4th and Chedoodle Rylee with Rigo Sarmiento completed the Super Hi-5. Shesalilrunaway is owned by Ashley Potts and the White Diamond Syndicate and trained by Vince Gibson. Shesalilrunaway paid $29.80 to win and the $2 across returned $49.60. The $1 exacta paid well $110.20, the 50-cent tri $158.75 and the $1 superfecta paid a handsome $803.90. The 50-cent Super Hi-5 was $2,085.80. The 50-cent pick 4 paid $1,045.10, 50-cent pick 5 was $2,304.90 and the 20-cent Jackpot pick 6 had a single winner cashing out $3,151.86.

Saturday Races (Track Condition Sloppy)

7th Race Feature Race (Muckleshoot Casino Purse)

The sloppy surface chased one out leaving a field of 6 to contest the 6-furlong distance and late money came in to make Itsallabouttheride and Silvio Amador the 6-5 favorite and Poverty Bay with Kevin Radke the 2-1 2nd choice. Poverty Bay went to the lead from the outside and then Itsallabouthteride, Firewalker and Peso all lined up within a 1/2 length. “Ride” would eventually let the others move forward and sit in a stalking trip. Meantime, Poverty Bay set the fractions of 22.01 and 45.17.

As Firewalker and Peso began to fade, Poverty Bay was let out a notch and Itsallabouttheride began to rally on the rail while Jin Tong with Alex Anaya and Napoletano and Javier Matias began to come from far back. Inside the 1/8th pole the two leaders were head and head and although both Jin Tong and Napoletano were closing they would end up with their own nose to nose finish. Itsallabouttheride got the nose down to edge Poverty Bay who just missed while 12-1 Jin Tong had a noce run for 3rd and Napoletano finished off the superfecta.

Itsallabouttheride races for the Friendship Stable, Q Stable and Craig Fredrickson and is trained by Bonnie Jenne. This was Jenne’s 1st training win of the season. Itsallabouttheride ran the 6-furlongs in 1:10.18 and is a Washington bred by Harbor the Gold out of Holy Rose by Touch Gold and was bred by Jennifer Webber and Kenneth Jochimsen. Itsallabouttheride is now 3-1-2 from 8 lifetime starts and pockets $13,920 to push his lifetime earnings to nearly $73,000.

Saturday Feature Race Winners Circle Interviews with Joe Withee

1st Race

A field of 5 went 5 1/2-furlongs and front speed with a moderate pace was the key to Lady Atta Tude wiring the race with Luis Negron aboard. Lady Atta Tude was the morning line favorite at 2-1 but was overlooked by the public and went off at 5-1. One of the Emerald Racing Club’s horses Scatalicious ran well to get 2nd with Alex Cruz up. Cruz coming off a 4 win Friday night was looking to keep the momentum rolling but could not run down Lady Atta Tude as Negron had plenty saved in the tank for a convincing win. Betting choice Young Life Laura ran an even 3rd with Silvio Amador and Stickinittotheman and Isaias Enriquez was 4th. Lady Atta Tude races for Royal Victory Thoroughbreds and is trained by Tim McCanna his 2nd win of the season from 3 starts. Lady Atta Tude paid $12.20 on the $2 bet.

2nd Race

The 2nd race would mark the longest race of the season so far at 1-70 yards. A field of 6 slugged their way around the sloppy surface but the top 2 breaking from the gate in Dirt Road Red and Pistol Power were not only the 3-2 and 2-1 favorites respectively but no one would pass them either. The 2 could not be separated all the way around and in fact down the stretch the 2 equines looked to annoy each other as each took a little nip at each other. Dirt Road Red would prevail with Luis Negron sweeping the early daily double. Isaias Enriquez just missed with 9-year-old Pistol Power. Lookin for Eight and Alex Cruz finished 3rd and Hey Sequoia and Silvio Amador ran 4th. Dirt Road Red is owned and trained by Justin Evans and ran the mile-70 in 1:41.54. The $1 Negron daily double paid $19.10.

3rd Race

The Emerald Racing Club got their 1st win of 2023 in the 3rd race when Carlos Montalvo brought home Warren’s memorable in the slop with a come from behind win running down all the front speed. Montalvo says he kept the 5-year-old mare on the outside breaking from the 7 hole and was still 6th at the quarter pole. At the top of the stretch Montalvo gave W-M a tap to keep her straight and by the 1/8th was 3rd and gaining quickly. Montalvo said she had plenty left to finish it under a hand ride to win by a clear length over two others who came from off the pace. Warren’s Memorable is trained by Jeff Metz and assisted by Scott Tubbs. The ERC may have bet it but the rest of the public took a pass as she paid her 146 owners a handsome $16.20 to win and $25.80 on the $2 across the board wager. Jeff Metz had another entry in the race with Shemakescents and Alex Cruz, Nan Elizabeth with Luis Negron ran 3rd and Big Mama Thornton with Silvio Amador was 4th. The all Metz $1 exacta paid $31.90.

4th Race

6 went to the post of the 4th race and another price comes in as Foster Boi with Kevin Radke up went to the lead with the 1-1 betting choice Calibogee along the rail and Franks Fix It to his outside. Radke had it measured though and set fractions of 21.99 and 44.84 in the 6-furlong dash to tire out the other front speed and had enough to fend off the fast closing finishers including Six Blessings with Alexis Valdes and Mojave with Kevin Orozco. Two Princes came from dead last along the rail to grab 4th place with Rigo Sarmiento. Foster Boi finished 3/4-mile in 1:10.59 and races for Sergio Perez and is trained by Hilario Perez his 2nd training win of the season. Foster Boi was the 2nd straight 7-1 to win on Saturday and paid $17.40 on the $2 win. The exotics were profitable too with the 50-cent pick 4 paying $1,851.90, the 50-cent pick 3 returning $691.30 and the $1 daily double good for $115.70.

5th Race

Queen Breezy breaking from the 1 gate was bet down as the odds-on 3-5 choice and Alex Cruz gave all her backers a bit of scare when she broke last in the 5 1/2-furlong sprint. Feather inthe Wind and Alexis Valdes went straight to the lead, 16-1 Low Dose was pushed along 2nd and the others just behind the pace setter who ran the 1/4 in 21.86 and the half in 45.18. Turning for home Big Fashion and Kevin Radke loomed up on the outside while Cruz and Queen were making up a lot of ground on the rail. Feather inthe Wind was not giving in though and it wasn’t until the final 100 yards that Queen Breezy got by Feather for the win and Big Fashion a few steps later for 2nd. Feather inthe Wind held 3rd and Kerralia with Javier Matias rolled in late for 4th. Queen Breezy is owned by Rancho Viejo and J. Carmody and trained by Rigoberto Velazquez. Queen Breezy is a 6-year-old mare and a Washington bred by Linchpin out of Roxy Skylar by Hampton Bay and was bred by Alan Bozell.

6th Race

A scratch meant 5 would go in the 6th and it was a well matched race with two 2-1 shots and a 5-2 and those 3 would end up 1-2-3 with a whisker, literally, separating 2 of them for the win. 5-2 Holiday Hustle and Kevin Radke went to the front with  2-1 Spittin Image running 2nd while the other 2-1 You Split Tens was back in 4th. 4-1 Stand To with Isaias Enriquez was 3rd but would end up 4th in an even effort. Meantime as they turned for home Holiday Hustle and Spittin Image were head and head as You Split Tens began his close on the rail. Inside the 16th pole Holiday Hustle had again edged forward of Spittin Image but You Split Tens was flying on the rail but at the finish line a whisker of difference gave the win to Holiday Hustle. The finish even fooled the camera man who held the camera on You Split Tens on the run out. Holiday Hustle is owned by Hern/LePley Racing and trained by Tim McCanna who won his 2nd of the day. Holiday Hustle capped off a $593.50 50-cent pick 4.

8th Race

In Saturday’s finale, Alex Cruz got the late call to ride Dark and Dandy and made the most of it with a convincing win going to the front on the rail and with a perfectly timed ride withstood all the latecomers in the stretch. Cruz and Dandy went 22.08 for the 1/4 and 45.45 for the half and at the top of the stretch said good-bye pulling away for an easy length and 1/2 win. 19-1 Tapit at Midnight with Jose Zunino closed well up the rail for 2nd, Sierre Melody at 9-5 with Kevin Radke ran 3rd and 9-5 co-favorite Arthur Spooner and Luis Negron finished 4th while Party For One and Silvio Amador completed the Super Hi-5. Dark and Dandy races for Oscar Heredia and trained by Jorge Rosales. The 50-cent trifecta was a nice $139.05, the Super Hi-5 was not hit and a carryover heads to Sunday, the 50-cent pick 5 paid well at $809.60 and 5 of 6 hit the 20-cent Jackpot pick 6 for a nice return of $323.86 with a carryover to Sunday.

Friday Night Races (Track Condition Wet-Fast)

4th Race Feature Race “The Cutwater Spirits Purse”

Alex Cruz did not win the 4th but he wasn’t in it either and opened the door for the 1st favorite of the day to go wire to wire with Luis Negron aboard in the Cutwater Spirits Purse. The public wasn’t fooled either as 1-5 Ms Parkside went to the lead and never looked back setting fractions in the 6-furlong sprint of 21.83, 44.79 and a 1:10.04 final time.

Pearl River Delta with Neptali Ortiz sat in 2nd and stalked but did not have nearly enough to take on Ms Parkside who won by 1 3/4 but Pearl ran hard and was a clear 2nd by 1 1/4. Former Stakes winner Ms Lynn and Kevin Orozco closed from last to take the show and Emerald Sea with Isaias Enriquez ran an even 4th.

Ms Parkside is owned by Stable HMA and trained  by top conditioner Justin Evans. The 4-year-old filly is a Washington bred by Sixthirteen out of Caliente Gold by Harbor the Gold. Ms Parkside is now 6-2-1 from 15 lifetime starts and picked up $13,920 for her win to push her career total to a little more than 88k. Ms Parkside is also an all or nothing horse at Emerald Downs with more all than nothing with a record of 5-0-0 from 7 starts in Auburn. The 50-cent pick 4 paid $891.50 and the 50-cent pick 3 was good for $179.15.

1st Race

A field of 5 went 6 1/2-furlongs and 5-1 Nation of Faith got up in the finals 50 yards to win by a 1/2 length over 2nd favorite Teachersbugsaroo. Kevin Radke took “Bugs” to the lead out of the gate while Alex Cruz aboard Nation of Faith was a patient 2nd running over the wet-fast track. Bugs set fractions of 23.06 and 46.11 while holding about a 2 length lead. Cruz began to cut into that margin at the top of the stretch and was within a length at the 1/8th pole. Cruz got Nation in his best stride and he rolled up on Bugs and on by for the maiden win. 4-5 favorite Street Mogul and Luis Negron closed from last for 3rd but was never a factor, 11-1 Super Creative with Alex Anaya was 4th.  The 4-year-old Washington bred by Nationhood out of Screaminleapofaith by Matriculate ran the 6 1/2 in 1:17.37 and is owned by James Kiser and Dreamscape Farm an d bred by Kiser. Charlie Essex got his 2nd training win of the season. Nation of Faith at 5-1 paid $13.80 on the $2 win and $96.80 on the $1 superfecta.

2nd Race
Alex Cruz dominated Friday nights last year and got off to another fast start with his 2nd patient stalking trip win but this time on 23-1 Dennard. Morning line favorite Code Charlie with Luis Negron went straight to the lead in this field of 6 going 5 1/2-furlongs setting fraction going 21.79 for the 1st quarter and building a 3 length lead heading into the stretch. At the 1/8th pole Code Charlie hit a stone wall and the closers came with Dennard taking the short route right up the rail while 3-1 3rd choice Miso Fast with Kevin Radke had to go and then even wider in the stretch when Code Charlie began to lug out. Dennard got the win by a neck while Miso Fast held 2nd, Miley’s Bluecat came from far back to run a solid 3rd with Code Charlie clinging to 4th place. Cruz again combined with trainer Charlie Essex as they swept the 1st daily double at 5-1 and 43-1 which paid $75.50. Dennard is owned by Sil Juarez and stopped the clock in 1:04-flat. The 5-yesr-old gelding paid $49 to win, $15.20 to place and $5.40 to show or $69.60 on the $2 combo. The $1 exacta $93.20 and the 50-cent trifecta was good for $204.85.

3rd Race

Alex Cruz was smokin hot on a cool damp 1st Friday night of racing winning the 1st 3 races and all at prices. Cruz has this figured out sit in 2nd or 3rd wait for the stretch and run them down as he positioned 9-2 March On Linch on the rail as 2nd favorite Forty Smooches with Kevin Orozco went to the early lead only to cede that to 8-1 longshot Harbor Outlaw with Silvio Amador. On the turn Harbor Outlaw had the lead, Forty Smooches was between him and Linch. Orozco felt Forty Smooches wanting to get outside so at the top of the stretch he got him to the outside of Harbor Outlaw while Cruz pressed go on March On Linch. Harbor Outlaw dug in but March On Linch got up by a head for Cruz’s 3rd straight win. Harbor Outlaw held 2nd and a length back was Forty Smooches and Altitude ran 4th. March On Linch ran the 6-furlongs in 1:10.58 and races for Alan Bozell and Mike Phillips and is trained by Bozell who got his 1st win of the season in this race. The all Alex Cruz 50-cent pick 3 paid $1,393.30!

ESN talks with Alex Cruz on his Friday night dominance

4th Race

5th Race
A field of 6 went 1-mile and it was an interesting race with early leaders who faded quickly and a calvary quickly descended with 14-1 Muncey and Jennifer Whitaker taking the 1st run, Alex Cruz aboard New Eagle who had to steady and then angled to the outside of 3-1 Barossa with Alexis Valdes. Those 3 would run in tandem to the wire with Barossa having the most momentum to get the win by 3/4 of a length. Muncey held well for 2nd by a nose over New Eagle with the troubled trip and Westphal with Luis Negron ran an even 4th. Barossa is owned by Jeremy Ramsland and trained by Justin Evans and stopped the clock in 1:37.11. 3-1 Barossa to 14-1 Muncey paid a nice $58.80 $1 exacta and capped off a big 50-cent pick 4 paying $609.45.

6th Race

A field of 7 lined up for a 6-furlong run 5 at 5-1 or less with Provost the moderate favorite at 2-1. Jockey Carlos Montalvo coming off a 3 win day last Sunday was ready to keep the momentum going and broke well stalking front speed Eye Candy Randy with Alex Cruz. Cruz sent hard and built up a quick 2 1/2 length lead while setting a tone with a 21.88 quarter time. Provost and Montalvo waited patiently and at the quarter pole pulled even with Randy and rolled on by to pull away and win by 5 in a time of 1:09.52. 4-1 Leprino and Silvio Amador closed well in the stretch to pass a hard trying Eye Candy Randy for 2nd and Mahi Mahi with Kevin Orozco came from further back to complete the superfecta. It was the 3rd win of the night for trainer Justin Evans and he also has an owners share with Rakoczy Racing. Provost is now 7-3-6 from 33 lifetime starts. The $9,280 tipped the Kentucky bred 6-year-olds lifetime earnings over the 100k mark to $101,712. The 2-1 favorite paid $6.60 to win and $13.40 on the $6 Combo bet. The $1 superfecta with 2-1 to 4-1 to 5-1 to 7-2 paid a solid $267.70.

7th Race

The 1st Friday night of the season wrapped up with how it began an Alex Cruz win and again overlooked at 5-1. Decimate and Jennifer Whitaker went straight to the lead in this field of 7 going 6 1/2-furlongs and the 10-1 shot looked like they were gonna pull off the upset. Cruz had Raajin Ribbon sitting just off the pace and as they turned for home pulled even about the 1/8th pole. Raajin Ribbon then slowly ground away at a stubborn Decimate to win by a 1/2 length. 7-1 Silent Declaration ran an even 3rd with Kevin Radke while Larsen Bay closed late for 4th with Alexis Valdes up and Midnight Luter completed the Super Hi-5. Raajin Ribbon runs for Letha and Steve Haahr and trained by Jeff Metz and finished in a time of 1:17.80. The 50-cent pick 5 paid $431.75, the 20-cent pick 6 was not hit so a carryover to Saturday was on the table, the 50-cent Super Hi-5 paid $646.45, the 50-cent trifecta paid well $107.95 and the $1 superfecta lit up the board paying $1,399.20.

Larry’s Round-Up

The Annual Running of the Bull…..Dogs!

There were 9 heats of preliminaries on Bulldog Championship day and in the end Melo who won the 7th heat would go on to win the Championship. Jacqueline Nguyen of Seattle is the proud owner of the 2023 Champion. Running 2nd was Khloe owned by Khaley Audette of Maple Valley and rounding out the top three was Franklin from Lake Tapps completing the trifecta for owner Melissa Koester.

From the Saddle

Alex Cruz got off to a fast start on Friday night and didn’t let up. Cruz finished with a season high 7 wins in a week and added 5 2nds, 6 shows and a 4th place finish from 20 rides. This is a blazing 35% win clip and 19 out of 20 top 4 finish and 18 of 20 trifecta finish for a 95% top 4 rate and 90% top 3. His most impressive win was on 23-1 Dennard in the 2nd race on Friday night as he began sweeping the 1st 3 races of the week. The 50-cent all Alex Cruz pick 3 would have paid you almost $1,400! Cruz moved into a tie for 2nd with Kevin Radke both with 17 wins on the season.

Both are trailing the leader Luis Negron who has a 7 win advantage with 24 after recording another solid weekend with 5 wins and now has extended his consecutive days with at least 1 win to 13 which is every day of the meet so far. Negron did well at winning but recorded 0 2nd place finishes and had 4 3rds and 4ths from 20 mounts for a 25% win rate and 65% top 4. Radke led all in mounts with 21 and picked up 3 wins with 5 places, 4 shoes and a 4th. Radke won 14% of his rides and was in the superfecta 62% of the time.

Carlos Montalvo was our “Red Hot” rider of the week last week and kept the momentum scoring 3 trips to the winners circle but had no places or shows and 1 4th for a 30% win percent but just 40% in the top 4. The other multiple winner was Javier Matias who took the 7th and 9th on Sunday with wins on 4-1 Hadlees Honor and 13-1 Shesrlilrunaway. Matias was blanked in the place and show but placed 4 times from 7 rides. His win percent was 29% and top 4 finish 89%.

Other winners, each with 1 win,  included Alexis Valdes on 3-1 Barossa in Friday;’s 5th race, Isaias Enriquez with a win on Sunday aboard J C’s a Legend at odds-on, Silvio Amador got one in the 7th race and feature on Saturday with 7-5 Itallabouttheride. Amador got through on the rail to nail Poverty Bay by a nose for the win. And Rigo Samiento who has had limited chances also took the rail route to get Dodropin up to win by a half length in the 6th race on Sunday to get his 1st win of the season. Samiento won at 6-1 and has ridden mostly longshots and is now 1-4-2 from 17 rides.

A couple of other riders got all they could out of their rides, Jose Zunino only had 3 rides and he placed on all 3 for a 100% exacta finish while Jennifer Whitaker also placed 3 times from 6 mounts. Neptali Ortiz rode his 5th mount of the season and just missed winning with a place, Francisco Diaz-Lopez hit the board with a 3rd from 3 starts and Louis Zacherle rode his race since September of 2021 and finished 3rd on Crawlingbacktoyou at 17-1. Two riders looking to get going this week will be Kevin Orozco and Alex Anaya Both have been hitting the board regularly but the wins haven’t come like either wants them to yet but we think they are both due to break out at anytime.

From the Barn

Justin Evans continued to dominate with 6 wins last week a 2nd and 4 3rds from 18 starts. He took 3 on Friday night added 1 on Saturday and 2 more on Sunday. He swept the 4th, 5th and 6th on Friday for a $13.30 pick 3 pay-off and took the opening daily double on Sunday which paid $13.60. 

There were 4 trainers who got 2 wins and all 4 can be counted as part of the “Wiley Ol’ Vets” club with Charlie Essex sweeping the 1st daily double of the week which paid $75.50 and was 2-0-0 from 4 starts, Tim McCanna started 3 and won twice and showed with the other, Bonnie Jenne also won 2 of 3 including the feature on Saturday and then placed with her 2nd with her 3rd start. 

Jeff Metz also won 2 as he has officially broken his run of “2nditis”. One of his wins came for a whole bunch of excited owners as much of the 146 owners of the Emerald Racing Club got their picture taken for the 1st time this season when Carlos Montalvo guided Warren’s Memorable from last to 1st in the 3rd race on Saturday at odds of 7-1. Warren’s Memorable returned $16.20 on the $2 win and combined with another Metz runner Shemakescents at 2-1 paid a solid $31.90 for the all Metz exacta. 

Those that scored a win over the weekend included Alan Bozell who got his 1st win of the season. Sergio Perez and Hilario Perez each scored their 2nd wins of the season while Debbie VanHorne was 1-1 this week to get her 2nd win of the season as well. Steve Bullock and Joe Toye both grabbed their 3rd wins of the year, Vince Gibson and Rigo Velazquez are both at 4 win now, Frank Lucarelli is up to 5 and Jorge Rosales is 2nd in the standings with 8 wins but he and everyone else are looking up to Justin Evans’ 21 victories from 57 starts and a massive 37% win rate.

Top 10 Trainers by wins

1 Justin Evans 57  21  4  11
2 Jorge Rosales 30  8  3  5
3 Blaine Wright  24  6  5  4
4 Frank Lucarelli 27  4  7  4
5 Tom Wenzell  11  4  1  2
5 David Martinez  25  4  5  3
5) Vince Gibson  30  4  6  5
5) Jeff Metz  34  4  8  6
5) Rigo Velazquez  18  4  3  2
5) Shelly Crowe  7  4  2  1
5) Jill Sorrano  12  4  2  1 

From the Owner’s Box

One ownership group won twice this past weekend and it was the Friendship Stable, Q Stable and Craig Fredrickson won 2 of 3 starts and came within a head of going 3 for 3 settling for 2nd on Friday night with 8-1 Harbor Outlaw. On Saturday the photo went their way with Itsallaboutthe ride winning by a nose. Both of those horses were ridden by Silvio Amador. On Sunday, Alex Cruz picked up a win for the group on Shesrsecretweapon, both winning horses were bet down to 7-5. All 3 horses trained by long time conditioner Bonnie Jenne.

Other owners that picked up wins to add to their totals included Gold Coast Racing , Alvarez Racing Stable and Sergio Perez now each with 2 wins. Stable H M A got their 3rd win and Justin Evans got his 5th solo win and Evans teamed with Bill and Susan Tomasic also got theirt 5th win.

A load of owners got their 1st win of the season and included Ashely Potts and the White Diamond Syndicate, Addison Evans, Sil Juarez, Oscar Heredia, Royal Victory Thoroughbreds, Alan Bozell and Michael Phillips, Jeremy Ramsland, Rakoczy Racing and Justin Evans, Debbie VanHorne, Letha and Steve Haarh, Rancho Viejo Stable and Jerry Carody, Hern/LePley Racing, 2 Putts for the Win Stable, Lucarelli Racing and Aaron Bresko and James Kiser and Dreamscape Farms.

There was one other 1st time winner and that was the Emerald Racing Club. The E-R-C is run by Emerald Downs Media Director Vince Bruun and has 146 owners. Each owner pays $500 for the year and has a chance to earn back their $500 after all the bills are paid. This is a long running program to give interested people a chance to be a real owner of a thoroughbred.

Trainer Jeff Metz is the official E-R-C trainer and they have a total of 3 horses. Carlos Montalvo rode the Warren’s Memorable to a length win at 7-1. ESN talked with Montalvo after the winning ride.

Top 5 Owners by earnings

1 Justin Evans  15  5  3  1  $55, 370
2 Stable H M A  8  3  0  2  $40,680
3 Alvarez Racing Stables LLC  17  2  3  4  $40,030
4 Sergio Perez  13  2  4  2  $37,780
5 Justin Evans, Bill and Susan Tomasic  9  5  0  2  $$39,920

Claims

Friday, June 9

1st Race Street Mogul $8,000 claimed by James Carter ad Jill Soranno for trainer Jill Soranno
2nd Race Miso Fast $3,500 claimed by owner/trainer Justin Evans
7th Race Barbarian $5,000 claimed by Sergio Perez and goes to the barn of Hilario Perez

Saturday, June 10

1st Race Young Life Laura $15,000 claimed by Sergio Perez, Joe Abrahamson, Filos Stables for trainer Hilario Perez
6th Race Holiday Hustle $15,000 claimed by Pegasus Too for trainer Howard Belvoir
6th Race  Spittin Image $12,500 claimed by One Horse Will Do Corp and Chris Stenslie for trainer Marshall Allen
8th Race Arthur Spooner $2,500 claimed by Luciano Medina and Jose Cruz for trainer Luciano Medina

Sunday, June 11th

1st Race Olympic Legend $8,000 by Bryan Smith for trainer Jose Raudales
7th Race Hadlees Honor $5,000 by Bill and Susan Tomasic for trainer Justin Evans
7th Race Super Classic $5,000 by owner/trainer Justin Evans

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