8/24/2024
(Auburn, WA) 41 of the 42 race days going into Friday have been all fast tracks with the lone off track day was 1/3 wet fast and 2/3’s sloppy. Friday night after a day long deluge the track was sloppy to begin the night. It didn’t stay sloppy long as after the 1st race the stewards shifted the condition to wet fast which stayed for the rest of the card. Then on Saturday it was sloppy all day with addfitional rainfall.
So now officially there have been 354 races run this season with 11 races posted as sloppy and 12 as wet fast with the remaining 331 as fast. The track played pretty fair on Friday with the wet-fast condition for most of the night as there were closers, stalkers and front speed all winning and hitting the board.
Then on Saturday with the sloppy conditions for all 7 races you needed to be close to the lead to win. No winner began their race worse than 3rd place so didn’t need the lead but a close stalking position was a must.
Both days offered great chances to make money with some big favorites mixed in. In this story we will cover all 14 races from Friday and Saturday with upsets in both feature races.
Let’s get to Saturday’s card!
6th Race Final leg of the Hollywood Harbor Sprint Series
They began with 15 starters and 2 races back in July in the opening round of the inaugural Hollywood Harbor Sprint Series. The friends of Hollywood Harbor raised an additional $30,000 to add to purses of this 3 leg and ultimately 4 race challenge.
In the opening round on July 20th Run Snappy and Kevin Krigger won the 1st race with Mr. Fireball and Javier Matias winning the 2nd race of the day. Roll Dem Bones didn’t get off to a good start as he was 8th and last in the opening round.
The 2nd round on August 3rd drew 10 runners and Run Snappy who was claimed in that 1st run did not return under new owner/trainer Nick Lowe. Mr. Fireball with Krigger taking that ride took 5th and Roll Dem Bones under Juan Gutierrez showed more with a 4th place finish at 25-1. 8-1 Party Foul won the race with Karlo Lopez.
Saturday was the final round and you had to have run in the 1st rounds to be eligible for the finals. 8 went to the gate and it was Uncle Leon with Allyssa Morales that the public settled on betting Leon down to 9-5. Uncle Leon and Morales were coming off a 2nd place finish in the 2nd round losing to Party Foul by just a 1/2 length.
But the story was the track which came up sloppy and knowing you had to be close to the pace Juan Gutierrez broke well with Roll Dem Bones from the 3 hole at 9-1 and had the lead by the 2nd call in the 6 furlong sprint. Most thought this would be another scramble to the finish with the sprinters all taking their best shot but it was Bones’ day.
Setting quick fractions of 21.28 and 43.42 Roll Dem Bones and Guti were ready to rock and never slowed down pulling away to a 3 length lead turning for home and by the 1/8th pole the race was over as they extended their lead to a crushing 6 lengths for the win. Roll Dem Bones thrived in the mud stopping the clock in a blazing 1:08.16 the 2nd fastest 6 furlongs of the meet, only Neiman’s 1:07.98 has been better.
6-1 Mr. Fireball ran 2nd with Javier Matias collecting $5,850, 3rd place went to 24-1 Quiet Charm with Manuel Americano earning $3,450 and 4th place was 28-1 Summanus and Alex Cruz picking up a nice 4th place check for $1,500.
Roll Dem Bones collected $17,100 from the $30,200 purse for claimers that was ran as a starter allowance in the final leg. Bones is owned by William Jensen and trained by Joe Toye. The duo claimed Bones out of the 1st round in the race on July 20 for $8,000. Roll Dem Bones is now 7-13-5 from 47 liftime starts. The 5 year-old West Virginia bred gelding pushed his career winnings to $181,398.
Roll Dem Bones paid his believers well $21.12, $9.94 and $7.14. The 50-cent trifecta a huge $670.47 and the $1 superfecta $8340.60.
One of the fun aspects of this series was the claiming frenzy it created in the 1st and 2nd rounds. In the 1st 2 races on July 20 9 of the 15 starters were claimed all at $8,000. 4 of the 10 were red tagged in round 2 at $10,000 each. The final round again was a starters allowance with no claiming available. The grand total of claims from the series was 13 claims for a total of $112,000.
ESN talked with Friends of Hollywood Harbor spokeswoman Jody Peetze who says they were thrilled to bring this series to Emerald Downs this year and says it is evidence of just how much support there is of racing in the NW. Peetz says Emerald Downs does a great job in attracting on-track fans which is critical to the local fanbase.
Peetze says she couldn’t be more supportive of all the fun events the track’s promotional department does but she says it’s also important not to forget the meat of the meat and potatos and that’s horse racing and all of those who make it happen. This is why the friends of Hollywood Harbor put this challenge series together.
Peetze says she was very happy with the response from the horsemen and willingness to race in the series. She says all you have to do is look at the number of claims that happened in the first 3 races. This was a great series and we’re happy to have been able to raise a little bonus for those who work in this business 365 days a year. We definately hope to do it again next year.
Link to Equibase Chart with full pay-outs
Hollywood Harbor Sprint Series Championship Replay
ESN talks with Kari Toye of Terra Firma Farm
The rest of Saturday’s races!
1st Race
5 started in the slop on Saturday afternoon and heavy favorite Reservoir with Carlos Montalvo went to the lead in the 6 furlong run and held off 6-1 Confidence Builder with Manuel Americano by a 1/2 length for the win in a final time of 1:09.64. Reservoir races for Rick Kessler and Terra Firma Farm and trained by Joe Toye. It is the 2nd win for Kessler and Terra Firma Farm getting a win on Friday as well. 10-1 Family Trips and Karlo Lopez ran 3rd and 4th went to For You Only and Kiaman McGregregor at 16-1.
Link to Equibase Chart with full pay-outs
2nd Race
6 maidens went 6 1/2 furlongs and Luis Reyes who got shut out on Friday night but posted a pair of 2nds and 3rds was ready to get in the winner’s circle and did for the 1st time on Saturday in the 2nd with 5-2 Mr Executive in a final time of 1:17.52. With a nice stalking trip Reyes got 1st run at the top of the stretch and pulled away to a 3 length win. Mr Executive races for John and Janene Maryanski and Gerald and Gail Schneider and trained by Blaine Wright. Mr Executive is a Washington bred by Grazen out of Charmer Lo by Girolamo and was bred by Ron Crockett and Mr and Mrs William Griffin. odds-on favorite Public Appearance with Kevin Krigger was a clear 2nd, 3rd went to 37-1 Waitingatthebar and Kevin Orozco and 4th place was IBN Sina and Maneul Americano at 8-1.
Link to Equibase Chart with full pay-outs
Mr Executive gets the win
3rd Race
8 runners were set for the 3rd but the bettors were not fooled as 1-5 Luther Pass and Kevin Krigger easily snapped his maiden with a 2 length win. Krigger broke well sitting 2nd behind front speed Calorese and Silvio Amador at 57-1 and eased by at the top of the stretch to pull away for the win in a final time of 1:37.31 for the 1 mile distance. Calorese ran huge and held 2nd while 10-1 Avallinasa and Jose Zunino were 3rd and 16-1 Drive Train and Alex Cruz 4th. Luther Pass is owned by Rakoczy Racing and Justin Evans the leading owners and Evans trains. It was Krigger and Evans 4th win of the weekend.
Link to Equibase Chart with full pay-outs
4th Race
7-5 2nd favorite Yogya and Luis Reyes rode the perfect stalking trip sitting just off the front speed of 6-5 favorite Bangie Go and Kiaman McGregor with 7-1 Unbridled Scholar and Kevin Orozco in between. Turning for home in the mile run Unbridled Scholar and Yogya had shaken off Bangie Go and the duo were in a match race for the length of the stretch and Yoya and Reyes surged past in the final yards for the neck victory. Unbridled Scholar was 9 lengths clear of Bangie Go with 10-1 She Said My Way and Manuel Americano running 4th. The final time was 1:36.77 and Yogya races for Donna Wright and trained by Dan Markle. No surprises in the 1st pick 4 of the day paying a paltry $9.34.
Link to Equibase Chart with full pay-outs
Yogya gets it on the wire
5th Race
A good field of 8 broke for starter Mark Gibson in the 5th race and Karlo Lopez took 8-5 Overly Fast straight to the lead and cleared off by 2 lengths and was never challenged winning by nearly 4 lengths in a final time of 1:35.37 for the 1 mile distance. 5-2 Third Wheel ran 2nd with Kevin Krigger, 11-1 I’m Noble and Alex Cruz was 3rd with Happy Does and Luis Reyes completing the superfecta. Justin Evans shared the ownership win and 2nd place finish. Evans and Ty Leatherman own Overly Fast and Evans and Rakoczy Racing own 2nd place Third Wheel. Evans of course trains both. The Evans exacta paid $11.19.
Link to Equibase Chart with full pay-outs
7th Race
In Saturday’s finale 7-1 Soldatna gave Luis Reyes his 3rd win of day and did so by staying out of tr0uble. Reyes and Soldatna were up close in 4th but turning for home Reyes swung 6 wide into the stretch as 2 others were trying to close in 11-1 A Lot of Verve with Manuel Americano and 10-1 Anticipated with David Martin. But 9-5 favorite Ice Tower and Alex Cruz who was on the lead tired and drifted out into the path of A Lot of Verve and Anticipated ending any chance for the win while Soldatna way out in the 6 path rolled on by all the trouble to the 1 length win. Verve was 2nd, Anticpated 3rd, Ice Tower 4th and 5th was Pass the Crown with Juan Gutierrez to complete the Super High 5. Soldatna races for John Parker and trained by Candi Cryderman and finished the 6 1/2 furlongs in 1:16.98.
The 2 longshots finished the day strong with 1 lucky winner taking down the whole $6,704.11 pick 6 pot and the pick 5 paying well again just missing 1k at $988.77.
Link to Equibase Chart with full pay-outs
Saturday’s Finale gives Luis Reyes a triple
Let’s get to Friday’s action!
6th Race Feature Race
The public settled on Holy Tutta Bella as the odds-on favorite with the powerful team Kevin Krigger and Justin Evans and Tutta ran a great race. But they ran into a determined Lucinda Rella at 11-1 with Carlos Montalvo up as they both began the 6 furlong sprint along the inside. Montalvo allowed Don’t Tell Hydee and Luis Reyes to take the lead from the 4 hole while Lucinda Rella was #3 and got oin behind her on the rail with #1 Tutta Bella 4th also inside and they made their way down the back stretch.
Those positions would hold going into the far turn but Krigger and Tutta eased out into the 3 and 4 path while Montalvo decided to stick to the fence hoping Don’t Tell Hydee would drifft off the inside when they turned for home. Just as they were inside the 1/4 pole holy Tutta Bella passed Rella as they waited for an opening and as Holy Tutta Bella aimed at Don’t Tell Hydee, Hydee and Reyes did drift out a path or 2 opening the door for Montalvo who pressed go on Lucinda Rella and she responded rallying along the rail to get up for the head win. Holy Tutta Bella was 2nd Don’t Tell Hydee 3rd and 8-1 Tiz a Tiger with Allyssa Morales completed the superfecta.
Lucinda Rella ran the 3/4’s in 1:09.55 and races for owner/trainer Ryland Harwood. Lucinda Rella earned $9,405 to push her career earnings to $37,103. Her career record is now 4-2-1 from 16 lifetime starts. Lucinda Rella paid her backers nicely with a $24.80, $8.52 and $4.50 across the board return.
Link to Equibase Chart with full pay-outs
Feature Race Replay
The rest of the Friday night card
1st Race
After a pair of late scratches only 4 were left to run in the Friday night opener. The Lair was the overwhelming favorite at 3-5 for Luis Reyes and The Lair went right to the front battling with 9-5 2nd choice Colonel Ludlow and Kevin Krigger. Also in the mix just a head back was 5-1 Red Leader with Karlo Lopez. Those 3 would battle up front in the 5 furlong sprint setting fractions of 21.69 ad 45.29 while 14-1 G Dawg with David Martin trailwd by 8 lengths. Turning for home Colonel Ludlaw shook off the other 2 front runners but G Dawg came running down the middle of the track and clear the 2 tiring runners but couldn’t catch the Colonel who won by 2 1/2 lengths. G Dawg a clear 2nd, Red Leader 3rd and The Lair 4th. The final time was 58.34. Colonel Ludlow is owned by Justin Evans and Jeff Plotkin and trained by Justin Evans.
Link to Equibase Chart with full pay-outs
2nd Race
A field of 6 went 5 1/2 furlongs and were a well matched field from the 2-1 favorite to the 9-1 longshot. 2-1 2nd choice Mongolian Spring with Carlos Montalvo laid off the pace and came running to pull away for a clear length win in a final time of 1:04.28. Mongolian Spring races for Rick Kessler and Terra Firma Farm and was trained by Joe Toye. 4-1 Jacob Yen closed well to be 2nd with Javier Matias, the pace horse 4-1 Coy Roy with Alex Cruz held 3rd and the favorite Sun La Gold and Karlo Lopez 4th. The opening daily double paid $10.93.
Link to Equibase Chart with full pay-outs
3rd Race
7 runners went 6 furongs and this time it was the front runner going wire-to-wire. Kevin Krigger got his 2nd win of the night on 2-1 Prince of Luck running the 3/4’s in a time of 1:09.71. Prince of Luck is owned by Austin Evans and trained by Justin Evans, his 2nd win of the night as well. 4-1 Surprise Fashion with Luis Reyes ran 2nd by a head over 9-2 Regulation Dazed with Karlo Lopez while the betting choice Decimate and Manuel Americano completed the superfecta. The opening pick 3 returned $21.77.
Link to Equibase Chart with full pay-outs
4th Race
The 4th race came down to a photo finish with 3 of the 7 runners within an inch between them all. The photo showed that betting favorite Parco got up in literally the final stride with Alex Cruz getting the perfect head bob and denying not one but two potential big longshots from taking the win. Parco races for Rosales Racing F1 and trained by Jorge Rosales and ran the 1 mile in 1:37.51. Warren’s Memorable and Luis Reyes just missed by a nostril at 15-1 to take 2nd, pacesetter at 19-1 Laker Jet with Allyssa Morales just missed finishing 3rd and 8-1 Shes Got the Power and Manuel Americano was 4th. Warren’s Memorable paid a nice $10.40 on the place and the 50-cent trifecta returned $87.48 and the opening pick 4 $66.37.
Link to Equibase Chart with full pay-outs
Parco gets to wire by a whisker
5th Race
7 went 6 furlongs in the 5th and a perfect stalking trip on Mist Oona B by Alex Cruz gave him back-to-back wins this time at 9-1. Mist Oona B pulled away for a length + win in a final time of 1:10.37. Mist Oona B paid $20,80, $5.54 and $4.08 the Alex Cruz daily double returned $20.70. Running 2nd in this dash was 3-1 Infinite Love with Manuel Americano, 3rd went to the favorite Meteor Shower and Isaias Enriquez and 4th was 24-1 Libby’s Gambit with Luis Reyes. The 2nd pick 4 paid $141.44. Mist Oona B is owned by Terra Firma Farm and trained by Joe Toye, his 2nd win of the night as well. Mist Oona B is a Washington bred by Council Member out of Snow Mist by Snowbound and was bred by Terra Firma Farm.
Link to Equibase Chart with full pay-outs
Mist Oona B gets the win
7th Race
8 went to the gate in the finale and the 1-1 favorite Westerberg did not disappoint coming from about 5 lengths off the pace jockey Kevin Krigger searching for his 3rd win of the night chipped away at that deficit and swung 4 wide into the stretch to run down the field winning by 3/4 length in a final time of 1:17.43 for the 6 1/2 furlongs. Westerberg races for Austin Evans and trained by Justin Evans. It was Justin’s 3rd win of the night and son Austin’s 2nd win as an owner.Wirewyre at 7-2 ran 2nd with Karlo Lopez, Charlie’s Man and Luis Reyes was 3rd at 13-1, 47-1 Battleof Trafalgar and Isaias Enriquez ran 4th while 3-1 Fed Grant and Alex Cruz completed the Supder High 5 which paid off $276.66.
Link to Equibase Chart with full pay-outs
News and Notes
Saturday
Luis Reyes heats up
Jockey Luis Reyes was the lone multiple winner on Saturday scoring 3 wins on the 7 race card. Reyes won for 3 different connections as well taking the 2nd with Mr Executive for trainer Blaine Wright who now 1 win from his 500th victory at Emerald Downs. Reyes then won the 4th for Dan Markle and the last race for Candi Cryderman. Reyes came into Sunday in 4th place with 35 wins. Alex Cruz leads with 54, Kevin Krigger has 41, Carlos Montalvo 38 and Reyes is now in front of Karlo Lopez by 1.
Joe Toye is Red Hot
Trainer Joe Toye won a pair of races on Friday and added 2 more on Saturday taking the 1st race and then the upset win in the Hollywood Harbor series with Roll Dem Bones. Toye now has 15 wins on the season moving into the 5th spot in the trainer standings and 6th i the earnings standings just shy of 200k.
Toye’s Terra Firma Farm teamed with Rick Kessler won their 2nd race of the weekend as well in the 1st with Reservoir. Terra Firma Farm also won on Friday with Mist Oona B. They had a shot to win another race in the finale on Saturday when their 11-1 A Lot of Verve who they co-own with Wayne Williams was making a potential winning move in midstretch when favorite Ice Tower drifted out neary stopping Verve and Manuel Americano before they rallied to get 2nd losing all chance to win at that point.
John Parker and Candi Cryderman snap streak
Owner John Parker and trainer Candi Cryderman are well known to Emerald bettors as they have been a dominant force for many years. Parker winning several Owner Championships. The duo got their 8th win of the current season on Saturday with Soldatna in the 7th snapping a win drought that goes back to July 13.
Since their last win Parker and Cryderman got a bad case of 2nditis place 7 times during that stretch. The win pushed Parker back into a3 way tie for 3rd with Alex and Vincent Ortega and the John and Janene Maryanski/Gerald and Gail Schneider group each with 8 wins. Leading the owners is Rakoczy Racing abd Justin Evans they have 14 wins and Miguel H Racing is 2nd with 10.
Friday
Krigger and Evans return with a vengence
Kevin Krigger and Justin Evans bounced back with a triple on Friday night. Going back to Championship Sunday where neither Krigger or Evans had the day turn out like they hoped and both struggled last week quickly got back on track Friday night winning the opener with Colonel Ludlow the 3rd race with Prince of Luck and the final race with Westerberg, The two have now combined to win 32 races so far this season.
3 riders swept the card
The top 3 riders in the standings were a little selfish on Friday as they swept the 7 race race card. Krigger as mentioned above took 3 to push his total wins to 40, Carlos Montalvo trying to catch Krigger for 2nd place had 2 wins to stay within striking distance and now has 37 victories for the year.
Both are trying to run down 4 time defending champion Alex Cruz. Cruz won a pair of races in the middle of the card to push his win total to 54, 14 more than Krigger.
Joe Toye and Terra Firma Farm doubles
Trainer Joe Toye picked up 2 wins on Friday with Mongolian Spring in the 3rd race and Mist Oona B in the 5th. Terra Firma Farm was hald owner of Mongolian Spring and full owner of Mist Oona B but they were also the breeders of Mist as the lone Washington bred to get a win.
Austin Evans wins 2
Owner Austin Evans the son of leading trainer Justin Evans also got his picture taken twice on Friday night winnng a paur of races. Austin’s horses won the 3rd with Prince of Luck and the 7th with Westerberg. Austin is now tied for 6th in overall owner wins with 5 and is 36th in total earnings at $35,319.
The Betting Window
Saturday
Much like Friday the best chances to collect came in the later races led by the winner of the Sprint Series Roll Dem Bones at 9-1 as the top win pay of the day at $21.12. 24-1 Quiet Charm got up for 3rd and paid 5-2 on the show at $7.80. The $1 exacta was 70-1 at $71.98, the 50-cent trifecta paid a huge $670,47 of 1,339-1 and the 10-cent superfecta $834.06 or $8,340.60 on the $1 bet making it a whopping 8339-1.
7-1 Soldatna got up to win the final race and helped the “pick” pays with the final pick 3 at $142.91, the pick 4 $530.72, the pick 5 just missed stretching the 1k+ streak to 5 straight days paid $988.77 and a single pick 6 ticket paid off $6,704.11.
Friday
Several chances to cash in big o Friday night beginning with the 3rd straight $3,000+ pick 5 pay-off. The 5 in a row paid $3,367.24. The final pick 4 was good too at $920.45 and the last pick 3 paid $301.48.
The top $2 win of the night was in the feature with La Cinda Rella at $24.80 and Mist Oona B was right behind at $20.80. The top $2 place was Warren’s Memorable at $10.22 and just behind was G Dawg paying $9.78 but did that in a 4 horse field in the 1st.
No Show Betting
Just a reminder with the 2 late scratches in the 1st that means there was no show wagering so again be sure to chweck your tickets o make sure you don’t have a refund coming to you.
Claims
Saturday
1st Race
For You Only was claimed by Rhonda or Randi Ackerman, no trainer was named at this time for $3,500.
Reservoir was taken by owner Harris Farms for trainer Debbie Peery for $3,500
2nd Race
Public Appearance has a new owner in Rage #2939 for trainer Joe Toye for $10,000.
4th Race
Yogya gets a new barn and heads to trainer Frank Lucarelli for owners Sharon and Gary Hendricks, Aaron Bresko and Josh McKee.
Friday
3rd Race
Regulation Dazed was claimed by B Fekkes Dairy ad goes to trainer Jennifer Nunnaly for $2,500
Surprise Fashion was tagged by Rosales Racing F1 and Jose Bruno Salgado-Mendoza for trainer Jorge Rosales for $2,500.
4th Race
Parco got selected by Steve Haahr and Alexis Silva-Martinez and will be trained by Silca-Martinez for $3,500.
5th Race
Infinite Love was claimed by Lusk Racing and Alexis Silva-Martinez with Silva-Martinez training for $5,000.
Meteor Shower was red tagged by Alex and Vincent Ortega for trainer Scott Tubbs for $5,000.
7th Race
Fed Grant was taken by owner/trainer Serjio Garcia for $2,500.
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