Thoroughbred Racing Association of Oklahoma (TRAO)

14 hours ago

BARGAIN BABY, HOLA JOEY, WINS VANCE SPRINT AT REMINGTN PARK

For Immediate Release
Sunday, September 27, 2026
By Richard Linihan


OKLAHOMA CITY – The winner of the $100,000 David M. Vance Sprint on Sunday, Sept. 27 at Remington Park, Hola Joey, may be the bargain basement purchase of the century.

The 4-year-old Florida-bred gelded son of Adios Charlie, out of the Malibu Moon mare Engaged, was bought by owner Joe D. Casey of Owasso, Okla., for $3,000 at the Ocala Breeders Sale in June 2024 for 2-year-olds. With the win in the Vance, Hola Joey pushed his earnings to $488,011. It was his 10th win in 18 starts lifetime for Casey and trainer Gene Jacquot. Jockey Alex Birzer returned to Remington Park for the first time since he rode here regularly in 2020 and gave Hola Joey arguably the ride of the Oklahoma Derby Day, splitting horses in deep stretch. It was a spot so narrow that some would not have blamed him for not attempting that feat. Birzer gave Hola Joey all the credit.

“Joey did all the work,” Birzer said, fighting back tears. “He is just coming to himself. Gene has done a wonderful job with this horse. I can’t tell you how gutty he was to go through there.”

With that Birzer became extremely emotional and couldn’t continue the post-race interview. Whether it was this big win, his gutty horse or his return to see familiar faces for the first time in six years, it was apparent something touched him very much.

Hola Joey, a hard-knocking runner that has campaigned in Iowa, Arkansas and Oklahoma, won for the second time in a row and the sixth time in his past 11 races. He was already a multiple stakes winner coming into the Vance. He earned $60,000 for the victory Sunday.

Hola Joey’s last black-type win came in the $50,000 Ed Skinner Stakes at Prairie Meadows in Altoona, Iowa, on June 14.

The 9-5 wagering favorite and track record holder at 6-1/2 furlongs, Heavenville, was dueling with Yo Banana Boy, a sharp shipper from the barn of Michael Maker, coming to the wire. Then, Hola Joey appeared from the middle of the track and went right between them, getting up to win by a head. Yo Banana Boy, with Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez up, stayed for second, finishing 1-3/4 lengths ahead of third-place finisher Heavenville. The rest of the order of finish was Perfect Magic (17-1) in fourth, Ridgewood Runner (9-2) fifth and Taylor’s Version (5-2) sixth.

Hola Joey ran a swift 1:09.65 on a fast track to win the race after sitting just off the pace of Heavenville at :22.02 for the first quarter-mile, :44.85 for the half-mile, and :57.05 for five-eighths of a mile.

The winner was sent off at 5-2 odds and paid $7.60 to win, $4.20 to place and $2.60 to show.

The David Vance Sprint is named after Remington Park’s founding president and general manager, who oversaw the conception, construction and operation of the facility until 1995. Vance was on hand to present the trophy to the connections in the winner’s circle.

Remington Park racing continues next month, Thursday through Saturday, Oct. 1-3 with the first race nightly at 6:30pm-Central.

Caption: Hola Joey (7) gets up to win the David Vance Sprint on Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026 at Remington Park, defeating Yo Banana Boy (4). Alex Birzer was up for victory.
Credit: Coady Media ... See MoreSee Less

Thoroughbred Racing Association of Oklahoma (TRAO)

18 hours ago

EAKLY WINS FOR HOME TEAM, TAKING GREAT WEST TURF SPRINT AT REMINGTON PARK

For Immediate Release
Sunday, September 27, 2026
by Richard Linihan


OKLAHOMA CITY – Sometimes it is the local heroes that wind up in the spotlight. Eakly made sure of that Sunday at Remington Park, winning the $250,000 Great West Turf Sprint against some of the toughest grass sprinters shipping in from around the country.

Eakly, a 6-year-old Oklahoma-bred gelding by Caleb’s Posse, out of the Lonhro (AUS) mare Vian, is trained by Oklahoma Horse Racing Hall of Fame conditioner Donnie Von Hemel and owned by Cheyenne Stables (Everett Dobson) of Oklahoma City. Those connections saw their speedster beat Runnin’ Rocket, ridden by National Racing Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez by a neck and last year’s winner of this race, Jackman’s Ride, by another neck. Eakly and Jackman’s Ride, carrying the local flag in this race, also finished ahead of horses that had raced at some of the top tracks around the country – Del Mar on the West Coast, Saratoga in New York and Churchill Downs, home of the Kentucky Derby.

Eakly, who had won the $50,000 Cliff Berry Turf Sprint Stakes on Sept. 11 as a prep race for the Great West, seems to have found his niche at five furlongs on the grass, winning for the fourth time at the distance in 10 tries. He also has run second three times and third twice at the measure.

“I gotta thank Remington Park for creating this race,” Dobson said, referring to the second running of the race. “I have to thank Donnie and jockey David Cabrera gave us a thrilling ride.”

Dobson began racing horses in 1996 and has used such prominent trainers as Todd Pletcher, Kiaran McLaughlin, Von Hemel and the late Christophe Clement. Dobson is a multiple graded stakes owner, with horses’ earnings of more than $13 million as solely Cheyenne Stables. He has multiple other pairings with Cheyenne and other owners, so those earnings for his horses can be exponentially multiplied.

On this night, his eyes were on Eakly, who went off at 4-1 odds and paid $10.60 to win, $5.20 to place and $3.60 to show. The speedy gelding pocketed $150,000 for Cheyenne Stables and improved his record to 29 starts, eight wins, 10 seconds and five thirds for a bankroll of $629,819. He was bred in Oklahoma by Candy Meadows, an entity in Lexington, Ky., Dobson also owns.

Eakly sat third through the first part of the quick sprint greensward and had his head in front at the top of the stretch. At that point, he fought valiantly to get that neck in front at the wire.

“I have to give a lot of credit to the gate crew because he is a handful to load,” said Cabrera. “The one time I learned about him riding him in the Cliff Berry was that I needed to get him out of the gate fast. The gate crew was tremendous.”

Eakly faced early fractions of :21.28 for the first quarter-mile, :43.68 for the half-mile, before finishing in :55.16, which was a stakes record since Jackman’s Ride covered that distance last year in :55.52, the only other running. Eakly is a multiple stakes winner that ran second to Jackman’s Ride last year in the inaugural Great West Turf Sprint Stakes.

The remaining order of finish in the Great West behind Jackman’s Ride was Let’s Go Mark (9-2) in fourth, Governor Sam (5-2 favorite) in fifth, High Front (11-1) in sixth and Virat (7-2) in seventh.

Remington Park racing continues next month, Thursday through Saturday, Oct. 1-3 with the first race nightly at 6:30pm-Central.

Caption: Eakly (5) scores the Great West Turf Sprint on Sunday, September 27, 2026 at Remington Park under David Cabrera.
Credit: Coady Media ... See MoreSee Less

Thoroughbred Racing Association of Oklahoma (TRAO)

18 hours ago

SILENT TACTIC WINS FIERCE BATTLE WITH ZIHNAL IN OKLAHOMA DERBY AT REMINGTON PARK

For Immediate Release
Sunday, September 27, 2026
by Richard Linihan


OKLAHOMA CITY – Silent Tactic brushed off his huge loss in the Grade 1, $1.25 million Travers in late August to run one of the best races of his life, to win the Grade 3 $400,000 Oklahoma Derby on Sunday at Remington Park.

Silent Tactic and Zihnal, co-favorites at 3-2 odds, battled eyeball to eyeball down the stretch of the 1-1/8th mile race on the fast main track. Finally, Silent Tactic got Zihnal to blink in the late going, but not by much. The winner got up by a neck over Zihnal in the last jump.

Silent Tactic had slightly more money bet on him to win than Zihnal and paid $5 to win, $2.60 to place and $2.20 to show. The Hell We Did (11-1) and Crupper (33-1) ran solid races to get third and fourth, respectively.

One had to wonder what happened to Silent Tactic in the Travers when he was 39 lengths behind at the next-to-last call and then was eased with a “did-not-finish” next to his name in the charts. After all, Silent Tactic was the runner-up to Renegade at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark., in the Grade 1 $1.5 million Arkansas Derby on March 28.

“You just have to cross a line through that last race,” said Caden Arthur, assistant trainer to Mark Casse with this horse. “He loved the dirt at Oaklawn. Jose (Ortiz) gave him a great ride.

Ortiz is the No. 1 rider in the country with his horses earning more than $42 million so far this year. His biggest triumphs include the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes with Golden Tempo, and the Dubai World Cup with Magnitude.

It couldn’t have been an easy day leading up to the Oklahoma Derby as Ortiz rode seven races at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky. earlier on Sunday, winning one. Then his owners with Silent Tactic put him on a private flight to Oklahoma City after the ninth race there. That ninth went off at 3:55 p.m. and the Oklahoma Derby kicked from the gate at 8:51 p.m. All based on Central time.

“I’m thankful the owners flew me out here,” Ortiz said after his Derby win. Cristian Torres was originally named to ride Silent Tactic as he had at Oaklawn this spring but he could not make the trip after being involved in an accident at Churchill Downs last week that required a trip to the hospital and time off.

Silent Tactic is owned by John C. Oxley and Victoriam Farm of Tulsa, Okla. This wasn’t Oxley’s first rodeo. He won another Derby in 2001 – the Kentucky Derby with Monarchos. Oxley is a member of the Oklahoma Horse Racing Hall of Fame at Remington Park, inducted in 2011.

Ortiz was all out to win the Oklahoma Derby and he thinks there was a key factor in the victory.

“We broke clean in the race and I was able to cut the corner at the quarter pole,” he said. “That was a game changer.”

Silent Tactic saved all the ground while Zihnal tried to rally down the middle of the track amidst a troubled trip that saw him take up in the first turn of the race. Silent Tactic is a 3-year-old Kentucky-bred colt by Tacitus, out of the Gun Runner mare Magical Sign.

Silent Tactic was in many big races on the Kentucky Derby trail this spring including victory in the Grade 3, $1 million Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn, followed by a nose defeat in the Grade 2 $1 million Rebel Stakes, then a third in the Grade 1, $1.5 million Arkansas Derby. After taking time off due to a bruised foot and missing the Kentucky Derby, Silent Tactic had a third-place finish in the Grade 2, $500,000 Jim Dandy Stakes at Saratoga. and a win in the Grade 3 $1 million Southwest Stakes.

Silent Tactic earned $240,000 and was already a millionaire before the race, the richest horse in the field. He improved his record to nine starts, three wins, four seconds and one third for a total bankroll of $1,359,422.

Running time for Silent Tactic in the Oklahoma Derby was 1:50.31 on the fast track. He came from seventh place in the pack to take the lead and do battle at the top of the stretch. His fight with Zihnal was down the entire lane before anything was decided. Silent Tactic had cut into interior fractions of :23.35 for the first quarter-mile, :48.21 for the half-mile, 1:12.94 for three-quarters of a mile and 1:38.04 for the mile. It was the first win for all the connections for the Oklahoma Derby.

The rest of the order of finish past the top four in the race was Chad Allan (24-1) in fifth, Vintage Cowboy (28-1) sixth, J J Grey (10-1) seventh, and pacesetter Tricky Business (8-1) eighth. Pavlovian (16-1) was never a factor in the race as he went to his nose at the break of the gate, dumping his jockey David Cabrera to the ground. Cabrera did get up and walked off under his own power.

Remington Park racing continues next month, Thursday through Saturday, Oct. 1-3 with the first race nightly at 6:30pm-Central.

Caption: Silent Tactic (2) wins the Oklahoma Derby over Zinhal (green cap) on Sunday, September 27, 2026 at Remington Park. Jockey Jose Ortiz rode the winner and celebrated accordingly.
Credit: Coady Media ... See MoreSee Less