Thoroughbred Racing Association of Oklahoma (TRAO)

14 hours ago

MISS CODE WEST RETURNS TO WINNING FORM IN THE INAUGURAL SHAWN BERGQUIST MEMORIAL AT REMINGTON PARK


For Immediate Release
Friday, September 11, 2026
by Richard Linihan

OKLAHOMA CITY – Three-time Champion Horse of the Meet, Miss Code West, won her 10th stakes race in 11 black-type attempts at Remington Park on Friday night, taking the inaugural $50,000 Shawn Bergquist Stakes at 7-1/2 furlongs on the turf for Oklahoma-bred fillies and mares, three and older.



This stakes win puts Miss Code West one behind the record 11 stakes wins set at Remington Park by Welder, who is the winningest horse in history here with 16 total wins. The 5-year-old Oklahoma-bred mare by Code West, out of the Kipling mare Inca Miss, has a total of 11 wins at Remington Park that includes her maiden win in 2023.



Miss Code West, owned by Jeffry and Julie Puryear of Denton, Texas, and trained by Kevin Scholl, has won Horse of the Meet the past three years, a mark that tied the record set by Welder from 2018-2020.



Oddly enough, Miss Code West ran fourth in her 2026 debut at Remington Park last time out in allowance company when she broke poorly to start that one-mile turf event. Things were different this time under jockey Floyd Wethey, Jr.



“Last time she got a little antsy,” Wethey said. “Today she got a little better break. She settled in there and left the gate running and done her thing.”



Miss Code West practically dragged Wethey out and wanted that lead early in this race. Just when it seemed like you could chalk up another win for her, Doudoudouwanadance (7-1) decided to run the race of her life, drawing even in the stretch with the winner. All indications were that Doudoudouwanadance, under jockey Leandro Goncalves, might use all her momentum to fly right by Miss Code West, but the champ wasn’t having any of it.



“When Dou came up beside her, I thought for a second that she had me,” said Wethey. “But Code just found more for me. As soon as I felt her accelerate when she felt the other horse coming, I knew we had won the race.”



They had indeed won the race, but only by a neck. Doudoudouwanadance had won this race in 2024 for trainer Scott Young and owner Terry Westemeir of Broken Arrow, Okla., but could do no better than sixth place in 2025, seven lengths back of Miss Code West.

Miss Code West was bred by Bryan Hawk and took home $30,000 from the purse for the Puryears, improving her record to 21 starts, 15 wins, and three seconds for a bankroll of $720,266. Her winning time for the 7-1/2 furlongs was 1:29.18 as she made every pole a winning one. She set interior fractions of :23.28 for the first quarter-mile, :46.16 for the half-mile and 1:10.91 for three-quarters of a mile.



Miss Code West has now won six consecutive stakes races at Remington Park since losing her only stakes in the $200,000 Remington Park Oaks on Sept. 29, 2024. She was sent off at 2-5 odds by the public Friday and paid $2.80 to win, $2.20 to place and $2.10 to show. It was actually the second time in a row Miss Code West had won this race, but last year it was called the Bob Barry Memorial Stakes. It was renamed this year for Remington Park longtime stall superintendent, the late Shawn Bergquist. It was the second win for all the connections of Miss Code West in this series that started in 2009.



The rest of the order of finish for the Bergquist was Talkin Cadee (8-1) third, C W Charm (27-1) fourth, Caleb’s Finest (115-1) fifth, Cryptic Miss (35-1) sixth, Maybe Dolcie (8-1) dead-heated for seventh with Ready (18-1), Code of the South (62-1) ninth, Angel Kiss (64-1) 10th, and Floras Ora (12-1) 11th. Imamidnightspecial was an early scratch in the afternoon.



Remington Park racing continues Saturday, Sept. 12 with 10 races underway at 6:30pm-Central. ... See MoreSee Less

Thoroughbred Racing Association of Oklahoma (TRAO)

14 hours ago

EXCAPING THE BLUES RALLIES TO WIN SECOND CONSECUTIVE RED EARTH HANDICAP AT REMINGTON PARK



OKLAHOMA CITY – A dozen talented Oklahoma-bred veterans stormed the Remington Park turf course for the $50,000 Red Earth Handicap in the Friday finale. Nearly every runner was a contender coming off the final turn but it was Excaping the Blues finding enough run late to pull away for victory.



Owned by the Estate of Michael Grossman of Fredericksburg, Texas, Excaping the Blues won the 7-1/2 furlong Red Earth Handicap for a second consecutive year for trainer Franciso Bravo. Jockey Fernando Jara was aboard, getting the 6-year-old gelding into position for his best run in the stretch.



Approaching the final turn, Jara pulled Excaping the Blues back out of a six-way battle for the front, getting him off the rail. This tactic proved to be a winner as Jara moved Excaping the Blues from behind a wall of four rivals, going to the outside with his gray winner leaving the turn. Once into a clear path, Excaping the Blues was asked to accelerate and he responded with a decisive kick to win by 1-1/2 lengths in a time of 1:29.21 over the firm going. Country Caper (2-1 wagering favorite), also trained by Bravo, followed the winner with his rally for second.



Big Muckity led after a quarter-mile in :23.49 and then a half-mile in :46.97. Good Swimmer had the edge at six furlongs in 1:10.82 before Excaping the Blues rolled by to score.



Away at 9-1 odds, Excaping the Blues paid $20.40 to win, $9 to place and $4.60 to show. The gray son of Excaper, from the Purim mare Pure Blue Sky, was bred by Eureka Thoroughbred Farm. Winning the Red Earth Handicap for a second straight year was worth $30,000, pushing Excaping the Blues to an overall bankroll of $225,978. He has now won eight times from 35 career attempts with four seconds and three third-place efforts.



The remaining order of finish was C W Prize (18-1) third, Winters Lion (41-1) fourth, Red Mountain (11-1) fifth, Good Swimmer (6-1) sixth, Classy Empire (9-2) seventh, Tap the Dot (11-1) eighth, Number One Dude (6-1) ninth, Big Muckity (16-1) tenth, Sonic Posse (12-1) 11th and Stoney Brick Road (42-1) 12th.



Stoney Brick Road finished third originally but was disqualified by the Oklahoma Horse Racing Commission Stewards to last for interference into the first turn on Sonic Posse, causing him to clip heels, stumble and nearly fall.



Remington Park racing continues Saturday, Sept. 12 with 10 races underway at 6:30pm-Central.

Caption: Excaping the Blues (1) wins the Red Earth Handicap on Friday, September 11, 2026 at Remington Park for a second consecutive year. Fernando Jara was up for the score.

Credit: Coady Media ... See MoreSee Less

Thoroughbred Racing Association of Oklahoma (TRAO)

14 hours ago

EAKLY CRUSHES COMPETITION IN CLIFF BERRY TURF SPRINT HANDICAP


For Immediate Release
Friday, September 11, 2026
by Richard Linihan

OKLAHOMA CITY – Someone had to win the $50,000 Cliff Berry Turf Sprint Handicap on Friday at Remington Park after three-time defending champ Dark Afternoon was not entered, so it wasn’t surprising that the horse that ran second behind him last year, Eakly, was the one to pick up that baton.



Oklahoma Horse Racing Hall of Famer Donnie K. Von Hemel trains Eakly and named jockey David Cabrera to ride for the first time. Although it was an antsy blind date between jockey and gelding before the race, things shook out for them in the end as the winner drew away by three lengths for an easy victory.



“I cut him loose from the pony (before the race) to give him a little warmup back in the (7-furlong) chute and then I couldn’t get him to come back to the turf course to go in the gate,” said Cabrera. “I have to give the outrider all the credit for getting him to the gate for me.”



A lot of people would have been extremely disappointed had he not loaded the gate as the son of Caleb’s Posse, out of the Lonhro (AUS) mare Vian, was sitting at 1-9 odds on the toteboard.



When starter Pup Gerwitz popped them from the gate, Eakly broke fourth behind a speed duel in the five-furlongs turf race that set it up for his perfect late kick down the lane. He hit the top of the stretch with a 1-1/2 length lead and just extended it to the wire to three.



“Once the gates opened, I just had to sit back,” said Cabrera, who notched his third win of the night when Eakly crossed first. “Turning for home, I let him come up to outside and, man, he is such a nice horse. I talked to Donnie this morning and he said to just give him a good warmup and let him tell you where he wants to sit. Hopefully, I’ll be on him on Oklahoma Classics Night.”



The race is named for Remington Park’s all-time leading rider, Berry, who had 2,125 wins in Oklahoma City and rode here from 1988-2015 when he retired. As he kicked back in his rocking chair at home, Berry could look back on three Oklahoma Derby wins, 26 Oklahoma Classics stakes victories, the leading rider title here 15 times and $67-million-plus in horse winnings. He also still holds the record at Remington Park with seven thoroughbred victories in one night. He was on hand to present the trophy in the winner’s circle.



“It was an honor to ride in the Cliff Berry Stakes, right?” said Cabrera. “What a nice guy. I rode against him and he was so tough; I could never get by him. The other night I won five in one night and I thought that was great. I can’t even imagine what it feels like to win seven.”



Eakly won handily and paid $2.20 to win, $2.10 to place and $2.10 to show. Missin Hollywood (13-1) was the runner-up, a head in front of third-place finisher Connors Outlaw (11-1). The rest of the order of finish was Twentyone N Change (10-1) fourth, Guapo (31-1) fifth, Legacy Account (20-1) sixth and Mi Saturday (13-1) seventh. Devious Dennis scratched from the race before the night began.



Running time for the winner was :56.12 seconds on the firm going as Eakly, owned by Cheyenne Stables (Everett Dobson) of Oklahoma City, cut into early fractions of :21.44 for the first quarter-mile and:44.41 for the half-mile set by Legacy Account and Twentyone N Change. Eakly was bred by Candy Meadows. He earned $30,000 from the purse and improved lifetime to 28 starts, seven wins, 10 seconds and five thirds for a total bankroll of $479,819.



It was the fourth win in the series for Von Hemel as he won the first three in a row in 2005-2007 with April’s Lucky Boy and twice with Marq French. It was also the fourth time Cabrera had won the race, making trips to the winner’s circle in 2018 and 2020 with Welder and in 2024 aboard Dark Afternoon. It was the first victory in the Cliff Berry for owner Cheyenne Stables.



Over the years this race has been known as the Osage Hills Stakes (2005-2008) and the Remington Park Turf Sprint (2009-2024).



Remington Park racing continues Saturday, Sept. 12 with 10 races underway at 6:30pm-Central.



Remington Park has provided more than $426 Million to the State of Oklahoma general education fund since the opening of the casino in 2005. Located at the junction of Interstates 35 & 44, in the heart of the Oklahoma City Adventure District. The 2026 Oklahoma Derby is set for Sunday, Sept. 27 at Remington Park. Remington Park presents year-round simulcast racing and casino gaming. Guests must be 18 or older to wager on horse racing or to enter the casino gaming floor. Visit remingtonpark.com for more information. ... See MoreSee Less