Thoroughbred Racing Association of Oklahoma (TRAO)

5 days ago

MISS CODE WEST TIES WELDER FOR MOST REMINGTON PARK HORSE OF MEETING HONORS, WINNING FOR THIRD CONSECUTIVE YEAR

OKLAHOMA CITY – Miss Code West, with three stakes victories, one of those in open company in the She’s All In on Dec. 20, the final night of the 2025 season, was voted the Horse of the Meeting. The accolade has tied Remington Park’s all-time winningest horse, Welder, for most Horse of the Meeting honors, winning her third in a row.

Welder, who won the most Remington Park races of any Thoroughbred at 16, won three consecutive Horse of the Meeting trophies from 2018-2020. He and Miss Code West are the only two horses in Remington Park history to win more than one.

Miss Code West, a 4-year-old Oklahoma-bred filly by Code West, out of the Kipling mare Inca Miss, has now won 10 races at Remington Park and becomes the first horse to have a shot at challenging Welder’s record since he set it on Aug. 27, 2021.

Owned by Jeffry and Julie Puryear of Denton, Texas, Miss Code West was trained to three victories this meet by Kevin Scholl. Regular rider Floyd Wethey, Jr. was up for all three wins – the She’s All In Stakes, the Oklahoma Classics Distaff Turf and the Bob Barry Memorial Stakes. The last two were over turf against fellow Oklahoma-breds.
She was the only horse to win three black-type events this meet.

Letta’s Legacy did beat Miss Code West twice, but neither of those was in stakes company and both were at 6-1/2 furlongs, a distance that Letta’s Legacy excelled at and one that Miss Code West did not prefer. Her best races came on the grass and around two turns on the main track. She has won five stakes races in a row at Remington Park, dating back to the Oklahoma Classics Distaff Handicap on Oct. 18, 2024. The last time she lost in stakes company here was in the Remington Park Oaks on Sept. 29, 2024.

Miss Code West’s record at this meet was five starts, three wins and two seconds. In her career, she is 18-13-3-0 for $618,277 in earnings. She was bred by Remington Park’s top owner the past two years and one of its top breeders’, if not the best, Bryan Hawk. Miss Code West was purchased by the Puryears for $12,000 from the Texas Thoroughbred Association Yearling Sale in 2022. Miss Code West also won titles for Champion Older Female and Champion Turf Performer on the ballot.

Here’s a look at the Parade of Stars, the champion horses from the 2025 meet:

Express Kid – Champion 2-year-old Male
The vote in this category was a no-brainer as Express Kid shocked the world with his front-running runaway upset in the biggest race of the meet, the $300,000 Springboard Mile that put him into the top 10 in the country on the Kentucky Derby points leaderboard. Express Kid, the 34-1 winner of the Springboard for trainer Wade Rarick, jockey Jose Alvarez and owner Steve Haahr of Puyallup, Wash, went wire-to-wire in the race. He paid $71 to win, the second-longest payout for a winner in the history of the race. Only Texas Bling ($259.60 in 2012) had a higher payout.

A $2,000 purchase at an Arizona auction, Express Kid broke his maiden in his career debut, going 4-1/2 furlongs in a race at Canterbury in Minnesota. Express Kid is California-bred colt by Bodexpress, out of the Street Sense mare Sensationalize. Haahr got a horse with a lot of heart per dollar, holding off the undefeated favorite horse from New York – Arctic Beast, a two-time stakes winner and the odds-on 4-5 betting choice in the Springboard

Express Kid also won an allowance non-winner of two career races on the turf at Remington Park prior to the Springboard.

Not a Lady – Champion 2-year-old Female
Not a Lady was a solid choice in this category, winning the Toby Keith Stakes on closing night, the top race of the meet for juvenile fillies. This Kentucky-bred filly by Into Mischief, out of the More Than Ready mare Justa Lady, was three-for-three at the meet and the Asmussen family had a lot to do with that. Jockey Erik Asmussen and trainer Steve Asmussen, Erik’s dad, teamed up for all three wins with Not a Lady this meet. She broke her maiden here on Oct. 4, won an allowance race on Oct. 25 and then won the Toby Keith on Dec. 20 by 2-1/4 lengths. The Toby Keith was the first stakes win for this $775,000 purchase from the Keeneland September Yearling Sale of 2024.

Mister Omaha – Champion 3-year-old Male
Despite running third in the Oklahoma Derby to ship-in winner Bracket Buster, Mister Omaha made a huge comeback in this category by winning his next two starts in stakes races – the Oklahoma Classics Cup and the Jim Thorpe Handicap, both against fellow Oklahoma-breds.

Mister Omaha, owned by Bryan Hawk, trained by Oklahoma Horse Racing Hall of Famer Joe Offolter, and ridden by Luis Quinonez, held on by a neck on closing night to win the Jim Thorpe Handicap, or he would likely be hearing about Bracket Buster as the champion 3-year-old male. Oddly enough, Quinonez never seemed to be worried about the victory, never touching the horse with the whip down the stretch. He kept an eye on the fast-closing Classy Empire by watching the Super Screen in the infield, but he never panicked. The top two in the Jim Thorpe were 17-1/2 lengths ahead of third place finisher Work Zone. The mile win came in a time of 1:37.89, the fastest time at the distance on Dec. 20 at Remington Park.

,Hawk also bred Mister Omaha. The 3-year-old Oklahoma-bred colt by Omaha Beach, out of the Into Mischief mare Cosmic Code, had a record of 3-2-0-1 at Remington Park this meet and has a lifetime line of 14-7-1-2, $385,993. Mister Omaha also won the Champion Oklahoma-bred category over Miss Code West, Letta’s Legacy, Royalamerican and Take Me Serious, likely riding the wave of a third-place finish in the Oklahoma Derby, Remington Park’s only graded race on the stakes calendar, and then his two stakes wins after that.

So There She Was – Champion 3-year-old Female
This Kentucky-bred filly by Munnings, out of the Take Charge Indy mare Risk Premium won her only start at Remington Park but it was a big one for two-time Kentucky Derby-winning trainer Doug O’Neill. She won the top race of the year for sophomore fillies – the $200,000 Remington Park Oaks on Sept. 28.

So There She was, with the meet’s top rider Ramon Vazquez up, defeated the odds-on 2-5 favorite, Lemon Zest, by 2-3/4 lengths. So There She Was came to Remington Park from Del Mar, near San Diego, where she won the Grade 3 Torrey Pines Stakes on Aug. 30.

Ze’bul – Champion Older Male
Ze’bul won this category in a tough fight with Gigante. Both horses were undefeated at the meet, but Ze’bul was three-for-three while Gigante was two-for-two and the former also won the Jeffrey Hawk Memorial Stakes on closing night, the top race for older horses on the main track during the meet.

A 5-year-old Kentucky-bred gelding by Collected from the Empire Maker mare Bahama Bound, Ze’bul was ridden at Remington Park by Floyd Wethey, Jr. for trainer Dick Cappellucci. He held on by three-quarters of a length over 20-1 longshot and upset-minded Presidential, out of the Steve Asmussen barn to score the Hawk.

Ze’bul also won a first-level allowance race and a second-level allowance event this season.

Gigante won one stakes race, the Remington Green, and was successful in an open $44,000 allowance for his other victory.

Ze’bul is owned by Centurion Racing Partners of Azle, Texas and has a career record of 27-6-5-3, $225,563. He was bred by Dell Ridge Farm and was bought from the Keeneland September Yearling Sale of 2021 for $130,000 by Chris Drakos.

Letta’s Legacy – Champion Sprinter
A well-deserved champion in this category out of the barn of C.R. Trout of Edmond, Okla., who also owned and bred her. Named for Trout’s late wife Arletta, Letta’s Legacy defeated Horse of the Meet Miss Code West twice at 6-1/2 furlongs and also won a stakes race in taking the Oklahoma Classics Distaff Sprint.

Letta’s Legacy, a 4-year-old Oklahoma-bred filly by Practical Joke, out of the Sunday Break (JPN) mare Sundayville Break, won four-of-five starts this meet. Letta’s Legacy’s only loss of the meet came when she ran sixth on the turf, a surface she obviously did not like.


Letta’s Legacy has a record of seven wins in nine starts in 2025 and overall has an incredible record of 18-9-6-1 for earnings of $325,599. Her regular rider David Cabrera was in the saddle for all her wins here this year.

Love Pack – Champion Claimer
An easy choice in this category, winning five times this meet, Love Pack was the only claimer who won more than three races during the 2025 season.

Talk about an excellent year for this 3-year-old Kentucky-bred gelding by Classic Empire, out of the Elusive Quality mare Bold Quality, Love Pack’s record at Remington Park was 6-5-1-0, finishing second in the only race he lost.

The gelding was claimed for $5,000 by owner-trainer Barry Hodgson on Oct. 23 this meet when he won for owner-trainer Steve Asmussen. That was the second race in a row in which Love Pack ran for a $5,000 tag, enough to qualify Love Pack to some winnable starter allowance races here. Hodgson never put him in another claiming race the rest of the season.

Love Pack ran second in one starter allowance before winning two in a row to end the meet for Hodgson. Love Pack had found the winner’s circle in three claiming races in a row to start the meet. He was in trainer Robertino Diodoro’s barn for his first victory on Aug. 23 against $10,000 claimers, winning by 2-1/2 lengths. Diodoro won again with him, winning a $5,000 claiming price on Oct. 10 by 1-1/2 lengths at 1-9 odds. That was the race where he was claimed by Asmussen who ran him back on Oct. 23 for the same $5,000 claiming price and he won by three lengths at 2-1 odds, while claimed by Hodgson.

For Immediate Release
Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025
by Richard Linihan ... See MoreSee Less

Thoroughbred Racing Association of Oklahoma (TRAO)

1 week ago

ZE’BUL CATCHES PRESIDENTIAL LATE TO WIN JEFFREY A. HAWK MEMORIAL AT REMINGTON PARK

OKLAHOMA CITY – Ze’bul won his third race in his last four starts, making a determined late rush to catch 20-1 longshot Presidential just before the finish in the $75,000 Jeffrey A. Hawk Memorial on Saturday at Remington Park.

Jockey Floyd Wethey, Jr., knew exactly when to push the right buttons on Ze’bul to get the 5-year-old Kentucky-bred by Collected, out of the Empire Maker mare Bahama Bound, home first. He never had the lead until the last few jumps in the one mile, 70-yard race. The margin of victory for Ze’bul was three-quarters of a length over Presidential, who surprisingly was sent off at long odds despite residing in the barn of top trainer Steve Asmussen.

Ze’bul broke seventh in the field of seven, well back of the early leaders. The field scratched down to seven with the defections of Willy D’s and Heroic Move.

“I really wanted to be within a couple of lengths of the early leaders but Ze’bul had another plan,” said Wethey. He trailed by 6-1/2 lengths after the first quarter-mile.

Ze’bul was sent off at 3-1 odds and paid $8.20 to win, $4 to place, and $3.20 to show. He was the second betting choice by the public, behind only the 2-1 favorite, Track Phantom, who finished fourth after setting the early pace. C W Prize (9-1) checked in third, two lengths back of Presidential and one length ahead of Track Phantom. The rest of the order of finish was Victory for Vets (4-1) fifth, Spoiler (7-1) sixth and U.S. Army (7-2) seventh.

The running time for the winner was 1:43.21 on the fast track. Ze’bul cut into interior fractions of :24.28 for the first quarter-mile, :48.88 for the half-mile, 1:13.41 for six furlongs and 1:38.97 after a mile.

“I really thought he was going to be a better sprinter,” said his trainer Dick Cappellucci. “But then he put up his career high speed figure in a route race (the $100,000 Zia Championship Stakes).”

Ze’bul ran second in that New Mexico stakes, beaten four lengths by Heroic Move, who figured to be one of the favorites, if not the favorite, in the Hawk before he scratched. The gelded Ze’bul won all three of his starts at Remington Park this season, the previous two to this stakes victory coming against allowance horses.

Ze’bul was bred by Dell Ridge Farm and was purchased at auction for $130,000. That buy came in the Keeneland September Yearling Sale of 2021. He earned $45,000 from the Jeffrey A. Hawk victory and improved his career record to 27 starts, six wins, five seconds and three thirds for a bankroll of $225,563.
It was an emotional victory for Cappellucci, who slapped high-fives in the winner’s circle, after his interview, with everyone and anyone who would raise their hand.

The Jeffrey A. Hawk Memorial is a race named in honor of the brother of leading Remington Park owner and breeder Bryan Hawk. Jeffrey passed away from complications after surgery in 2017.


For Immediate Release
Saturday, December 20, 2025
by Richard Linihan ... See MoreSee Less

Thoroughbred Racing Association of Oklahoma (TRAO)

1 week ago

TWO-TIME REMINGTON PARK HORSE OF MEETING MISS CODE WEST, STATES HER CASE FOR THIRD TROPHY SCORE IN SHE’S ALL IN STAKES

OKLAHOMA CITY – Remington Park’s two-time Champion Horse of the Meet the past two years, Miss Code West, staked her claim to a possible third trophy. She won her third stakes race of the season, this one against open company in the $75,000 She’s All In Stakes.

The 4-year-old Oklahoma-bred filly by Code West, out of the Kipling mare Inca Miss, took on open company fillies and mares and it just didn’t matter as Miss Code West was returning to a route of ground at one mile, and 70 yards. The She’s All In Stakes victory was her fourth in a row that she has negotiated around two turns. Her only two losses this meet have come in sprints against the top Oklahoma-bred sprinting filly on the grounds, Letta’s Legacy.

“(Miss Code West) by far is better going a route of ground,” said her trainer Kevin Scholl.

Scholl made a case for her getting her third Horse of the Meet award.

“She has shown she can win on grass or dirt and sprinting is not her game,” he said. Miss Code West did run second in both sprint losses.

This filly with the huge heart has won or run second in her last 10 consecutive starts. She improved her lifetime record to 18 starts, 13 wins, and three seconds for earnings of $618,277. Miss Code West was bred by Bryan Hawk and was bought at the Texas Thoroughbred Association Yearling Sale of 2022 for $12,000.

Owned by Jeffry and Julie Puryear of Denton, Texas, Miss Code West won her third stakes of the meet, this one being the one that Oklahoma-breds are not supposed to win. Prior to the She’s All In victory, the filly also took down the $130,000 Oklahoma Classics Distaff Turf win on Oct. 17 here and the $50,000 Bob Barry Memorial Stakes on Sept. 12, also on the grass, both versus fellow Oklahoma-breds.

Jockey Floyd Wethey, Jr., let Miss Code West settle in second for the first half mile of the She’s All In, sitting behind the pacesetter, Thunders Rocknroll (8-1).

“The race went just the way we drew it up,” said Wethey. “I just let her do her thing and tried to stay out of her way.”

By the time three-quarters of a mile was run, Miss Code West had moved in front by a half-length and Thunders Rocknroll faded to third behind second-place Take Me Serious (3-1). Thunders Rocknroll was not done, however. She decided to fight on and passed Take Me Serious in deep stretch to regain the second-place spot, 1-1/2 lengths ahead of Take Me Serious.

Miss Code West won the She’s All In by 1-1/2 lengths as the 7-5 co-favorite. She had slightly more money bet on her than the other 7-5 horse, Perfect Shot, who beat only one horse in the six-horse field.

The rest of the order of finish in the She’s All In was Thetruthisthetruth (39-1) fourth, Perfect Shot fifth, and Gee I’m Foxy (16-1) sixth.

Miss Code West paid $4.80 to win, $3 to place and $2.40 to show. Her winning time was 1:43.61 on the fast main track. She followed the early fractions of :24.36 for the first quarter-mile, :48.28 for the half-mile, and by the time they hit six furlongs, the winner took over. She passed the mile in 1:39.11.

The race scratched down to six horses when Take Charge Milady was declared out prior to the races.

The She’s All In is named after the Oklahoma-bred racing mare who earned more than a million dollars in her career, with 11 of her lifetime wins at Remington Park.

For Immediate Release
Saturday, December 20, 2025
by Richard Linihan ... See MoreSee Less