For Immediate Release
Sunday, December 9, 2012
REMINGTON PARK LEADING HORSEMEN CONTINUE STREAKS
OKLAHOMA CITY – The 2012 Remington Park Thoroughbred Season came to a close on Sunday with the leading horsemen in the categories of jockey, trainer and owner the same as they’ve been for a number of years.
Cliff Berry – 15th Remington Park Jockey Title
Jockey Cliff Berry secured his 15th Pat Steinberg Award during Sunday’s Springboard Mile card. The Jones, Okla. resident won two races on the final program of the season to end with 72 wins.
Berry has won three consecutive Steinberg Awards, denoting the leading rider for the Thoroughbred Season. The honor is named after the late rider who dominated the early years of Remington Park racing before his passing in 1993.
Luis Quinonez was second with 67 wins while Lindey Wade was third with 51 victories.
While Berry won the battle for wins, Quinonez led the way in mount earnings with $1,776,044. His biggest win of the season came aboard Alternation in the $200,000 Governor’s Cup on the meet’s Opening Weekend in August.
Berry was second in earnings with $1,603,044 with Wade third at $1,360,988 and Alex Birzer fourth garnering $1,230,968.
Steve Asmussen – 9th Remington Park Training Title
Trainer Steve Asmussen clinched his ninth Chuck Taliaferro Award as leading trainer at Remington Park, days before the final afternoon of racing had taken place. He ended the season with 47 wins.
Asmussen, from Arlington, Texas, has now won six consecutive training titles at Remington Park dating to the 2007 season. He won his very first seasonal training title at Remington Park in 1991. Asmussen’s career has flourished since, becoming a national operation with horses competing simultaneously at many tracks across North America. This fall he was inducted into the Oklahoma Horse Racing Hall of Fame at Remington Park.
Donnie Von Hemel was second in the trainer standings with 27 wins with Chris Hartman third at 26.
The Chuck Taliaferro Award is named in honor of one of the early training stars in Remington Park history who had a long and successful career nationally before returning to his home state of Oklahoma once Remington Park opened. Taliaferro sat atop the local trainer standings twice before passing in 1994.
Asmussen led all trainers with $1,064,400 in earnings and was the only trainer to top the million-mark. Von Hemel was next with $938,106 while Hartman was third with $591,737.
Danny Caldwell – 4th Remington Park Leading Owner Title
The Ran Ricks, Jr. Award for leading owner went to Danny Caldwell of Poteau, Okla. who visited the winner’s circle 21 times. This is his third consecutive leading owner title and his fourth since 2008.
Caldwell runs an operation that is strong in the claiming department, often purchasing runners out of races then immediately moving them up in class while gaining victory. He claimed Fifth Date, an 8-year-old Oklahoma-bred for $18,000 on Aug. 25, then won the $156,000 Oklahoma Classics Cup just two starts later with the gelding.
Caldwell’s horses are primarily trained at Remington Park by Federico Villafranco. He won his first Thoroughbred owner title in 2008 and picked up two more in 2010 and 2011.
Black Hawk Stable of Elk City, Okla. was second in the owner standings with 13 wins while the Richter Family Trust of Perkins, Okla. and Clark Brewster of Tulsa, Okla. shared third-place with 11.
The Richter Family Trust led the way for earning by owners with $511,790. Among their many winners was Okie Ride, a force in the local sprint division.
Caldwell was second in earnings with $380,080 while Black Hawk Stable was third with $361,642.
Live racing at Remington Park now goes on hiatus until March 8, 2013 when the American Quarter Horse & Mixed-breed Season begins. The 2013 Thoroughbred Season will get underway on August 16.
Open daily at 10am for casino gaming and simulcast racing, Remington Park features the Bricktown Brewery on the casino floor. Admission, general parking and valet parking are always free at Remington Park, home of the Grade 3 Oklahoma Derby, to be run for the 25th time on September 29, 2013.
Tracked by over 26,000 fans on Facebook and 3,000 Twitter followers, Remington Park is Oklahoma City’s only Racetrack & Casino and is located at the junction of Interstates 35 & 44, in the heart of the Oklahoma City Adventure District. For more information, reservations and group bookings please call 405-424-1000, 866-456-9880 or visit remingtonpark.com.
-30-
For more information, contact:
Dale Day
Dale.day@remingtonpark.com
