For Immediate Release
Saturday, December 1, 2012
SPRINGBOARD MILE NOMINATIONS TOTAL 48, TOP 2-YEAR-OLD RACE WILL CAP REMINGTON PARK SEASON
OKLAHOMA CITY – The $300,000 Springboard Mile, the richest 2-year-old race of the Remington Park Thoroughbred Season, collected 48 nominations. The event headlines the final racing program of the season on Sunday, Dec. 9.
National Hall of Fame trainers submitted nominees from across North America, filling the list with the top 2-year-olds that have already seen competition this fall at Remington Park. Trainers D. Wayne Lukas, Nick Zito and Bob Baffert may all send runners to Oklahoma City, utilizing the Springboard Mile as a proving ground toward a possible move down the Triple Crown trail in 2013.
Lukas, a 1999 inductee to the Hall of Fame, requested three stalls for the final Remington Park racing weekend and may ship Hightail for the Springboard Mile. The winner of the $500,000 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Sprint on Nov. 2 at Santa Anita Park in southern California, Hightail was fourth recently in the Grade 3, $1 million Delta Downs Jackpot Stakes on Nov. 17.
Hightail is the highest earning nominee for the Springboard Mile with $359,979 compiled from 10 starts with one win, a second and two third-place runs.
Zito, inducted to the Hall of Fame in 2005, has nominated Almost English for the Springboard. Owned by Toby Keith’s Dream Walkin Farms of Norman, Okla., Almost English recently was third in an allowance race at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky.
Baffert, a Hall of Fame inductee of 2009, nominated seven for the Springboard. Among his group is Carving, the leading winner of all nominees with three career victories, owned by Natalie Baffert and Olympic Gold Medal Skier Bode Miller. Carving was fourth in the Grade 1, $250,000 Front Runner Stakes at Santa Anita in late September before winning the $100,000 Real Quiet Stakes at Betfair Hollywood Park in early November.
Another nominee from the Baffert group is Den’s Legacy who most recently won the Grade 3, $100,000 Generous Stakes at Betfair Hollywood Park on Nov. 24. Den’s Legacy has been in the money in five of his last six starts, the last four of which have been in stakes races.
Baffert has also nominated the top four finishers from the Grade 3, $100,000 Hollywood Preview on Nov. 22, led by the winner Really Mr Greely who is enjoying a two-race winning streak.
Mylute, third in the Grade 3, $1 million Delta Downs Jackpot on Nov. 17, has been nominated by trainer Tom Amoss. Mylute was also second in the $200,000 Jean Lafitte Stakes at Delta Downs in October, the major prep for the Jackpot at the Louisiana track.
King Henny, winner of the $100,000 Clever Trevor Stakes in early November, has been nominated by trainer Steve Asmussen who will win his ninth Remington Park training title this season. The Clever Trevor is the final local prep race for the Springboard.
Trainer Mark Casse has nominated Exploring for Tulsa, Okla. owner and Oklahoma Horse Racing Hall of Famer John Oxley. Exploring broke his maiden at Woodbine in Ontario, Canada prior to a third-place effort in an allowance race at Churchill Downs in late October.
The Springboard Mile, which can contain a maximum field of 12, will be compiled on Thursday morning in the Remington Park racing office.
There are just five racing dates left in the 2012 Remington Park Thoroughbred Season, featuring a special five-date week of action from Wednesday thru Sunday, Dec. 5-9. The first race is at 6:30pm nightly, except for the special 1:30pm program on Sunday, Dec. 9. The $300,000 Springboard Mile, the richest 2-year-old stakes race of the season, headlines the final afternoon of the year.
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.
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For more information, contact:
Dale Day
Dale.day@remingtonpark.com
