Bayerd and Shotgun Kowboy emerged as the leading 2-year-olds at Remington Park over the course of the meet that opened this summer, and in the final race of the season on Sunday, it came down to those two in the $250,000 Springboard Mile. Bayerd held off fast-closing favorite Shotgun Kowboy by a head, and it was another 4 1/2 lengths back to High Noon Rider in third. The Springboard Mile was the richest of five stakes on the closing-day card at Remington. The stakes races were worth a cumulative $550,000. Bayerd and Shotgun Kowboy were regulars in the 2-year-old series at this meet. Bayerd struck first, taking the $75,000 Kip Deville over third-place finisher Shotgun Kowboy on Sept. 28. Shotgun Kowboy came back to win the $100,000 Clever Trevor over runner-up Bayerd on Nov. 7, before they both made their two-turn debuts in the Springboard Mile. “I think they both ran very good races,” said Steve Asmussen, who trains Bayerd. “Remington put together a nice series, and they’re a couple of horses that have benefited from it and should go on and do well.” Bayerd ($7) broke on top in the Springboard Mile and secured a position along the rail as Supermason made his way to the front and was clear through an opening quarter in 23.22 seconds. Supermason had five lengths on the field through a half-mile in 46.09 seconds, as Bayerd raced in second, moving past that runner into the stretch. Bayerd then fought off High Noon Rider before holding his ground against the late-charging Shotgun Kowboy. Bayerd, with Ramon Vazquez aboard for Clark Brewster, covered the mile on a muddy main track in 1:37.26. “We’re happy to see him have success at two turns,” Asmussen said of Bayerd, a son of Speightstown. “The way he had trained and his demeanor gave us the confidence to do it. But it’s one thing to think they can do it, and it’s another to have success doing it.” Asmussen said Bayerd’s next start likely will be at two turns, with plans to be determined after discussions with Brewster. “Our set plan was the series at Remington,” Asmussen said. “We’re very pleased with that, two wins and a second. We’ll evaluate where we’re at right now and try to find the next spot.” Asmussen said it is to be determined whether the horse heads to Fair Grounds or Oaklawn Park. Bayerd was based at Remington for most of the meet but did his final prep work for the Springboard Mile at Fair Grounds. Last year, Remington was hit with freezing weather that affected training leading up to the Springboard Mile. The weather reared its head again Sunday, when tornado warning sirens led to brief weather delays at Remington. “I wanted to move him [to Fair Grounds] so there wouldn’t be any interruption in his training if the weather turned,” Asmussen said. “Clark said, ‘Do what you think you need to do.’ Mother Nature at this time of the year in this part of the country…We didn’t want any excuses going in.” Bayerd earned $150,000 for his win Sunday, his third victory from five career starts. He also received a fees-paid berth in next year’s Grade 3 Oklahoma Derby at Remington. Bayerd, who in August was an 11-length maiden special weight winner at Saratoga, was bred in Kentucky by Alpha Delta Stables. Asmussen won his 11th Remington training title Sunday, while Vazquez was the meet’s leading rider. Asmussen was winning his fourth Springboard Mile, following wins by Shawklit Man in 2002, Smooth Bid in 2004, and Test Boy in 2005.