Diodoro sets up stable at Will Rogers Downs meet

The Will Rogers Downs meet, which opens Monday in Claremore, Okla., has lured a division of horses from Robertino Diodoro, who is one of the leading trainers in North America.

Diodoro has horses stabled in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas, and said the Oklahoma meet gives him the option of keeping some of those runners in the region a little longer, rather than shipping them out west to his base in Arizona.

“We thought we’d give it a try,” Diodoro said. “It’s not that long of a meet.”

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Will Rogers will race 29 dates through May 23.

Diodoro ranks third in trainer wins in North America this year with 70, according to Equibase, and he’s also the leading trainer at Oaklawn Park. This is the first year he’s had a division at Will Rogers.

Diodoro has starters in three races on the opening-day program, including Reachreachreach in the featured ninth, a six-furlong allowance for fillies and mares that has a purse of $27,500. The field of 11 also includes stakes winners She’s Shiney and Fiddler’s Tsunami, and the stakes-placed Summer’s Indy.

Will Rogers drew 92 horses for its 10-race opener, for an average of 9.2 runners a race.

The meet will feature eight stakes races, with the first of those offerings to come April 6, with the running of the $50,000 Wilma Mankiller for fillies and mares at six furlongs. The $50,000 Highland Ice for 3-year-olds and up at six furlongs is April 7.

All of the stakes this meet are being run on either Mondays or Tuesdays. The $55,000 Cinema and $55,000 Will Rogers are April 20 and 21; the $55,000 Miranda Diane and TROA Sprint Classic are April 27 and 28; and the $55,000 More Than Even and $55,000 Cherokee Nation Cup are May 18 and 19.

Will Rogers will race on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays until May, when the schedule shifts to Mondays, Tuesdays, and Saturdays. First post is 1:15 p.m. Central.

Will Rogers, which has electronic gaming, has long been the hometrack of Welder, who is the reigning Oklahoma-bred of the year. He was freshened following a Remington Park campaign in which he won three straight stakes last fall, among them the $150,000 David M. Vance over open rivals in September. Welder had his second work back Friday at Will Rogers.