Governor's Cup highlights opening weekend

Remington Park opens Friday night with one of its biggest races on the immediate horizon, significant new names in the stable area, a rider on the verge of a notable milestone, and a marketing agreement with horsemen. The 67-date meet will continue through Dec. 14.

The $175,000 Governor’s Cup, the third-richest stakes of the season behind the Grade 3, $400,000 Oklahoma Derby and the $200,000 Remington Park Oaks, both Sept. 28, will go Saturday night with a field of eight, topped by leading Louisiana-bred runner Sunbean. The Governor’s Cup is one of 35 stakes worth a cumulative $3.5 million at this meet.

Purses are projected to average $230,000 to $235,000 a day, said the track’s president and general manager, Scott Wells. The distribution has helped draw a number of new stables to town, including Hall of Famer Jack Van Berg; Karl Broberg, North America’s leading trainer in wins; and Robertino Diodoro, who won last year’s Oklahoma Derby. They are part of a stable area that also includes divisions from Steve Asmussen, Bret Calhoun, and Donnie Von Hemel.

“For me, personally, it’s such a great thrill to have Jack Van Berg,” said Wells, a former assistant and barn foreman for the Hall of Famer when he set a record for trainer wins in a year in 1976. “Jack is a great teacher to me, and he still doesn’t cut me any slack!”

Jockey Cliff Berry, who is a 15-time title winner at Remington, is one victory short of reaching the mark of 2,000 Thoroughbred wins at the Oklahoma City track. Berry has six mounts Friday.

“Not many guys have won 2,000 races at a single racetrack,” Wells said. “We think that it will be probably a 1-9 shot on opening weekend that he will make that target.”

Remington drew 98 horses for its nine-race opener, with the feature a filly-and-mare turf-sprint allowance that drew stakes winners Dancin Lil, Seeking Ms Shelley, American Sugar, and Snappy Girl.

Wells said the race reflects the quantity of starters and quality of runners that Remington and its horsemen are out to promote through a new marketing agreement the track has with the Thoroughbred Racing Association of Oklahoma.

“The association is going to provide us additional funds to help promote the meet,” said Wells, who last week was named to the board of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association. “It’s the first time it’s ever happened, and it will enable us to have a much greater reach.

“I think there’s a shared belief among the horsemen and track management we’ve been a little bit overlooked as far as the quality of our racing. We want to make sure we get the message out there nationally that we have a good product and are eager for people to play our races.”

Remington’s stakes program is led by three major cards, fueled in part by the track’s 750 electronic gaming devices. The Oklahoma Derby, on a special Sunday afternoon card Sept. 28, will anchor a program of seven stakes worth $1,025,000.

The Oklahoma Classics program of eight divisional stakes will be worth $1,040,000 when run Oct. 17. And a package of five stakes worth $550,000 will be held on the meet’s only other Sunday afternoon program, Dec. 14. It is led by the $250,000 Springboard Mile, the culmination of a series for 2-year-olds that starts with the $75,000 Kip Deville on Sept. 28 and includes the $100,000 Clever Trevor on Nov. 7.

The seven-furlong Clever Trevor will have a $25,000 bonus, reserved for a winner who also passed through a Carter Sales auction in Oklahoma City, said sale manager Terri Carter. The company’s latest auction will be on Sunday afternoon at the Oklahoma City Fair Grounds, with 82 yearlings and 11 horses of racing age cataloged, said Carter.