Horsemen’s Park: Festival of Racing continues with Fantango Lady Stakes

Saturday should bring out a wide variety of shapes and sizes of characters, and that’s just on the racetrack as Horsemen’s Park in Omaha, Neb., moves into Day 2 of its Festival of Racing.

The always-popular camel and ostrich races will be held following the second and fourth races on Saturday’s five-race card, which also will feature a pair of Nebraska-bred stakes for 3-year-olds. Local morning radio hosts Todd and Tyler from Z-92 will be part of the festivities with a special 20th-anniversary blanket presentation, and the duo will be broadcasting live from the track from 4 to 6 p.m.

The stakes action opens with the first race on the card as Shesafrigidcat seeks her second straight stakes win in the $30,000 Fantango Lady Stakes as a field of six fillies will meet at six furlongs. This race and the Skunktail, for 3-year-old colts and geldings, have been shortened to six furlongs from their traditional one-mile distance this year.

Shesafrigidcat, trained by Chuck Turco, won her maiden race March 22 at Fonner Park. In her next out, she made a bid into the far turn of the Pepsi Stakes but flattened out and weakened to fourth. She followed that up with a closing three-quarter-length win in the Fonner Park Special on April 20, when she wore down Gypsy Jo Rose through the lane to earn the victory.

Gypsy Jo Rose will likely set the pace again in this spot for trainer Steve Hall and will have Larren Delorme aboard.

The card closes out with the $30,000 Skunktail Stakes, where Diamonds Ace is the likely heavy favorite in a field of nine for trainer David Anderson. Diamonds Ace is a half-brother to the multiple stakes-winning Diamond Joe, who will be in action here Sunday. Diamonds Ace is riding a three-race win streak that includes the Fonner Park Special on April 13 and a second-level allowance win April 27.