Include Betty overcomes pace trouble to win Oaks
OKLAHOMA CITY – Include Betty overcame both a slow pace and a claim of foul to win the $200,000 Remington Park Oaks on Sunday. She was the 1-5 favorite in the 1 1/16-mile race that was among six stakes supporting the featured Grade 3, $400,000 Oklahoma Derby.
Sweet Opportunity finished second, beaten a half-length, and it was another 1 1/4 lengths back in third to Harlan’s Romance. Following the race, Jareth Loveberry, who rode Harlan’s Romance, claimed foul against Include Betty. The stewards debated the claim alleging stretch interference before allowing the order of finish to stand.
Include Betty ($2.60) trailed in the early stages of the Remington Oaks as Tosha Talifero dictated the tempo up front, coasting through fractions of 24.49 seconds for the opening quarter, 49.12 for the half-mile, and 1:14.10 for six furlongs. Include Betty launched a five-wide move midway on the final turn and continued to race wide into the stretch. She took the lead with about an eighth of a mile to run, drifted in, then proceeded to cover the distance on a track rated fast in 1:44.83.
“When I hit the front too early, she wants to start pulling up,” said Drayden Van Dyke, who was aboard Include Betty for trainer Tom Proctor. “I really didn’t want to hit her, but I had to, and she went down to the left a little. We didn’t bother the horse too much to cause anything big. She ran well. She tries hard every time, and I’m very blessed that I get the opportunity to ride her.”
Brereton Jones races Include Betty with Timothy Thornton. Jones said plans going forward for Include Betty will be determined after taking time to assess her race. Proctor, when reached last week in advance of the Oaks, said his policy is not to speak to the media.
Include Betty won the Grade 1 Mother Goose in June at Belmont Park. She is a daughter of Include, and she was bred by Jones and Lavin Bloodstock. Earlier in her career, Include Betty won the Grade 3 Fantasy at Oaklawn and the Suncoast at Tampa Bay Downs.