Lucarelli, Harwood among Washington Racing Hall of Fame finalists

Trainers Frank Lucarelli and Doris Harwood are among the 15 finalists in four categories eligible to the Washington Racing Hall of Fame. The induction ceremony will take place at Emerald Downs on Washington Cup Day, Sept. 9.

Lucarelli is one win behind Tim McCanna for most lifetime wins at Emerald Downs and is third in the trainer standings this year. McCanna was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2011.

“It’s a great honor to be on the list,” said Lucarelli. “I’m very excited about it and it would be fantastic if I got voted in.”

Prior to taking out his trainer’s license in 1979, Lucarelli was hoping to have a career in baseball after the Pittsburgh Pirates drafted him out of high school. At Western Washington University in 1977 he had a 1.90 ERA and he also threw a perfect game against Eastern Washington University.

“I thought I was pretty good when I pitched a three-hit shutout in my first start in the minors,” he said. “I realized I might need to do something else when I lost my next four or five games.”

With 1,685 wins and $21,122,011 in earnings, he apparently made the right choice.

Harwood is the all-time leader in stakes wins at Emerald with 67.

Cecil Jolly, best remembered for winning the 1975 Santa Anita Derby with Sir William, and Ruth Parton, the first woman to receive a trainer’s license in American turf history, are the other trainers on the list.

The finalists in the other categories are:

Horse: Georgie Drum, Hank H., Mustard Plaster, and Sirde; Jockey: Bazil Frasier, Juan Gutierrez, Richard Hollingsworth, and Jennifer Whitaker; Breeder: C. F. Flower, Maurice McGrath, Penney Family.

Trainer Blaine Wright, a likely future nominee, will try to continue his hot streak with Blame It On Royce in a one-mile $25,000 conditional claimer that will serve as Friday’s feature.

Wright won three stakes at Emerald on Sunday including the $50,000 Mt. Rainier with Riser. The front-running win by Riser stamped him as the local favorite for the Grade 3, $200,000 Longacres Mile on Aug. 12.

Blame It On Royce is perfect in two starts this year, and the 6-year-old Kentucky-bred son of Blame has won half of his 12 starts, all at Emerald.

He is coming off a front-running win in an open $20,000 claimer on June 17. He finished third in his only try going around two turns, but that was in 2015 in just his second start, and he has improved greatly since then.

He will break from post 2 with Julien Couton retaining the mount.

Cross Creek looks like the main threat. Trained by Harwood, the 5-year-old Washington-bred is coming off a runner-up finish in a $20,000 claiming race on July 3 and is capable of stalking what should be a fast and contested pace.