AUBURN, Wash. – Competition could be fierce this summer at Emerald Downs, which opens its 70-day meeting Saturday at 2 p.m. Pacific with a nine-race card. Among the positives for horsemen and horseplayers alike, the horse population is up 23 percent this week from a similar juncture a year ago, and the jockey colony is as strong as it’s been in a decade, maybe longer. The meeting runs through Sept. 11, with racing Saturdays and Sundays during the first two weeks and Fridays through Sundays most weeks thereafter. First post on Fridays is 6:30 p.m. Pacific, and first post on weekends is 2 p.m. Leslie Mawing, who won riding titles at Emerald in 2011 and 2014, leads a jockey contingent that also features previous Emerald leading riders Juan Gutierrez, Isaias Enriquez, and Julien Couton, along with veterans Jake Barton, Joe Steiner, Javier Matias, and Rocco Bowen. Newcomer Erick Lopez, the older brother of the hot-riding Southern California apprentice David C. Lopez, is another rider to watch. :: Bet Emerald Downs with DRF Bets. Get a $200 cash bonus, including $50 free just for making a deposit! Find out more today Couton posted 100 wins to run away with the riding title at his first Emerald Downs meet last year, and now Mawing, a distant third last year with 77 wins, is focused on reclaiming the top spot. To that end, Mawing arrived at Emerald Downs last month, a week earlier than usual, to get a head start on Couton, who is expected to miss the first eight days of the meeting while continuing to ride in Northern California, and Enriquez, who will miss a few days while fulfilling riding commitments in Arizona. Mawing made like Joe Namath last week when he told an Emerald Downs media-relations official, “No ifs, ands, or buts, I’m going to win the title this year.” He backtracked from those comments Wednesday, if ever so slightly. “I’m feeling pretty confident,” said Mawing, 42. “I was riding for some guys at Golden Gate – Blaine Wright, Frank Lucarelli, Larry Ross – with good horses, and they are coming here. And I’m into some good barns here already. As long as I stay healthy … that’s always the key.” Mawing said there was no real secret to Couton’s dominance in 2015: Couton simply worked harder than Mawing did. When Couton was getting on horses every morning, Mawing was spending several days a week at his family home near Boise, Idaho. “Kudos to him,” Mawing said of Couton. “He was here every day. He and his agent were working really hard while I went home more often. But I was happy with my meet. I didn’t have the most wins, but the quality of life was really good.” Still, Mawing was able to lead Emerald’s jockeys in earnings ($1.28 million) while improving his remarkable hot streak in stakes races. The South Africa native is 21 for 49 over the past two years in Emerald Downs stakes, a stunning 43 percent success rate. “This year, it’s going to be competitive,” Mawing said. “The talent level is pretty high. Juan’s always in the top three. Isaias is back, myself, Rocco is going to be tough this year – he keeps getting better. Jake Barton is going to have a good meet in what, his second year here? Joe Steiner – everyone loves Joey. There’s a lot of guys. I’m not expecting a cakewalk. I’m working every day.”