Optimism in the air ahead of 30th anniversary season

Remington Park will open one of its most significant meets ever on Friday night in Oklahoma City.

The track will be celebrating its 30th birthday throughout the season. Purses have increased over the corresponding meet in 2017. And, the stakes schedule, led by the Grade 3 Oklahoma Derby, has a second graded race for the first time in track history in the Grade 3, $200,000 Remington Park Oaks.

“We’re more optimistic than ever as we approach this season,” said Scott Wells, president and general manager of Remington. “We think we’re really gaining momentum. We give the credit for that to our horsemen, our jockey colony, and all the people that choose to patronize Remington Park.”

Remington will race 67 dates through Dec. 16. The biggest cards are the Oklahoma Classics program of eight stakes Oct. 19, the Oklahoma Derby Day card of 10 stakes Sept. 30, and the Springboard Mile Day program of six stakes Dec. 16.

Remington first opened its doors 30 years ago – on Sept. 1, 1988 – and in celebration there will be drawings and other promotional events throughout the entire meet, said Wells.

On the track, average daily purses will start at $240,000.

“By the end of the season, we hope purses will have increased by more than 10 percent,” said Wells.

The purse fund is fueled by both handle – which was up in 2017 – and an ontrack casino with 750 electronic gaming machines.

“Beginning July 1, 2017, our casino, which previously had been severely limited as to hours of operation, was allowed to operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” Wells said. “It’s helped attendance. It’s helped revenues. And it’s helped purses.”

Remington’s stakes schedule comprises 32 races worth a total of $3.7 million. The $400,000 Oklahoma Derby and the $400,000 Springboard Mile for 2-year-olds are the richest stakes on the calendar. Last year, the Springboard Mile began offering eligibility points for the Kentucky Derby.

“We have strong hopes and guarded optimism that the Springboard Mile will receive graded status at some point in the future,” said Wells.

The Remington Oaks – a 1 1/16-mile race won last year by champion Champagne Room – will have its first graded running this meet. It will share a card with the Oklahoma Derby.

Remington’s first stakes of the meet, the $100,000 Remington Green, comes Friday night. The 1 1/8-mile turf race drew 11 older horses, among them Dot Matrix, a recent stakes winner for trainer Brad Cox; Rated R Superstar, a Grade 3 winner at the distance looking for his first turf victory; Turbo Street, winner of last year’s Remington Green; and Pacific Typhoon, a threat to wire the field Friday.

Dot Matrix has returned to the Midwest after being based in New York. He invades Remington off a win in the $100,000 Warrior Veterans on July 14 at Indiana Grand. Earlier this summer, Dot Matrix was fourth in the $125,000 Kingston for New York-breds on May 28 at Belmont Park.

“He’s been in good form all year,” said Cox, who trains Dot Matrix for Ten Strike Racing. “We feel like he’s a little more effective in the Midwest as opposed to the New York-bred stakes. He’s doing really well, breezed fantastic last weekend.”

Florent Geroux has the mount from post 7.

The Remington Green is part of a 50-cent late pick four on races 6-9 that has a minimum guaranteed pool of $40,000.

During the meet, the late pick four on Fridays will have a minimum guaranteed pool. It will again be $40,000 on Aug. 31, said Remington spokesman Dale Day, then will increase to $60,000 starting Sept. 7.