Oregon-breds get their day in sun

PORTLAND, Ore. - All 11 races are for statebreds Saturday, the annual Oregon-bred Day program at Portland Meadows. There are six stakes and two starter handicaps, plus a pair of maiden special weight races and one claiming race.

The marquee matchup will be provided by the day's richest stakes, the $25,015-added Os West Oregon Futurity, which will pit Yada Yada Yada against Stately Jack Flash in a field of eight at a mile.

The two juveniles first met in the six-furlong Bill Wineberg Stakes on Nov. 17, when the debuting Yada Yada Yada scored a stunning one-length upset over Stately Jack Flash, who went off as the 3-10 favorite. Stately Jack Flash restored his reputation with a half-length victory over Knightsbridge Road in the six- furlong Columbia River Stakes on Dec. 1 and is expected to be favored Saturday.

Heading the opposition to the top two is Glad to Be Here, who beat maiden special weight company before finishing third to Yada Yada Yada and Stately Jack Flash in the Wineberg.

Most of the other Thoroughbred stakes on the Oregon-bred Day program figure to have strong favorites. Yesss, a winner of two stakes last season, tops a field of nine in the $10,000 Oregon Sprint Championship at six furlongs. Callie Mae, who has won allowance races in both of his starts at the meet, is the one to beat in the $10,000 Oregon Hers Stakes at a mile. And Fit to Bet, the winner of last year's Oregon Futurity, should be a solid favorite in the $10,000 Oregon His at 1 1/16 miles.

Among the most competitive races on the card is the six-furlong, $10,000 Jane Driggers Debutante Stakes for 2-year-old fillies. Though Janet Wineberg winner Our Lucky Kiss might be accorded a slight edge over five rivals, she figures to be sternly tested by persistent rival Roada Ghost, and Carlyn Road, who overcame trouble to score by more than five lengths over maiden company here on Nov. 30.

Quarter Horses will run Saturday in the $5,000-added Candy Cane Handicap, which will go as the fourth race. The 870-yard Candy Cane Handicap has lured a full field of eight, headed by recent winners Floyds Ink Jet and Beluga Star.

* In conjunction with the Oregon-bred Day program, the Oregon Thoroughbred Breeders' Association will conduct its annual stallion season auction at Portland Meadows on Saturday. The silent auction will offer breeding seasons to 43 Northwest stallions, and the proceeds will be equally divided between the OTBA's Sale Bonus Fund and the purse for the OTBA Stallion Stakes.

THE FIELD

OREGON FUTURITY

Purse: $25,015-added, 1 mile

Odds by Dennis Dodge

for Portland Meadows entries.

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