Remington handle jumps

Remington Park in Oklahoma City, which switched to night racing for its 66-date Thoroughbred meet that ended Nov. 28, has reported a sharp increase in handle over the previous year's meet.

Remington handled an average of $549,701 a night on its races from all sources, up 51 percent from last year's average of $364,030. An average of $481,012 a night was bet on the track's races from offsite. Attendance remained about the same as last year, averaging 1,587.

Purses averaged $100,000 a night. For next year's Thoroughbred meet, which starts in August, purses are projected to be $200,000 a program, said Scott Wells, general manager of Remington.

The purse increase will be funded in large part by a new casino at the track that opened Nov. 21. There are 650 electronic gaming machines in place, and an average of 23 to 25 percent of the net win of the machines will go to purses, said Wells.

Cliff Berry earned his 10th local riding title with 112 wins from 407 mounts for meet-best earnings of $1,128,047.

Bret Calhoun was the leading trainer with 31 wins from 79 starts. His stable earned $320,600.

Gary Owens won his third consecutive leading owner title with 36 wins from 161 starters. His horses earned $265,440, led by The Niner Account, who captured the $40,000 Taliaferro Memorial.