Will Rogers: Pair of Classics Day preps

Tonight Rainbow, who has registered 11 of his 15 career wins in stakes races, should start as a strong favorite when he returns to the Oklahoma-bred ranks for the $25,000 Oklahoma Thoroughbred Association Classics Prep at Will Rogers Downs.

The six-furlong allowance is one of two races on the card designed as stepping-stones to the Oklahoma Classics Day program this fall at Remington Park.

Tonight Rainbow was second by 1 1/4 lengths in an allowance at Will Rogers in his last start April 30, earning a Beyer Speed Figure of 85. Before that race, he was third in a stakes at Fonner Park. Boyd Caster owns and trains Tonight Rainbow, and he has given the mount to Curtis Kimes.

Go O State is looking for his fourth straight win Saturday. He has shown versatility in his races, winning from both on and off the pace, and he has drawn well in the OTA, getting the outside post in the field of nine. Trainer Kenneth Nolen has given the mount to Mike Fretz.

There is no shortage of speed in the $25,000 Cherokee Casino Will Rogers Downs Classic Prep, which could bode well for Annieville in the six-furlong allowance for fillies and mares. She rallied for second in an optional claimer in her last start April 9, and figures to try and run down such front-runners as Passion Fever, Zippie Okie, and Reel Chrome. Leading rider Nena Matz has the mount for trainer Kari Craddock.