AUBURN, Wash. – Blaine Wright has never won a training title at Emerald Downs, or anywhere, for that matter, but he’s thinking that 2015 might be the perfect time for a breakthrough. Wright, 40, began the week with 13 wins from 40 starters at the meet, putting him second in the standings behind Jeff Metz. Metz, the two-time defending champion, has thrived this year with a high-volume approach (77 starts, 21 wins). Wright has fewer horses but a healthier winning percentage – 32.5 percent entering the week, the second-best strike rate at Emerald Downs (minimum 15 starters). Maybe, Wright said, a few more horses in the barn would be enough for him to overtake Metz by the end of September. “I’d really like to make a run at the training title,” Wright said Thursday from the San Francisco Bay Area, where he keeps a second string of horses. “I don’t know how many chances I am going to get. I don’t start a lot of horses, but this could be my shot to make a run at leading trainer. I’m trying to talk my clients into bringing horses to Emerald and making a run at it and seeing if we can’t get lucky.” Alert Bay, the big horse in Wright’s barn, is in California being freshened following a calamitous trip in the June 13 Albany Stakes at Golden Gate Fields. Wright is hoping to have Alert Bay in peak form for a possible start in the Grade 3 Longacres Mile at Emerald Downs on Aug. 16. Meanwhile, Wright – and Mark Rheinford, his right-hand man at Emerald – have been winning races right and left. “We’ve been placing our horses good, and to me, that’s a tribute to the clients,” Wright said. “We can put them where they can have a good showing. It’s nothing we’re doing different than anyone else. We’ve got horses with conditions, and we’re running them right.” Wright will get a boost from a handful of 2-year-olds in the pipeline. Two of his best fillies have fallen by the wayside, however, one to shin problems, the other to illness. But reinforcements are on the way. “We’ll just keep grinding,” Wright said. “I’m sending three more up this week.” Dinerman settling in Matt Dinerman had a memorable first week as the voice of Emerald Downs. Dinerman was hired in May to replace Robert Geller, Emerald’s original track announcer, who left for a similar job at Woodbine. Geller helped Dinerman during a brief transition period, but beginning June 12, Dinerman was on his own. The green but game 22-year-old said he was nervous but not unreasonably so. “It went really well for me,” Dinerman said. “There was a lot going on, with the Indian relay races, the Comcast show on Saturday … it was a really good learning experience. I trained with Robert for two weeks, but the training isn’t complete until you go and do it yourself. Mistakes were made, but that’s going to happen.” Dinerman taught himself to call races from vantage points at Del Mar, where he was given access to a booth in the press box, and Santa Anita, where he was permitted access to the roof. He said he’s still getting used to his new setup on the sixth floor at Emerald. Everything is different, from the sight lines to the microphone he uses. Calling Quarter Horse races has been a novel challenge for him. “I’m about five yards past the finish line, and I’m sort of sideways to the track from the booth, so in the very beginning, I think the first race I called, I thought the horse won by three, and then I looked at the replay, and the horse had won by seven,” Dinerman said. “With Quarter Horse races, I’ve called three so far in my entire life. It’s different because you can’t worry about little details. The very first Quarter Horse race I ever called, there were eight horses, and four of them just obliterated each other. If I tried to say every single horse in that incident, the race would have been over.” Dinerman said feedback has been positive. His only mistakes during the weekend were little trifles, like saying “Steve Knapp” when he meant “Neil Knapp” – understandable given Dinerman’s roots in Southern California. Meanwhile, the folks back home are thrilled for Dinerman, who was hired by Emerald Downs just three days after graduating from Chapman University in Orange, Calif. “A lot of my friends are delighted, and the support on social media has been overwhelming,” Dinerman said. “A lot of people want me to do well.”