REMINGTON PARK SPRINGBOARD MILE NOMINATIONS DOMINATED BY STEVE ASMUSSEN, IROQUOIS WINNER SPICE RUNNER LEADS HIS CONTINGENT

Steve Asmussen, the all-time winningest trainer in North American history, is gunning for 2026 Kentucky Derby points, and consequently has nominated five horses to Remington Park’s $300,000 Springboard Mile on Saturday, Dec. 20.

Among his five is Spice Runner, a winner at Churchill Downs in the Grade 3, $300,000 Iroquois Stakes in Louisville, Ky., on Sept. 13. The 2-year-old Kentucky-bred colt by Gun Runner, out of the Cowboy Cal mare Simple Surprise ran his best race in the Iroquois, winning by a head at the one-mile distance. Spice Runner is owned by Winchell Thoroughbreds (Ron Winchell) of Las Vegas, Nev. Asmussen indicated it was most likely that Spice Runner would be in the Springboard Mile.

A total of 31 horses were nominated to the Springboard Mile, Remington Park’s cornerstone race for 2-year-olds at the end of every year. The top five finishers in the Springboard Mile earn points toward the 2026 Kentucky Derby on a 10-5-3-2-1 scale.

Asmussen has won the Springboard Mile seven times since the race’s inception in 2001. His winners are Shawklit Man (2002), Smooth Bid (2004), Test Boy (2005), Bayerd (2014), Long Range Toddy (2018), Shoplifted (2019) and Otto the Conqueror (2023).

The 2024 winner was Coal Battle for trainer Lonnie Briley and owner Norman Stables. Jockey Juan Vargas won the race for the first time. Coal Battle went on a run as a 3-year-old, winning the Smarty Jones Stakes and the Grade 2 Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark., which catapulted him to the Kentucky Derby. Coal Battle finished 11th in the derby.

Among Asmussen’s other Springboard nominees are Chip Honcho, a maiden winner at Churchill Downs by 1-1/4 lengths at one mile; Speed it Up, a maiden winner Saturday, Dec. 6 at Remington Park at one mile-70 yards; Time for Music, a maiden winner at Keeneland in Lexington, Ky., at seven furlongs, and Way Beyond, who ran fourth in his last start in the $100,000 Jean Lafitte Stakes at Delta Downs in Vinton, La.

Asmussen currently sits third in the national trainer standings in earnings behind Brad Cox and Chad Brown. He is well on his way to his 20th training title at Remington Park.

Other prominent trainers that have nominated multiple horses are Chad Summers (3), Scott Young (3), Oklahoma Horse Racing Hall of Famer Joe Offolter (2), Ken McPeek (2), Michael Maker (2) and Austin Gustafson (2).

Maker has indicated chances are pretty good that Crown the Buckeye will go in the Springboard Mile. That Ohio-bred colt by Yaupon, from the Unbridled’s Song mare Feisty Tomboy, has won his last two starts, both in stakes company. On Oct. 25 at Mahoning Valley Race Course, Crown the Buckeye won the Best of Ohio Juvenile Stakes by 4-1/4 lengths at 1-1/16th miles. Prior to that win, he won the $100,000 Cleveland Kindergarten Stakes on Aug. 14 at Thistledown by 12-1/4 lengths, sprinting six furlongs.

Maker’s other nom is Arctic Beast, an undefeated winner of three races including two stakes events at Finger Lakes in New York and a maiden race at Saratoga in upstate New York. All three wins were against fellow New York-breds. He is owned by Paradise Farms Corp., JP Racing Stable, David Staudacher, Zilla Racing Stables and Jennifer Rice.

The 2-year-old with arguably the best resume among the nominations is Napoleon Solo, winner of the Grade 1, $500,000 Champagne Stakes at Belmont at Aqueduct’s meet on Oct. 4 for trainer Chad Summers and owner Gold Square LLC. Napoleon Solo, a Kentucky-bred colt by Liam’s Map, out of the Scat Daddy mare Atomic Blonde, has exploded to impressive wins, breaking his maiden at Saratoga on Aug. 8 by 5-1/4 lengths and then the Champagne by 6-1/2 lengths.

Summers conditions horses on the East Coast and is a multiple graded stakes winner. Not only does he have Napoleon Solo in his barn, but also trains Mind Your Biscuits, who won the Dubai Golden Shaheen Stakes and has earned $3,484,200 as a result. Summers’ other two noms for the Springboard are a pair of maidens in Baltimore and Relevance.

McPeek’s pair of noms are Universe, who is two-time graded stakes placed and ran third behind Napoleon Solo in the Champagne; and Very Connected, who has finished behind Universe in his last two starts in the Grade 3, $200,000 Street Sense Stakes and the Grade 2, $400,000 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes. Both of those races were at Churchill Downs at 1-1/16th miles. Universe ran second in both events while Very Connected was third in the Street Sense and fourth in the Kentucky Jockey Club.

Universe is a Kentucky-bred colt by Global Campaign, from the Quality Road mare Equalityforall, and is owned by 4 G Racing, Gregg Day, Steven Crain and Magdalena Racing. Very Connected is a Kentucky-bred colt by Connect, out of the Awesome Again mare C J’s Gal, and is owned by Dream Big Racing.

Carrying the local flag into this year’s edition of the Springboard will likely be Essential Time, Royalamerican and The Hell We Did.

Essential Time, a Kentucky-bred gelding by Essential Quality, out of the Twirling Candy mare Twilight Curfew, won the $150,000 Clever Trevor Stakes on Sept. 28, sprinting 6-1/2 furlongs, for trainer Danny Pish and owners Duffy’s Racing Stable and Heider Racing Stables.

Royalamerican, an Oklahoma-bred gelded son of Upstart, out of the Creative Cause mare Scat for the Cause, has won two Oklahoma-bred stakes at Remington, the $100,000 Oklahoma Classics Juvenile and the $50,000 Don McNeill Stakes. If he were to be entered in the Springboard Mile by owner-trainer-breeder C.R. Trout, it would be his first start in open company in five races. The gelding won the Oklahoma Classics Juvenile by 3-1/2 lengths at six furlongs on Oct. 17 and then stretched out to a one-mile win by three-quarters of a length in the Don McNeill on Nov. 7.

The Hell We Did, a Kentucky-bred colt by Authentic, from the Desert God mare Rose’s Desert, broke his maiden for trainer Todd Fincher at Remington Park by a neck at six furlongs on Oct. 16. He then shipped to Zia Park in New Mexico on Nov. 25 for his first stakes race, running second in the $100,000 Zia Juvenile Stakes, beaten 3-3/4 lengths at six furlongs. He is owned by the Peacock Family Racing Stable and is a half-brother to newly inducted Oklahoma Horse Racing Hall of Fame member, Senor Buscador, the winner of the 2020 Springboard Mile. Senor Buscador went on to earn just shy of $13 million in his career, with victory in the world’s richest race, the $20 million Saudi Cup in 2024, greatly increasing his bankroll.

Another nomination of note is that of trainer Victoria Oliver, who will be trying to sweep the two major thoroughbred stakes at Remington Park after winning the Oklahoma Derby in September here with Bracket Buster.

Remington Park racing continues Dec. 10-13, Wednesday through Saturday, with the first race nightly at 6pm-Central.

Remington Park has provided more than $402 Million to the State of Oklahoma general education fund since the opening of the casino in 2005. Located at the junction of Interstates 35 & 44, in the heart of the Oklahoma City Adventure District, Remington Park presents year-round simulcast racing and casino gaming. The 2025 Springboard Mile, a 2026 Kentucky Derby qualifying points race, takes place Saturday, Dec. 20, the final night of the Thoroughbred Season. Guests must be 18 or older to wager on horse racing or to enter the casino gaming floor. Visit remingtonpark.com for more information.

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