EAKLY WINS FOR HOME TEAM, TAKING GREAT WEST TURF SPRINT AT REMINGTON PARK
For Immediate Release
Sunday, September 27, 2026
Sometimes it is the local heroes that wind up in the spotlight. Eakly made sure of that Sunday at Remington Park, winning the $250,000 Great West Turf Sprint against some of the toughest grass sprinters shipping in from around the country.
Eakly, a 6-year-old Oklahoma-bred gelding by Caleb’s Posse, out of the Lonhro (AUS) mare Vian, is trained by Oklahoma Horse Racing Hall of Fame conditioner Donnie Von Hemel and owned by Cheyenne Stables (Everett Dobson) of Oklahoma City. Those connections saw their speedster beat Runnin’ Rocket, ridden by National Racing Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez by a neck and last year’s winner of this race, Jackman’s Ride, by another neck. Eakly and Jackman’s Ride, carrying the local flag in this race, also finished ahead of horses that had raced at some of the top tracks around the country – Del Mar on the West Coast, Saratoga in New York and Churchill Downs, home of the Kentucky Derby.
Eakly, who had won the $50,000 Cliff Berry Turf Sprint Stakes on Sept. 11 as a prep race for the Great West, seems to have found his niche at five furlongs on the grass, winning for the fourth time at the distance in 10 tries. He also has run second three times and third twice at the measure.
“I gotta thank Remington Park for creating this race,” Dobson said, referring to the second running of the race. “I have to thank Donnie and jockey David Cabrera gave us a thrilling ride.”
Dobson began racing horses in 1996 and has used such prominent trainers as Todd Pletcher, Kiaran McLaughlin, Von Hemel and the late Christophe Clement. Dobson is a multiple graded stakes owner, with horses’ earnings of more than $13 million as solely Cheyenne Stables. He has multiple other pairings with Cheyenne and other owners, so those earnings for his horses can be exponentially multiplied.
On this night, his eyes were on Eakly, who went off at 4-1 odds and paid $10.60 to win, $5.20 to place and $3.60 to show. The speedy gelding pocketed $150,000 for Cheyenne Stables and improved his record to 29 starts, eight wins, 10 seconds and five thirds for a bankroll of $629,819. He was bred in Oklahoma by Candy Meadows, an entity in Lexington, Ky., Dobson also owns.
Eakly sat third through the first part of the quick sprint greensward and had his head in front at the top of the stretch. At that point, he fought valiantly to get that neck in front at the wire.
“I have to give a lot of credit to the gate crew because he is a handful to load,” said Cabrera. “The one time I learned about him riding him in the Cliff Berry was that I needed to get him out of the gate fast. The gate crew was tremendous.”
Eakly faced early fractions of :21.28 for the first quarter-mile, :43.68 for the half-mile, before finishing in :55.16, which was a stakes record since Jackman’s Ride covered that distance last year in :55.52, the only other running. Eakly is a multiple stakes winner that ran second to Jackman’s Ride last year in the inaugural Great West Turf Sprint Stakes.
The remaining order of finish in the Great West behind Jackman’s Ride was Let’s Go Mark (9-2) in fourth, Governor Sam (5-2 favorite) in fifth, High Front (11-1) in sixth and Virat (7-2) in seventh.
Remington Park racing continues next month, Thursday through Saturday, Oct. 1-3 with the first race nightly at 6:30pm-Central.
Remington Park has provided more than $426 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. The 2026 edition of the Oklahoma Classics, the top night of stakes racing for Oklahoma-breds, is set for Friday, Oct. 16 at Remington Park. Remington Park presents year-round simulcast racing and casino gaming. 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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