2024 KENTUCKY DERBY RUNNER TRACK PHANTOM REGAINS WINNING FORM AT REMINGTON PARK

Track Phantom had not won a race since he took down the Grade 3, $200,000 Lecomte Stakes at Fair Grounds in New Orleans in 2024. He had a flashback at Remington Park to what it was like to be first, winning the featured allowance race Saturday night.

A 4-year-old Kentucky-bred colt by Quality Road, out of the Into Mischief mare Miss Sunset, Track Phantom has not had the same kind of success in 2025 that he experienced as a 3-year-old when he raced in the Kentucky Derby. As a 4-year-old, his best result was a third-place finish at Churchill Downs in Louisville in May in allowance-optional claiming $100,000 company, 6-1/2 lengths behind the winner. His other dismal starts were a 30-length loss on the grass in stakes company at Kentucky Downs last time out and two seventh-place losses, both by 12-plus lengths.

The fans of Remington Park are nothing if not a forgiving bunch. The prodigy at 3 was still being sent off at 1-5 odds, going 1 mile-70 yards on the fast main track against allowance horses that had not won a race since April 18, 2025 or had not won four races lifetime. Jockey Erik Asmussen popped Track Phantom out of the gate like a shot and had extended that lead to two lengths after three-quarters of a mile. Then it was a five-length lead at the top of the stretch and finally a victory by 6-1/4 lengths for racing’s all-time winningest trainer Steve Asmussen, Erik’s dad.

When Track Phantom was going good last year, his best races always came when the horse raced on the front end. That’s how he won the Lecomte and then ran second to Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Sierra Leone in the Grade 2, $400,000 Risen Star Stakes at Fair Grounds as he continued on the Kentucky Derby trail. Sierra Leone, who finished second in voting to Thorpedo Anna for 2024 Horse of the Year, won the Risen Star by only a half-length over Track Phantom.

Owners L&N Racing were the buyers of Track Phantom for $500,000 in the Keeneland September Yearling Sale of 2022. Clark Brewster of Tulsa, Okla, and Breeze Easy LLC of Ocala, Fla., are also partial owners of this horse. It appeared to be a sharp purchase immediately as Track Phantom made his way to Churchill Downs and the Run for the Roses on the first Saturday in May last year.

Track Phantom ran fourth in his final start before last year’s Kentucky Derby in the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby at Fair Grounds. He was the 2-1 favorite in the Louisiana Derby but was mostly ignored as he was sent off at 48-1 odds in the Derby where he finished 11th in a field of 20 horses. Mystik Dan was the winner of the 2024 Kentucky Derby, a nose in front of Sierra Leone.

Track Phantom earned $25,200 on Saturday night and improved his overall record to 15 starts, four wins, three seconds and two thirds for a bankroll of $484,274.

Track Phantom set fractions of :24.49 for the first quarter-mile, :48.18 for the half-mile, 1:12.29 for three-quarters of a mile and 1:37.27 for a mile and then concluding the distance in 1:41.51 on the fast track. He finished ahead of runner-up Tiburon, who closed well, but not well enough. Tiburon was a neck in front of third-place runner Edified.

Track Phantom, bred in Kentucky by Breeze Easy LLC, paid $2.40 to win, $2.10 to place and show.

Vazquez Triples Saturday
Ramon Vazquez got back to his multiple-winning ways on Saturday at Remington Park as he posted a riding triple.

The Vazquez hat trick started in race two with Charming Tiger ($2.60 to win), continued with Luck Is A Lady ($7) in race four then concluded with Big Pop ($7.60) in race nine. The three wins pushed his Remington Park leading total for the season to 54.

Remington Park racing continues next week with a regular schedule of Thursday-Saturday, Oct. 23-25, with first post time of 6 p.m.-Central.

Remington Park has provided more than $390 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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