DRIFTING WEST WINS FEATURE, EARNING TRAINER JOE OFFOLTER A PERFECT NIGHT WINNING WITH ALL THREE STARTERS

Trainer Joe Offolter had the kind of night that horsemen dream about; send out three starters and win with all three, including Drifting West upsetting the field in the feature allowance race Thursday night at Remington Park.

A member of the Oklahoma Horse Racing Hall of Fame at Remington Park, Offolter sent out Natalie’s Toccet ($13.20 to win) in the fourth race among Oklahoma-bred fillies and mares, all trying to win for the second time in their careers. Natalie’s Toccet came from the clouds, settling in ninth down the backstretch under jockey Jose Alvarez before passing everyone in sight for a 2-1/4 lengths win at 5-1 odds in the 5-1/2 furlongs race.

Offolter then saddled A Fast Broad ($4.20), the prohibitive even-money favorite in the sixth race. The 3-year-old filly was sprinting seven furlongs against maiden fillies and mares. With jockey Luis Quinonez in the irons, A Fast Broad pressed the pace in third and took over at the half-mile mark, stretching the lead to four lengths at the top of the stretch. Before she hit the wire, she was a widening 10-lengths winner.

Then came the eighth race for 3-year-olds-and-up, scheduled to race at a mile on the turf course. Consistent rains over two days forced the race to move off the turf to a main track, listed as good. The distance remained the same and Offolter stayed perfect, winning with his third jockey of the night – Ramon Vazquez, who guided Drifting West ($13.40) to the wire, making every pole a winning one at odds of 5-1.

Drifting West, a 4-year-old gelding by New Year’s Day, out of the Maria’s Mon mare Grand Lady, won the second-level allowance race by a neck over 2-1 betting favorite The Rock Says. He covered the mile on the dirt in 1:37.38 seconds and was no more than a head in front of The Rock Says at any point in the race until the wire. It was a true eye-to-eye battle from start to finish with fractions of :24.36 after a quarter-mile, :47.71 at the half-mile, 1:11.84 for three-quarters of a mile and 1:24.26 for seven furlongs. Much Better was third best, another two lengths behind that pair.

Drifting West is owned by Bryan Hawk of Shawnee, Okla., and earned $18,198 for him from the purse of $30,500. He improved his record to 12 starts, three wins and four thirds for a career bankroll of $75,856. The last two wins for Drifting West have come at Remington Park. He broke his maiden at Prairie Meadows in Iowa on Aug. 10 last year and then won here on Nov. 30. This was his first win in seven tries in 2020, completing a perfect night for Offolter.

Drifting West was bred in Kentucky by Gary & Mary West Stables.

Remington Park racing continues Friday and Saturday, Sept. 11 & 12, with nine races underway nightly at 7:07pm-Central.

Tracked by more than 164,000 fans on Facebook and more than 10,400 Twitter followers, Remington Park has provided more than $246 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 is open daily for casino gaming and simulcast horse racing. The 2020 Thoroughbred Season is scheduled to run through Dec. 20. Visit remingtonpark.com for more information.

-30-