FAMILY TIME GETS UP IN LAST STRIDES TO WIN FEATURED ALLOWANCE RACE FOR COUNTRY BRO STABLES

It was an all-musical exacta to conclude the races Tuesday as Family Time, a horse co-owned by Country Grammy Award-winning artist Toby Keith, just got up in the final jumps to beat a horse named Hailey’s Melody.

Hailey’s Melody, trained by Joe Offolter and ridden by Gerardo Mora, had won three of her last four starts in wire-to-wire fashion, and she tried to push that up to four, but Family Time had other thoughts.

That 4-year-old filly by Not This Time (Giant’s Causeway), out of the Rockport Harbor mare Royale Harbor, came flying down the stretch to engage the front-runner and the two went at it all the way to the wire. In the end, the filly owned by Country Bro Stables (Danny Caldwell and Toby Keith) of Shady Point, Okla., edged away for the victory.

The final margin of victory for the 1-mile, 70-yard race was a half-length. Family Time, sent off as the 3-1 betting favorite, covered the distance in 1:43.50 over a fast track. Hailey’s Melody (6-1) set early fractions of :24.86 for the first quarter-mile, :49.36 for the half-mile, 1:14.41 for three-quarters of a mile and 1:39.53 for the mile.

The two of them were another four lengths ahead of third-place finisher Missyintomischief (9-2).

Jockey Weston Hamilton was aboard the winner for trainer Federico Villafranco. Family Time won her second race in a row at Remington Park in this field of 3-year-olds-and-older, fillies and mares, racing under third-level allowance conditions.

Family Time earned $21,627 from the $36,300 purse and improved lifetime to 28 starts, five wins, two seconds and three thirds for a bankroll of $222,308. Her last race in the two-race skein came on the grass at one mile, showing her versatility.

Family Time paid $8.40 to win, $4.80 to place and $3.20 to show. She was bred in Kentucky by Jeff, Teresa and Marilyn Little.

Live racing at Remington Park continues this week on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 18-19, with the first race nightly at 7:07pm-Central.

Tracked by more than 171,000 fans on Facebook and 10,600 Twitter followers, Remington Park has provided more than $308 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 features the $400,000 Springboard Mile, our top 2-year-old race on the final night of the season on Saturday, December 17. Remington Park also presents simulcast racing daily and non-stop casino gaming. Visit remingtonpark.com for more information.

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