FOUR-TIME REMINGTON PARK JOCKEY TITLE WINNER DAVID CABRERA POSTS FRIDAY NIGHT DOUBLE

Jockey David Cabrera slowly but surely is beginning to look like the rider of old who took down four Remington Park riding titles in a row from 2018-2021. His riding double on Friday night moved him into a tie for third place in the jockey standings with six overall wins.

After winning four titles in a row, Cabrera suffered major injuries during a racing accident at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark., in April 2022. When he returned to Remington Park in late 2022, Cabrera said he was ready to defend his title but something was missing. He could do no better than ninth place with 30 victories. Cristian Torres won the title with 71 wins, breaking Cabrera’s streak. He had won in 2018 with 95 wins, 2019 with 83, 2020 with 96 and 2021 with 90.

Cabrera missed the first week of racing at Remington Park this year, serving a suspension, giving the jockeys’ colony a head start. Since then, he has racked up six victories and is only one win out of second place (Floyd Wethey Jr. with seven). Stewart Elliott padded his lead Friday night with another win, giving him 13 for the meet. Cabrera is tied with Leandro Goncalves and Richard Eramia.

The Jones, Okla., resident won Friday, taking the late daily double all by himself, scoring the eighth race with Night Orb and the ninth with Lady Zephyr. Night Orb, a 3-year-old filly by Orb, out of the Najran mare Unholy Night, is trained by Ronnie Cravens III, who got his first win of the meet. Night Orb won this $30,000 claiming race for non-winners of two, going five furlongs on the firm turf. Night Orb went off as the 5-2 second favorite and won by a half-length over the 2-1 favorite, Jade Empire.

The winner paid $7 to win, $3.20 to place and $2.20. She covered the distance in :58.39. Night Orb sat second just off the pace set by third-place finisher Shacked Stateside, who put up early fractions of :22.08 for the first quarter mile and :46.03 for the half. Night Orb is owned by Richard Ervin of Tulsa, Okla., and was bred by Kirk McDowell in Arkansas.

Cabrera’s second winner, Lady Zephyr, beat a bunch of first-time starters in a maiden special weight race for 2-year-old Oklahoma-bred fillies. She was one of only three starters in the field who had had a previous race. The other six had never raced. Cabrera popped Lady Zephyr out of the gate first and never looked back, fending off a couple of late runners to win by 2-1/2 lengths. The daughter of Flat Out, from the Archarcharch mare Katabatic, won the five-furlong event on the fast main track in a time of :59.58 after she set interior fractions of :22.58 and :46.77.

Lady Zephyr was sent off as the 9-5 second favorite and beat second-place finisher and 6-5 favorite Letta’s Legacy, who was another 4-1/2 lengths ahead of Low Euro Cat (5-1) in third place. Lady Zephyr is owned by Michael Schiesel of Tulsa and trained by Bret Calhoun. She was bred by S.F. Henderson in Oklahoma. Lady Zephyr paid $5.80 to win, $3 to place and $2.20 to show. The late $2 Daily Double that Cabrera owned returned $22.80 to those who wagered on it.

Remington Park racing continues Saturday, Sept. 2 with the first race at 7:07pm-Central.

Remington Park has provided more than $328 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 home to the Grade 3 Oklahoma Derby and the Grade 3 Remington Park Oaks on Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023. Remington Park presents simulcast racing daily and non-stop casino gaming. Parking and admission are always free. Must be 18 or older to wager on horse racing or enter the casino gaming floor. Visit remingtonpark.com for more information.

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