GENESIS 1 PULLS OFF MINOR UPSET IN FEATURED ALLOWANCE RACE

Genesis 1 was somewhat overlooked in Saturday night’s allowance feature race at Remington Park, despite the fact that this 3-year-old gelding’s connections thought he might be good enough to qualify for the Grade 3 West Texas Derby at Sunland Park in January.

Genesis 1, out of trainer Harvey Baeza’s barn, won his West Texas Derby trial and produced a speed index of 91 on Jan. 14, but the slowest qualifying time for the Derby was a speed index of 94. So, Baeza and owner Dario Madrid of Odessa, Texas, put their heads together and decided to bring this gelded son of Hes Relentless, out of the Chicks a Blazin mare Double Down, to Remington Park in Oklahoma City.

The gray gelding, under jockey Raul Ramirez, Jr., showed the same kind of winning speed he did in the West Texas Derby trials and never was headed in Saturday’s race at 350 yards. Genesis 1 is now two-for-two this year, starting a winning streak. He hit the wire a half-length in front of One Slick V, a 10-1 longshot. Genesis 1 was sent off at 5-1 odds and rewarded his players, returning $12.40 to win, $6.40 to place and $4 to show.

Genesis 1 stopped the timer in :17.868 seconds for an 83 speed index over a fast track. Mr Goodbye, the 8-5 wagering favorite, checked in third, a head behind the runner-up. Mr Goodbye was coming off a strong third-place finish in the $221,000 Black Gold 400 Laddie Stakes at Will Rogers Downs in Claremore, Okla., last fall on Nov. 13.

Genesis 1 earned $12,750 from a $24,900 purse and improved his career record to seven starts, three wins and one third for $25,803 in earnings. The conditions of the allowance race specified non-winners of three races lifetime.

Remington Park racing resumes Sunday with the first post at 4 p.m.

Tracked by more than 168,000 fans on Facebook and 10,600 Twitter followers, Remington Park has provided more than $286 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 the home of the historic Oklahoma Futurity on March 19. Simulcast horse racing featured daily, the casino is always open! Visit remingtonpark.com for more information
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