HARRY HERNANDEZ RECORDS RIDING TRIPLE SATURDAY AT REMINGTON PARK TO MOVE UP JOCKEY STANDINGS

Jockey Harry Hernandez dominated the Saturday night card at Remington Park scoring riding wins in three of the eight races to move up from fifth in the standings to fourth.

When Hernandez won the eighth and final race aboard Lady Jae on the turf, it was the 10th time he has made it to the winner’s circle this meet. Last year’s runaway winner in the battle for the Pat Steinberg Trophy, Stewart Elliott, remains in first with another win on Saturday night, giving him 21 victories. He has pulled well ahead of the field as Floyd Wethey, Jr., even with a five-bagger Friday night, is still eight wins behind the front-runner at 13. Four-time jockey title winner at Remington Park, David Cabrera, sits in third with 11 wins, just one ahead of Hernandez.

Hernandez, who passed Jose Alvarez in the standings, started his big night with a victory in the second race aboard maiden winner O S U Budke ($6.60 to win) for trainer Scott Corderman and owner Lance Evans. Hernandez pounced out of the gate on that 4-year-old Oklahoma-bred filly and got her to lead throughout six furlongs to break her 0-12 losing streak in her lucky 13th try.

Hernandez’s second trip to the winner’s circle came in the saddle of the old veteran stakes winner Absaroka ($16.20) in the sixth race for trainer Ronnie Cravens, III, and owner Gerald Dewitt. No one dared get in Hernandez’s way on this night as his first two winners burst from the gate on top and never looked back. Absaroka, at 8 years old, still showed the willingness to fight off his competitors the entire way and finish 1-1/2 lengths in front. It was his 12th win in 42 career starts.

The final win of the night for Hernandez came in the final race with Lady Jae ($4) stalking on the grass from third position and moving to the front in mid-stretch of the turf course. The 6-year-old mare, racing for trainer Abel Ramirez-Rodriguez and owner Melvin Simonovich, got up to win by a full length.

In the trainers’ standings, 18-time training tittle winner at Remington Park and the No. 1 conditioner in North American History, Steve Asmussen, remained in front this meet with his nine wins. Jayde Gelner made it to the winner’s circle with Sharp Spark in the fifth race for Highlander Training Center, giving him six wins on the meet. He is now in a second-place tie with Dick Cappellucci. Following that pair with five wins apiece are J.R. Caldwell and Shawn Davis in a dead-heat for fourth.

There is a tie atop the owners’ standings with Cappellucci and Bryan Hawk knotted at six wins apiece. Tied for third with four apiece are Richard P. Chandler and Carl R. Moore Management. Three owners are tied behind them with three wins each – George Sharp, End Zone Athletics and Windy Racing.

Remington Park racing continues next week with a Wednesday-Saturday schedule, Sept. 11-14. First post time nightly is 6:30 p.m. CDT.

Remington Park has provided more than $357 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 simulcast racing daily and non-stop casino gaming. The 2024 Thoroughbred Season continues through Dec. 13. The Grade 3, $400,000 Oklahoma Derby takes place on Sunday, Sept. 29. 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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