INCA EMPIRE PULLS OFF UPSET IN OKLAHOMA CLASSICS CUP FOR ALL-TIME WINNINGEST REMINGTON PARK OWNER DANNY CALDWELL

Remington Park’s all-time winningest owner, Danny Caldwell of Poteau, Okla., has found the winning formula for taking down the $131,000 Oklahoma Classics Cup. For the third time in this race, Caldwell won Friday night with a horse he claimed, this time with Inca Empire, an 8-1 longshot.

“I claimed Fifth Date (winner in 2012) and Don’t Tell Noobody (2020) and now this one,” he said after the race. “We tried him in a turf race first time out this meet and we could tell he didn’t like that.”

Inca Empire ran seventh, beaten four lengths in the $50,000 Red Earth Stakes on the grass, so Caldwell’s outfit tried Plan B – back to the dirt and pointed toward the Oklahoma Classics Cup.

“The plan doesn’t always work out like this,” said Caldwell.

Jockey Isaac Castillo got a leg up from trainer Oscar Flores and took over in mid-stretch to pull away for victory. The race included multiple stakes winners Number One Dude and Flat Hanby, but as they say, Inca Empire can’t read the past performances and didn’t care. Number One Dude could do no better than fourth and Flat Hanby ran last after stumbling twice out of the gate and never showing any interest after that.

Inca Empire, a 5-year-old Oklahoma-bred gelding by Midshipman, out of the Kipling mare Inca Miss, was bought for $20,000 by Caldwell out of a race on June 30 this year at Prairie Meadows in Altoona, Iowa. Inca Empire raced two more times in Iowa before his new owner loaded him up in a trailer and brought him home.

Inca Empire’s best race for Caldwell before the stakes win tonight was when he ran second, beaten only a half-length in an optional $30,000 claiming race at Prairie Meadows on July 22. On Friday, he improved lifetime to 28 starts, eight wins, three seconds and three thirds, picking up $78,600. His new career earnings now stand at $215,209.

Inca Empire bested runner-up C W Prize (5-2) by 1-3/4 lengths in the 1-1/16th miles race over the fast main track and the second-place finisher was another 1-1/2 lengths ahead of Winters Lion (3-1). The rest of the order of finish was Number One Dude (7-2) fourth, Soul Sacrifice (19-1) fifth, Okie Smoke (26-1) sixth and Flat Hanby (2-1 wagering favorite) seventh.

The winner hit the wire in 1:45.31 over the fast track after biding his time in fifth down the backstretch. He didn’t take over until the top of the stretch when he was a full length in front. He cut into early fractions set by C W Prize, who was out in :24.66 for the first quarter-mile, :49.78 for the half-mile and 1:14.74 for three-quarters of a mile. Inca Empire hit the mile in 1:39.03.

Inca Empire paid $18.60 to win, $8.40 to place and $5 to show. He was bred by Bryan Hawk who was in more winner’s circles Friday night than the track photographer, breeding four of the 10 victors of the Classics.

It was the first win in the Cup series for both Castillo and Flores.

Remington Park racing continues Saturday, Oct. 19 with the first race at 6:30pm-Central.

Remington Park has provided more than $363 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 when the $300,000 Springboard Mile tops the final night of the season. The major 2-year-old stakes race of the season, the Springboard awards valuable 2025 Kentucky Derby qualifying points. 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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