TRAINERS EDDIE WILLIS, STACY CHARETTE-HILL GET TRAINING DOUBLES WITH JOCKEYS JUSTINE KLAIBER, CRISTIAN ESQUEDA, RESPECTIVELY

Two trainers were responsible for winning four of the 10 races at Remington Park on Friday night – 12-time title holder here Eddie Willis and Stacy Charette-Hill.

They won their pair of races each with jockeys Justine Klaiber and Cristian Esqueda, respectively. It’s early yet, but Willis inched a little closer to being a strong contender for his unprecedented 13th training trophy, the Jack Brooks Award, at Remington Park. His two wins on Friday night moved him into a tie for fourth place in the current standings, totaling five trips to the winner’s circle this meet. He is deadlocked with Luz Chavira and they are only three wins behind Matt Whitekiller’s and Dee Keener’s seven victories.

Willis won the final two races of the night on Friday with Coronados Fate and Politiko, both in strong allowance company as Klaiber booted both home. Coronados Fate won the ninth race in a second level allowance race for 3-year-old colts and geldings at 330 yards. The sophomore colt by Coronado Cartel, out of the Mr Jess Perry mare Fate Cant Weight, was a winner for owner Reliance Ranches (Michah McKinney) of Guthrie, Okla., and earned $17,667 from the $29,825 purse. As the 9-5 favorite, he finished a neck in front of Ziggys Cartel (2-1). Coronados Fate stopped the timer in :16.543 on the fast track for a speed index of 97. Relentless Coronado (5-2) checked in third, another nose behind in the blanket finish. The colt, bred in Oklahoma by the owner, improved to eight starts, three wins, one second and two thirds for a bankroll of $90,424.

The Willis-Klaiber combo swept the late daily double, winning the 10th, another allowance event, with Politiko, a 3-year-old colt that had wintered on the West Coast, winning his last race of the year in 2023 in the $50,000 Los Alamitos Million Juvenile Stakes in California. He won that race on Dec. 10 by a neck for owner Edward B. Melzer Revocable Trust of Edmond, Okla. On Friday, Politiko won an open allowance race for 3-year-old colts and geldings at 250 yards. He got up to win by a half-length in impressive fashion. The son of Favorite Cartel, out of the Apollitical Jess mare Apolitical Pac, won $21,321 from the $37,850 purse and improved to nine starts, five wins and two thirds for total earnings of $97,619. He was bred in Texas by Bobby Cox.

Klaiber’s two wins on the night gave her four for the meet and moved her up in the standings to a tie for ninth with Ricky Ramirez and James Flores. Roman Cruz remained on top with 10 wins, one ahead Ali Rivera’s nine. They each won once on Friday night.

Willis finished third last year. He had won the title from 2004-07, 2010-14 and 2019-21. He is the only trainer to win 50 or more races in a meet, standing at the top with the most in a season all-time at 53 in 2011. No other trainer has won as many as 50 races in one meet here. Willis has done it three times. He also holds the record for most money earned in a meet with his $1,660,790 mark in 2014.

Charette-Hill is just glad to see her horses get their noses in front this year than the horrendous streak of second-itis she suffered through last year at Remington Park. She is already more than halfway to her seven wins last year with her four this meet. Last year, her horses were the runner-up in a race an incredible 19 times. She felt snake-bitten. Her seven wins put her in a tie for 20th place in the final standings. This year, her two trips to the winner’s circle on Friday put her into a tie for seventh with Jesus Ruiz and John Stinebaugh. They all have four wins. Whitekiller and Keener are three ahead of them.

Charette-Hill and Esqueda combined to win the third and seventh races on the Friday card, sending out Lightly Painted and Catchn Southern Rays, respectively. Esqueda won the third aboard the 2-year-old filly by The Marfa Lights, out of the Corona Cartel mare Paint Your Face. It was the career debut for Lightly Painted who is also owned and was bred in Oklahoma by Charette-Hill. Esqueda’s two victories moved him into a tie for eighth with Francisco Calderon and Edwin Escobedo, five wins each. The winner of the seventh race was also a first-timer for Charette-Hill, but she does not own this 2-year-old filly. Leann Burns of Edmond, Okla., is the owner-breeder who foaled the horse in Oklahoma.

Live racing continues Saturday night with a stakes-filled card, including the Grade 2, $502,385 Oklahoma Futurity on a 12-race card. It is the oldest futurity in American Quarter Horse racing. First post time is 6 p.m.

Remington Park has provided more than $345 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 American Quarter Horse, Paint and Appaloosa Season continues through June 1. 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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