JOSE ALVAREZ, WADE RARICK WIN SPRINGBOARD MILE WITH EXPRESS KID and FINAL LIP CHIP HONORS

Winning the biggest race of the meet, the $300,000 Springboard Mile on the closing night of the Remington Park season, can bring with it a lot of honors. Such is the case for Jose Alvarez and Wade Rarick.

Alvarez rode the second longest shot to win the Springboard Mile in the history of the race and Rarick conditioned Express Kid, giving them the final Lip Chip Jockey and Trainer of the Week awards for this meet.

It was a strong week for Alvarez as Express Kid gave him his fifth win in only 13 mounts and his horses ran in the money in 10-of-13 races. Express Kid was Rarick’s only winner for the week, but all five of his starters hit the board in first, second or third. If you’re going to have only one winner, the top horse in the Springboard Mile, winning $180,000 and getting 10 Kentucky Derby points isn’t a bad one to have. He currently is tied for seventh in the derby point standings for 2026, 30 points behind the leader, Ted Noffey, who has 40.

Alvarez finished seventh in the Remington Park jockey standings with 30 wins for the meet. He was 45 wins behind the title winner Ramon Vazquez’s 75. Alvarez has had 6,514 mounts in his career, 869 wins, 914 seconds and 861 thirds for horses’ earnings of $22,683,878. His stats for 2025 are 313-55-47-50 for a bankroll of $1,848,595. He is a multiple graded stakes winning jockey. His best year of riding in North America since 2010, according to Equibase statistics, was 2022 when his horses earned $3,271,786.

Until Saturday night, Alvarez’s top win at Remington Park was with Hits Pricey Legacy, an Oklahoma-bred filly who won the Grade 3, $200,000 Remington Park Oaks in 2022 at 11-1 odds. Alvarez knows how to bring the longshots in for the big races.

Rarick has been training horses in North America since 2007, according to Equibase, and 2025 has been by far his best year. Previous to this year, his best result was in 2021 when his horses earned $405,714. When Express Kid hit the finish line first in the Springboard Mile, Rarick’s earnings shot up to $726,017 for this year.

Another one of Rarick’s top horses at Remington Park this year was Thunders Rocknroll, a 5-year-old Minnesota-bred mare who won an allowance race here on Dec. 10 and then 10 days later steps up in class to the $75,000 She’s All In Handicap and finishes second as the surprise runner-up to Miss Code West. She was only beaten beat by 1-1/2 lengths by the 2023-24 Horse of the Meet at 8-1 odds, under jockey David Cabrera. She made $15,000 for that effort. It was a big night for the Rarick barn.

Remington Park has provided more than $402 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 year-round simulcast racing and casino gaming. Guests must be 18 or older to wager on horse racing or to enter the casino gaming floor. Visit remingtonpark.com for more information.

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