TWO-TIME DEFENDING CHAMP FLY TO THE BANK TRYING TO JOIN LEGENDS IN THIS YEAR’S OKLAHOMA CLASSICS SPRINT
Fly to the Bank will try to join some legendary Oklahoma-bred horses when he goes to post in the $130,000 Oklahoma Classics Sprint, presented by Global Gaming Solutions, on Friday, Oct. 18 at Remington Park.
The race, like all the races that night, is restricted to Oklahoma-breds. It is a six-furlong sprint on the main track for 3-year-olds-and-older and will go as the eighth race at approximately 9:58pm. The first race on Classics Night is 6:30pm.
The 7-year-old gelded son of Eurorears, out of the Kingkiowa mare Take It and Fly, will try to become the fifth horse in Remington Park history to win the Oklahoma Classics Sprint at least three times. Fly to the Bank has been made the 5-2 morning line favorite for the Oklahoma Classics Sprint by oddsmaker Jerry Shottenkirk.
Fly to the Bank would join a list that includes Oklahoma heroes Welder, Highland Ice, Okie Ride and Medium Rare if he were to win the Oklahoma Classics Sprint. Owned by Juan Carlos Gallegos of Edmond, Okla. and trained by Steve Martin, the swift gelding has won the race the past two years in a row.
This year’s edition of the Oklahoma Classics Sprint would be far from a walkover for Fly to the Bank, however. Six of the eight entrants are under 10-1 odds in the morning line. Fly to the Bank has had two starts at Remington Park this meet and has run second both times to C W Prize from the barn of Oklahoma Horse Racing Hall of Fame trainer Joe Offolter in allowance sprints.
Interestingly, C W Prize, owned by leading owner Bryan Hawk of Shawnee, Okla., is two-for-two this meet sprinting, but has been entered in the $175,000 Oklahoma Classics Cup around two turns instead of the sprint. C W Prize has yet to win a stakes race, but has beaten stakes winners.
Breakable Code, a 4-year-old gelding by Code West, out of the Broken Vow mare Honorable Break, was made the second favorite at 7-2 odds off of two wins in his past three starts at Remington Park. Hawk also owns and bred him.
Breakable Code won by 1-1/2 lengths in a non-conditioned allowance for Oklahoma-breds last time out at 5-1/2 furlongs on Oct. 4. He also won on Aug. 22 here for Offolter and jockey Richard Eramia at 5-1/2 furlongs by 4-1/2 lengths. The only race he hasn’t won this meet was when they experimented with hm on the grass. He still ran second in that race.
Breakable Code has compiled a career mark of five starts, three wins and one second for $69,732 in earnings.
Here’s a look at the field for the Classics Sprint by program and post position, horse, jockey, trainer, odds:
Lake Bee, Jose Alvarez, Miguel Silva, 4-1
Fly to the Bank, Stewart Elliott, Steve Martin, 5-2
Our Cornerstone, Alberto Pusac, Jerry Stephens, 8-1
Euromantic, Luis Quinonez, Victor Hanson, 6-1
Breakable Code, Richard Eramia, Joe Offolter, 7-2
Legacy Account, Obed Sanchez, Durk Peery, 15-1
Dark Afternoon, David Cabrera, Austin Gustafson, 5-1
Salt Creek Kid, Iram Diego, Sue Hunt, 10-1
Fly to the Bank is the top earner in this year’s field with $548,836 to his career bankroll. He has started 48 times, winning 13, running second 12 times and third six times.
Here’s how Fly to the Bank stacks up to the other four Oklahoma Classics Sprint legendary Okie-breds:
Highland Ice, 48-16-9-8, $474,090
Okie Ride, 41-16-10-6, $789,714
Welder, 44-27-5-7, $1,263,359
Medium Rare, 48-18-10-7, $348,063
Highland Ice and Okie Ride were the only two that have won the Classics Sprint four times. Highland Ice, a gray gelding owned by Gerald Dixon and trained by Chuck Turco, won the race from 1996-1999. Tim Doocy was aboard in 1996 and Glen Murphy rode him to victory the other three years. Highland Ice was bred by Walter Merrick.
Okie Ride’s four wins did not come in consecutive years. The bay gelding, owned by Richter Family Trust and trained by Kenny Nolen, oddly enough won the race the first two times in 2011 and 2012, then didn’t win in 2013 and 2014. In 2015, Okie Ride picked up where he left off winning the next two years in the Oklahoma Classics Sprint. A young Floyd Wethey, Jr., who is second in the current jockey standings, was in the saddle of Okie Ride when he won his first in 2011. Luis Quinonez won the next three times with a leg up from Nolen. Okie Ride was bred by his owner.
Welder, owned by RaMax Farms and trained by Teri Luneack, was the all-time winningest horse in Remington Park history, making it to the winner’s circle 16 times in his career. He won the Oklahoma Classics Sprint from 2018-2020. Cabrera was in the irons for all three victories. Welder was bred by Center Hills Farm.
Medium Rare, a chestnut gelding owned by JDR Stable and trained by the late Roger Engle, won the race from 2001-2003, the first time with R.D. Williams and the last two times with Remington Park’s all-time winningest jockey Cliff Berry up. Medium Rare was bred by Champ C. Hinton, Jr.
The 32nd Oklahoma Classics, featuring 10 races for the top Oklahoma-breds in divisional stakes action, has total purses for the evening reaching $1,120,000.
Remington Park racing continues Friday and Saturday, Oct. 11 & 12, with the first race nightly at 6:30pm. All times are 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. The Oklahoma Classics Night of stakes racing for top Oklahoma-breds takes place on Friday, Oct. 18. 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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