Springboard Mile offers 2024 Kentucky Derby qualifying points

DEC 7 - The $300,000 Springboard Mile, Remington Park's top stakes event for 2-year-olds, drew a field of nine. A trio of runners are barely separated for morning-line favoritism in the headliner on Friday, December 15.

The Springboard Mile is a qualifying points race for the 2024 Kentucky Derby and headlines a 10-race program with five other stakes races. The December 15 card will start at 5pm-Central.

The Springboard Mile carries Kentucky Derby points for the top five finishers in a 10-5-3-2-1 fashion.

Otto The Conqueror is the slight morning-line favorite at 5-2 odds from the barn of horse racing's all-time leading trainer, Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen. The 2-year-old colt by Street Sense from the Shackleford mare Dream It Is has won two consecutive races at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky. Both wins came at seven furlongs with the last over a sloppy surface on Oct. 29. In that allowance event, Otto The Conqueror defeated Honor Marie by four lengths. Honor Marie went on to win the Grade 2, Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes at Churchill on Nov. 25.

Owned by Three Chimneys Farm of Midway, Ky., Otto The Conqueror will be ridden by Tyler Gaffalione who was up in the Oct. 29 allowance triumph.

Raging Torrent will ship to Remington Park from Southern California and is expected to arrive on Monday, Dec. 11. Trainer Doug O'Neill has already won the Kentucky Derby twice - with Nyquist in 2016 and with I'll Have Another in 2012. Raging Torrent is the second-choice in the morning-line odds at 3-1 and has been entered to go with a blinkers off equipment change.

Owned by Great Friends Stables and Mark Davis, Raging Torrent broke his maiden at first asking in July at Del Mar near San Diego. O'Neill immediately entered him in his first graded stakes race, the Grade 3, $200,000 Best Pal Stakes, in which he finished third, beaten 8-3/4 lengths. That didn't deter O'Neill's and his owners' confidence in the colt. Raging Torrent came back to race in two Grade 1s - the $300,000 Del Mar Futurity and the American Pharoah. He finished fourth in both of those, adding blinkers in the latter race. Jockey Antonio Fresu is the only rider to handle Raging Torrent to this point and will come in to ride him in the Springboard as well.

Glengarry will travel to Oklahoma City from Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark. to make his Springboard attempt. He is the third-choice in the morning-line at 7-2 odds. Undefeated through three starts, Glengarry is owned by Iowa residents Aaron Kennedy and Toby Joseph and trainer Doug Anderson. He broke his maiden by 5-3/4 lengths at first asking on Aug. 28 at Prairie Meadows in Altoona, Iowa. Glengarry followed up the first race with an even more impressive victory by 12-3/4 lengths on Sept. 30 in the $100,000 Iowa Cradle Stakes.

Jockey Ken Tohill was in the saddle for the first two wins. His third trip to the winner's circle was only by a half-length but may have been his most impressive thus far. It came at Keeneland in Lexington, Ky., against open company in the $200,000 Bowman Mill Stakes with jockey Luis Saez taking over for Tohill. In three starts, Glengarry has earned $177,501 from his three wins, both tops in the Springboard field. Saez will keep the mount on Glengarry.

Magic Grant is the top local stakes winner in the Springboard by virtue of his score in the $75,000 Clever Trevor Stakes at Remington Park on Oct. 27. Trained by Eddie Milligan, Jr., the colt broke his maiden in winning the Clever Trevor. Richard Eramia keeps the mount on Magic Grant who is 8-1 in the morning-line.

SPRINGBOARD MILE ENTRANTS PUT IN WORKOUTS TO PREPARE FOR REMINGTON PARK'S TOP 2-YEAR-OLD STAKES

DEC 8 - Four of the top five favorites in the morning-line odds for the $300,000 Springboard Mile, hit other racetracks on Friday morning to get in some final workouts prior to the running of Remington Park's cornerstone 2-year-old race. The event on Friday, Dec. 15 carries qualifying points for the 2024 Kentucky Derby.

The winner gets 10 Kentucky Derby points with the progression going five points for second, three for third, two for fourth and one for fifth.

Raging Torrent

Raging Torrent, the 3-1 second favorite in the morning line put in a workout at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif., with a six-furlong move in 1:14.00 handily. The juvenile colt trained by Doug O'Neill is expected to ship to Remington Park from Southern California on Monday, Dec. 11. O'Neill has already won the Kentucky Derby twice - with Nyquist in 2016 and with I'll Have Another in 2012. Raging Torrent has been entered to go with a blinkers off equipment change in the Springboard Mile and has his regular West Coast rider Antonio Fresu named to riding duties here.

Owned by Great Friends Stables and Mark Davis, Raging Torrent broke his maiden at first asking in July at Del Mar near San Diego. O'Neill immediately entered him in his first graded stakes race, the Grade 3, $200,000 Best Pal Stakes, in which he finished third, beaten 8-3/4 lengths. That didn't deter O'Neill's and his owners' confidence in the colt. Raging Torrent came back to race in two Grade 1s - the $300,000 Del Mar Futurity and the American Pharoah. He finished fourth in both of those, adding blinkers in the latter race.

Glengarry

The undefeated and stakes-winning 2-year-old gray colt Glengarry, the third favorite in the Springboard morning line at 7-2 odds, went to the track at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark., Friday morning for trainer Doug Anderson. He breezed a half-mile in 49-seconds flat under Remington Park's eighth-leading rider this meet, Luis Fuentes. Jockey Luis Saez has been named to ride Glengarry in the Springboard Mile.

Glengarry is expected to go into Remington Park trainer Boyd "Jobe" Caster's barn and Caster said he expects the horse to be here this weekend. Glengarry recorded a bullet workout Dec. 2 at Oaklawn, covering five furlongs, breezing in 1:00.10, the fastest of 29 horses that went that distance that day. His breeze today was 18th fastest of 93 that went the four furlongs distance.

Glengarry, a juvenile son of Maximus Mischief (Into Mischief), out of the Tizway mare L.A. Way, is three-for-three to start his career, including two stakes wins. Anderson said he wanted to stretch the horse out and thought the Springboard would be perfect for him.

Glengarry, a $150,000 private purchase by an ownership group that includes Anderson, and Iowa residents Aaron Kennedy and Toby Joseph, broke his maiden by 5-3/4 lengths at first asking on Aug. 28 at Prairie Meadows in Altoona, Iowa. The gray colt was bred in Iowa by Highpoint Bloodstock. Glengarry followed up the first race with an even more impressive victory by 12-3/4 lengths on Sept. 30 in the $100,000 Iowa Cradle Stakes.

Gettysburg Address and Fidget

The nation's top trainer by earnings, Brad Cox, also sent his two Springboard entries to the track this morning at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky. - Gettysburg Address (6-1) and Fidget (8-1).

Gettysburg Address worked 1:00.40 for five furlongs, breezing, the second-fastest time at that distance today of 21 horses working the half-mile. Fidget went the same distance in 1:02.60, breezing, getting the 20th best time.

Otto the Conqueror

The only one of the top five favorites that didn't go to the track was Otto the Conqueror, the 5-2 favorite for the Springboard Mile, out of the barn of all-time winningest trainer in thoroughbred racing, Steve Asmussen. Heading for his 18th training title at Remington Park, Asmussen sent out the son of Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense, out of the Shackleford mare Dream It Is, to the Oaklawn racing surface on Tuesday of this week where he trained in 1:01.20, breezing, at five furlongs. That was the seventh-fastest move of 23 that worked five-eighths of a mile on Tuesday in Hot Springs.

Other Springboard Mile horses that put in works today included My Buddy Mel (Remington Park, four furlongs, :51.21 handily, 27th of 40) and Third Street (Remington Park, four furlongs, :51.66 handily, 33rd of 40).

TWO-TIME KENTUCKY DERBY-WINNING TRAINER DOUG O'NEILL EXPECTED TO SEND RAGING TORRENT FOR $300,000 SPRINGBOARD MILE

DEC 6 - West Coast-based trainer Doug O'Neill has proven he knows how to get a horse ready for the Kentucky Derby; he is expected to give Raging Torrent an opportunity to take a step on that yellow brick road in the $300,000 Springboard Mile at Remington Park on Friday, Dec. 15.

The Springboard is the main event on the final night of the Remington Park season, and headlines a card with five other stakes races. The first race on Dec. 15 will be 5pm-Central.

Raging Torrent will travel from the O'Neill base in Southern California and is expected to arrive at Remington Park on Monday, Dec. 11. O'Neill won the Kentucky Derby twice - with Nyquist in 2016 and with I'll Have Another in 2012. I'll Have Another also won the Preakness.

The Springboard Mile carries Kentucky Derby points for the top five finishers in a 10-5-3-2-1 fashion. Raging Torrent, a 2-year-old colt by Maximus Mischief (Into Mischief), out of the Violence mare Violent Wave, has already run against a Kentucky Derby-caliber horse as a juvenile. In his last outing, Raging Torrent finished fourth to Muth in the Grade 1, $300,000 American Pharoah Stakes at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif., on Oct. 7. That gave the O'Neill-trained colt two Kentucky Derby qualifying points for that fourth-place finish.

Muth came back and ran second in the Grade 1, $2 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile, losing to Fierceness by 6-1/4 lengths. Fierceness is the current winter book favorite for the Kentucky Derby.

Raging Torrent, owned by Great Friends Stables and Mark Davis, was a $75,000 purchase at the Ocala Breeders Spring Sale for 2-year-olds-in-training this year. The colt began his racing career with a win at first asking on July 23 at Del Mar near San Diego, drawing off by 2-1/4 lengths. O'Neill immediately entered him in his first graded stakes race, the Grade 3, $200,000 Best Pal Stakes, in which he finished third, beaten 8-3/4 lengths. That didn't deter O'Neill's and his owners' confidence in the colt. Raging Torrent came back to race in two Grade 1s - the $300,000 Del Mar Futurity and the American Pharoah. He finished fourth in both of those, adding blinkers in the latter race.

O'Neill has been training since 1988 and his horses have earned $159,749,239. That puts him 14th on the all-time winningest trainers list by earnings, according to Equibase statistics. He has had 17,736 starters with 2,841 wins; 2,617 seconds and 2,431 thirds. He has trained such Grade 1 winners as Lava Man, Hot Rod Charlie and Goldencents.

The post-position draw for the Springboard Mile program at Remington Park will take place Thursday morning in the track's racing office. The other stakes events on the Dec. 15 card include the $75,000 Trapeze Stakes, the $75,000 Jeffrey Hawk Memorial, the $75,000 She's All In Stakes, the $50,000 Useeit Stakes and the $50,000 Jim Thorpe Stakes.

Horses Nominated For $300,000 Springboard Mile at Remington Park

DEC 1 - A total of 28 2-year-olds have been nominated for the $300,000 Springboard Mile at Remington Park, on the final night of the season, Friday, Dec. 15. The top two trainers in the country - Brad Cox and Steve Asmussen - have 11 of the nominees in their barns.

Cox, currently leads the country in horse earnings this year of $29,626,138, has nominated six from his stable. Asmussen, the all-time winningest trainer in North American horse racing history, and currently the top conditioner in the nation by wins with 352, has nominated five.

For this Springboard Mile, which carries 2024 Kentucky Derby qualifying points for first through fifth, there were seven horses nominated that have already earned in excess of $100,000 as 2-year-olds. The top earner in the field at $177,501, expected to go in the race, is Glengarry, trained by Doug Anderson, who trains out of Oaklawn in Hot Springs, Ark. Glengarry, a colt by Maximus Mischief, out of the Tizway mare L.A. Way, is a multiple stakes winner. He is owned by Anderson in conjunction with Aaron Kennedy and Toby Joseph of Iowa.

Asmussen has a couple of noms that would push for top bankroll if they were entered in the Springboard - Lagynos ($175,660) and Gold Sweep ($173,300). Cox's top money earner nominated is Catching Freedom ($75,350). Here's a look at the nominees from Asmussen and Cox's barns:

ASMUSSEN

Lagynos (Kentucky-bred colt by Kantharos, out of Speightstown mare Steamy) has two wins in Kentucky from three starts. He has yet to run in stakes company, but broke his maiden at first asking at Kentucky Downs on the turf Sept. 10 by 2-1/4 lengths. He followed that at Churchill Downs in an allowance-optional $100,000 claiming race, running third, beaten 1-3/4 lengths Nov. 9. The colt picked up his second win in his next start Nov. 25 at Churchill, winning with allowance non-winners of two career races. He has had three different jockeys in his three races. He is owned by HRH Prince Sultan Bin Mishal Al Saud, who bought him for $200,000 at the Keeneland Association September Yearling Sale last year. Record: 3 starts, 2 wins and one third for $175,600.

Gold Sweep (Kentucky-bred colt by Speightstown, out of Giant's Causeway mare Wonder Brew) has run against the top 2-year-olds in the country, coming out of the Grade 1, $300,000 Hopeful Stakes at Saratoga in upstate New York on Sept. 4, and the Grade 1, $500,000 Champagne Stakes at Belmont at Aqueduct in New York on Oct. 7 at the one-mile distance. He added blinkers in the Champagne and ran fourth on a sloppy track. Prior to those big spots, the colt won the $150,000 Tremont Stakes at Belmont Park on June 11 by nine lengths, sprinting 5-1/2 lengths. He is owned by longtime Asmussen client Mike McCarty, who purchased the colt for $285,000 at the Fasig-Tipton New York Saratoga Select Yearling Sale in November 2022. Record: 5-1-2-0, $173,300.

Otto the Conqueror (Kentucky-bred colt by Street Sense, out of Shackleford mare Dream It Is) has plenty of distance breeding with a Kentucky Derby winner on top of his pedigree and the Preakness winner on bottom. He has won his last two races in a row with the second win against winners for the first time being even more impressive than his maiden win. The colt, owned by Three Chimneys Farm, was bought for $450,000 at the Keeneland Association September Yearling Sale last year. He broke his maiden by a neck at Churchill Downs at seven furlongs on Sept. 22 and then bettered that effort with a four-length win against allowance-optional $100,000 claiming horses over a sloppy track on Oct. 29, again at seven furlongs. Record: 3-2-1-0, $157,360.

Asmussen's other two nominees are Informed Patriot ($108,000 earned, third in Grade 3, $200,000 Street Sense Stakes at Churchill Downs), and Track Phantom ($105,000 earned, a maiden winner from Churchill Downs).

COX

Catching Freedom (Kentucky-bred colt by Constitution, out of Pioneerof the Nile mare Catch My Drift) is the top earner that could go for the nation's top trainer. Broke his maiden at first asking on Oct. 1 at Churchill Downs and then finished fourth, a half-length behind Asmussen nom Lagynos in allowance-optional $100,000 race Nov. 9. Both of those races were around two turns, the maiden win at one mile and the subsequent fourth at 1-1/16th miles. Purchased by owner Albaugh Family Stables for $575,000 at the Keeneland Association September Yearling Sale last year. Record: 2-1-0-0, $75,350.

Drum Roll Please (Pennsylvania-bred colt by Hard Spun, out of E Dubai mare Imply) would get into the Springboard off a maiden win in his third try after moving from Saratoga to Belmont at Aqueduct. He won by two lengths on Oct. 6 at one mile. Owned by Gold Square, he was purchased for $250,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Fall Yearling Sale last October. Record: 3-1-1-0, $71,130.

Awesome Rod (Kentucky-bred colt by Quality Road, out of A.P. Indy mare Orate) is a colt Cox had high hopes for, entering him in the Grade 1, $600,000 Breeders' Futurity at Keeneland on Oct. 7 in Kentucky and in the Grade 2, $400,000 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes. He was purchased by Albaugh Family Stables and Donegal Stables for $600,000 at the Keeneland Association September Yearling Sale last year. He hasn't showed the promise in the stakes races that he did when he broke his maiden by 2-3/4 lengths at Ellis Park in Kentucky on Aug. 27. He finished well-beaten in seventh and fifth, respectively in the Futurity and Jockey Club Stakes. Record: 3-1-0-0, $59,808.

Cox's other three noms are Air Cav (maiden winner at Horseshoe Indianapolis, earner of $40,400; Fidget (won his last two in row at Horseshoe Indianapolis against maidens and allowance-non-winners-of-two and has earned $42,340), and Gettysburg Address (maiden winner at Ellis Park and earner of $50,600).

The two locals that have been nominated and carry the largest flag for the Remington Park horses appear to be stakes winners Chasin Jason and Magic Grant. Chasin Jason is an Oklahoma-bred 2-year-old gelding by Mister Lucky Cat, out of the Surf Cat mare Frieda Zamba. He won the $50,000 Don McNeill Stakes at Remington Park on Nov. 10 by 1-3/4 lengths at one mile. The gelding is undefeated after two starts for owner-trainer Pat Swan and has earned $50,043.

Magic Grant won the $75,000 Clever Trevor Stakes here by 4-1/2 lengths at seven furlongs for owner Willis Horton Racing, breaking his maiden in the process. He is a Kentucky-bred colt by Good Magic, out of the Harlan's Holiday mare Holiday Bertie. He has earned $45,085. Horton bought him from the Ocala Breeders' Sale for Two-Year-Olds In Training this year.

The Springboard Mile headlines the final night of the season on Friday, Dec. 15 with a special first post of 5pm-Central.

Remington Park has provided more than $337 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 is home to the Springboard Mile, a Kentucky Derby points-qualifying race, on Friday, Dec. 15, 2023. Remington Park presents simulcast racing daily and non-stop casino gaming. 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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