OKLAHOMA CITY – March 16, 2019 — When it was mentioned to trainer Tammy Johnson that it was a nice night for racing, she turned to her winning jockey Randy Wilson and spouted infinite wisdom.
“It’s always a nice night when you win a stakes race, isn’t it Randy?” she said with a laugh, after unsaddling track record holder Rock About It, who had just finished defending his title in the $63,000 SLM Big Daddy Stakes at Remington Park. The 5-year-old gelded son of Rock Solid Jess, out of the Coronas Blackdiamond mare Not Sable Shes Rose, won for the fourth time in as many tries at the distance of 550 yards. He stopped the timer last year in 26.557 seconds in the 2018 SLM Big Daddy, his winning time on Saturday night was 26.982 for a speed index of 97. Rock About defended his title in the race one length over runner-up Bye Byefreighttrain. It was the fifth time he had won in 10 starts at Remington Park.
Rock About It set the Remington Park 550-yard track record in an allowance race here on May 20, 2018, covering the ground in :26.258.
Rock About It (*2015 Heritage Place Yearling Sale Graduate) earned $35,346 for owner Rockin J Running Horses of Gatesville, Texas to increase his lifetime bankroll to $209,197. He has won 8-of-19 career races, run second four times and third twice. He was bred in New Mexico by Sarah Donaldson Rioux.
Last year, jockey Benito Baca was aboard for the track record, but Wilson was named tonight.
“Last fall at Claremore (Okla., Will Rogers Downs), I asked Tammy about him and she didn’t run him there,” said Wilson. “But my asking helped my situation coming into this Remington Park meet.”
Wilson said he was somewhat distracted when the 8-horse in the race, Flight to La Jolla, broke through his gate a split second before the rest of the field broke. Flight to La Jolla was declared a non-starter by Oklahoma Horse Racing Commission Stewards.
“I heard the bang of that horse breaking through, and then I saw the 8-horse jump out there in front of everybody and I said, ‘Oh, my goodness,’” Wilson said. “But I knew about halfway into the race we were going to get there. My horse just took off and that’s the rest of the story.”
Rock About Its’ amazing talent never gets old for Johnson.
“He’s a super nice horse,” she said. “We also broke the track record at Ruidoso (Downs, N.M.) with him at 550 yards. He has a tremendous kick on him and he will just give you everything he’s got. He’s all heart. And he makes everything look easy.”
Rock About It won from the 10-hole, the outside post in the field of 10, after breaking fifth from the gate. Wilson quickly moved him into second place at mid-stretch and then cruised to the win.
Rock About It went off at 4-5 odds as the wagering favorite and paid $3.80 to win, $2.40 to place and $2.20 to show. Saginaw Creek finished third, a neck back of the second-place finisher.
The SLM Big Daddy Stakes was the first race of 2019 for Rock About It, but Johnson said she has big plans for him.
“We have him paid up for the 440-yard championship (the $60,000-added Bank of America Challenge – final on Sunday, May 12) and I’d like to win that and go into the Remington Park Championship the last weekend,” Johnson said. “Of course that’s what you’re always planning. You never plan to lose.”
The SLM Big Daddy Stakes is named in honor of one of the most popular horses in Remington Park history. SLM Big Daddy was a multiple stakes winner over three years in the late 1990s here as well as a back-to-back American Quarter Horse Association World Champion in 1997 and 1998.
Racing continues Sunday, March 17, on St. Patrick’s Day, with 10 races beginning at 1:30pm.
Remington Park is always open for casino gaming. Simulcast horse racing is offered daily. Admission, parking and valet parking are always free at Remington Park. Guests must be 18 or older in order to wager on horse racing or to enter the casino.
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Tracked by more than 150,000 fans on Facebook and more than 9,800 Twitter followers, Remington Park has provided more than $215 Million to the State of Oklahoma general education fund since the opening of the casino in 2005. Home to the historic Grade 2 Oklahoma Futurity, to be run for the 78th time on March 23, 2019, Remington Park is located at the junction of Interstates 35 & 44, in the heart of the Oklahoma City Adventure District. For more information, reservations and group bookings please call 405-424-1000, 866-456-9880 or visit remingtonpark.com.