© Dustin Orona Photography/Remington Park
OKLAHOMA CITY – April 21, 2019 – It was a night for longshot players at Remington Park and the biggest upset of all came in the $72,750 Easy Date Stakes when 38-1 bomb Jessie Marie (*Heritage Place Graduate) made the lights pop like lightning on the toteboard.
What may be the most amazing statistic of all in this 5-year-old mare’s victory is that coming into Saturday’s night’s stakes race, she had raced at Remington Park nine times and won six of those. Still, Jessie Marie was ignored in the wagering and allowed to drift up to be the second-longest shot on the board. At one point in 2018, this daughter of Spit Curl Jess, out of the PYC Paint Your Wagon mare Traffic Wagon, won four races in a row in Oklahoma City.
Still, the best effort on the form of Jessie Marie in stakes-company, going back to 2017, was a third-place finish at Will Rogers Downs in Claremore, Okla. At the distance of 350 yards she had only won one of seven. It all came together for her Saturday night when jockey Edwuin Lujan popped her out of the gate a sluggish sixth and then passed them like they were all standing still to get to the finish line a head in front of runner-up, and wagering favorite at 4-5odds, Curls Happy Wagon.
Running time for the winner was 17.603 seconds on a fast track for a speed index of 87. Jessie Marie, owned by Palomino Trucking Inc. of Oklahoma City and trained by Manuel Almanza, would not be denied, paying $79.40 to win, $16.60 to place and $9.80 to show. She earned $41,250 for the win and now stands at 19 starts, nine wins, one second and three thirds for $128,115 in earnings.
Jessie Marie was bred in Oklahoma by Dolores Hill.
••••••
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.
Tracked by more than 153,000 fans on Facebook and more than 9,900 Twitter followers, Remington Park has provided more than $216 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 Grade 1, $100,000 Leo Stakes on Saturday, May 4. For more information, reservations and group bookings please call 405-424-1000, 866-456-9880 or visit remingtonpark.com.