Delayed Stakes Races will run this weekend at Remington Park

The late spring storm that brought snow, ice and extreme wind-chill factors to the plains has also affected horse racing in Oklahoma. Remington Park announced that they were forced to reschedule the races slated for Saturday, March 20 due to the severe weather.

Several stakes races were set for this day including the R-G1 Oklahoma Paint Horse Futurity and the Graham Paint and Appaloosa Derby. They will now run on Saturday, March 27.

The R-G1 Oklahoma Paint Horse Futurity’s top qualifier, Memory Keeper, is a colt by Steakin La Jolla AQHA and out of a Paint mare Three Ohs Dondi, owned by Jim and Linda Whitener of Cleveland, Tex. Memory Keeper is a half-brother to My Name Is Joe who dominated the futurities in 2002, including winning the Oklahoma Paint Futurity, and went on to be named the World Champion for the Solid Paint-bred registry that same year. The futurity will run as race 7, at approximately 9:00 p.m. CDT. New post positions were assigned, and Memory Keeper will now run as number 7.

The one to keep an eye on in the Graham Paint and Appaloosa Derby is named Cutrock. He broke several track records in 2009 and was named Champion 2-Year-Old Gelding for 2009. Cutrock is owned by Jose Luis Granados of Amarillo, Tex., and trained by Eddie Willis. Another champion in this race is a loudly-colored Michigan-bred gelding named I Do One Two Three, owned by T Bill Stables of Clare, Mich., and trained by Sleepy Gilbreath. The derby will run as race number 6, at approximately 8:40 p.m. CDT. Cutrock will run as post position 2, and I Do One Two Three as post position 7.

Another exciting race scheduled for Saturday, March 27 is the Paul Harber Memorial Handicap. Some of the standouts for this race include the infamous Got Country Grip (5-time World Champion), Flash N B Gone (2008 Champion 2-Year-Old), Awesome Fling (2009 Champion 3-Year-Old), Chicks Lacerta (2009 Champion Aged Mare), Make No Shadows (2-time Champion Filly), and SM Country Bandit (2009 Champion 2-Year-Old Colt). The handicap is slated for race number 5 at approximately 8:13 p.m. CDT.

More about Paint Horse racing
Horse racing has long been one of America’s favorite spectator sports. With the recent growth of the Paint Horse breed, it’s no wonder that Paints have become one of the hottest tickets in the horse racing industry.

Since 1966, when APHA officially recognized the sport, Paint racing has made major strides forward. In that inaugural year, 17 starters ran for $1,290 in just two states—Texas and Oklahoma. In 2009, more than 540 starters competed in more than 530 APHA-recognized races for record purses totaling more than $4.7 million.

A total of 17 states now feature Paint racing, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. Paint Horses also race in Canada.

 "With a wealth of top performing Paint racehorses, dedicated owners and talented trainers and jockeys, Paint Racing continues to remain a strong program in the horse industry," said APHA Executive Director Lex Smurthwaite. "Paint Racing enthusiasts recognized the amount of purse money available and have jumped in to take advantage of the lucrative payouts."

For more information on Paint Horse racing, contact APHA’s racing department at (817) 222-6444, email racing@apha.com, or visit paintracing.com.