ANTIOCH DIAMOND RALLIES IN TURF FEATURE, CUNNINGHAM POSTS DOUBLE
OKLAHOMA CITY – August 25, 2010 - The first Wednesday of racing at Remington Park since Nov. 20, 1996 was a big night for jockey Travis Cunningham as he won a pair of races, including the night’s $31,750 allowance feature over the turf.
Antioch Diamond provided the power under Cunningham, rallying in the lane of the five-furlong turf sprint to split rivals in the final yards to get up by a neck over Wholelotatricks at the line. Outfitter had the lead early in the stretch but could not maintain the advantage, fading to third.
Owned by Claude Box of Elmore City, Okla. and trained by his son Aaron Box, Antioch Diamond covered five furlongs over firm turf in :56.15 seconds. The win came in the first race off a five-month layoff for Antioch Diamond as the 5-year-old Oklahoma-bred gelding won for the first time in five Remington Park attempts.
The second-longest shot on the tote-board at 21-1 odds, Antioch Diamond paid $44.80 to win, $11.60 to place and $6 to show. Wholelotatricks returned $4.60 to place and $2.80 to show. Outfitter paid $2.40 to show.
Distinguish was the 9-5 wagering favorite in the field of eight, finishing a disappointing seventh.
Antioch Diamond is a gelding by Deodar from the Vanlandingham mare Diamond Ruth. He won for the seventh time from 17 career races and earned $19.815 to run his overall earnings to $77,519.
Cunningham also won aboard San Saba ($44.80 to win) in the fourth race Wednesday. The double provided the first two wins of the season for him.
Jockey Cliff Berry also won a pair of races Wednesday aboard Tamtastic ($3.20) in the sixth race and Chili ($3.40) in the ninth and final race on the program. The two wins moves Berry to five for the season and into the lead in the jockey standings by one over Bryan McNeil.
The win by Tamtastic also gave a score to trainer Bret Calhoun who moved into a three-way tie in the standings with Steve Asmussen and Allen Milligan. All three conditioners have three wins on the season.
Remington Park opens daily at 10am for simulcast racing and casino gaming. Live racing continues Thursday evening with a nine events beginning at 6:30pm.
Remington Park is Oklahoma City’s only Racetrack & Casino, 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.