For Immediate Release – Oklahoma City, Ok – October 20, 2022 — Newport Beach found the clear path down the middle of the Remington Park turf course in the late going while competitor Bizzy Legs had to weave his way between horses and it made all the difference in the featured allowance turf race Thursday night for the former.
Newport Beach, a 7-year-old gelding by Power Broker (Pulpit), out of the Forbidden Apple mare Worstcasescenario, was pulled to the outside by leading rider Cristian Torres while jockey Roimes Chirinos on Bizzy Legs had to find a way through faltering horses to the inside. That advantage was all Newport Beach needed to get to the line first as the 8-5 wagering favorite. Bizzy Legs went off 6-1 odds. The two were on equal terms battling in the last 16th-of-a-mile.
Newport Beach, owned by Bryan Hawk of Shawnee, Okla., and trained by Joe Offolter, had been on the verge of breaking through to the winner’s circle the last two trips to the Remington Park lawn, running second with open $25,000 claimers and third-level allowance horses. In his second trip of the meet greensward, Newport Beach finished second, beaten only three-quarters of a length at 15-1 odds going 7-1/2 furlongs with the same class he faced Thursday night. Extending out to one mile on Thursday and a third time over the course did the trick for him.
Newport Beach outlasted Bizzy Legs by a half-length at the finish and Bizzy Legs was another 1-1/4 lengths in front of third-place finisher Go Speed Racer Go (13-1). The winner paid $5.40 to win, $3.20 to place and $2.80 to show. Torres put him in excellent pouncing position down the backstretch in fifth place. As they approached the top of the stretch, Newport Beach and Bizzy Legs were rolling past the early front-runners – Tatanka and Colloquist who faded to seventh and eighth, respectively, in the nine-horse field. Before they quit, however, they set early fractions of :23.57 for the first quarter-mile, :47.30 for the half-mile and 1:11.67 for three quarters of a mile before they were swallowed. The top two finishers hit the seven-eighths mile mark in 1:23.99 together and Newport Beach’s winning time was 1:36.24.
The winner’s share of $21,576 from the $36,300 purse helped boost the career earnings for Newport Beach to $154,461 and he improved to 31 starts, eight wins, four seconds and six thirds lifetime. He was bred in Kentucky by Gary and Mary West Stables.
Live racing at Remington Park continues Friday night with Oklahoma Classics Night. Eight stakes races for Oklahoma-breds are on tap, including the cornerstone $175,000 Oklahoma Classics Cup. Total purses for Oklahoma Classics Night are in excess of $1 million. First post for a total of 10 races is 7:07 p.m.-Central.
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Tracked by more than 171,000 fans on Facebook and 10,600 Twitter followers, Remington Park has provided more than $301 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 features the Grade 3 Oklahoma Derby and Grade 3 Remington Park Oaks on Sunday, September 25. Thoroughbred racing continues through December 17 with simulcast racing daily, and a casino that is always open! Visit remingtonpark.com for more information.
