For Immediate Release – Oklahoma City, OK – September 16, 2024 – Four of the top trainers in the country dominated the nominations for the Grade 3, $400,000 Oklahoma Derby scheduled to be run on Sunday, Sept. 29.
Steve Asmussen, Brad Cox, Ken McPeek and Michael Maker have a total of 10 of the 26 horses nominated for the Derby. Cox and McPeek have eight between them. Asmussen, who is the No. 1 trainer in the country in horses’ earnings, nominated only one horse – Dimatic, owned by Winchell Thoroughbreds (Ron Winchell). Michael Maker only has one eligible to run in the Derby. Behind Asmussen’s $22,215,206 bankrolled this year are Cox in third ($18,658,697), McPeek seventh ($12,008,475) and Maker eighth ($11,727,075).
Other trainers in the nation’s top 30 that have nominated at least one horse for the Derby are Doug O’Neill 16th ($5,798,038), Brittany Russell 20th ($5,135,257), Wesley Ward 23rd ($4,675,803), Chris Hartman 29th ($3,747,745) and Danny Gargan 30th ($3,704,237).
That list doesn’t even include John Sadler, who also has nominated two horses. Sadler is a West Coast trainer who has won more than 2,800 races in his career and a dozen training titles at major tracks in California. Among the horses he has conditioned is Accelerate, who won the 2018 Breeders’ Cup Classic and was the Horse of the Year. Sadler’s horses have earned more than $150 million in his training career.
Remington Park stakes coordinator Don Thompson said he feels good about the possibility of O’Neill bringing E J Won the Cup for the Derby, Sadler bringing either Canada Gate or Indispensable, Gargan shipping Society Man in and McPeek sending Real Men Violin. Chances are pretty strong that Asmussen will run Dimatic since he was the only horse the 18-time training title winner at Remington Park nominated.
Asmussen has won the Oklahoma Derby twice, including last year with the longshot How Did He Do That. His other Derby victory came in 2017 with Untrapped. Of the aforementioned nation’s top trainers, three of them have won six of the past seven Oklahoma Derbies. Other than Asmussen’s, Cox had a three-Derby win streak from 2019-2021 with Owendale, Shared Sense and Warrant. McPeek then won the 2022 Derby, walking Rattle N Roll to the winner’s circle.
Here’s a capsulized look at some of the top runners from these barns that are possibilities for the Derby:
Dimatic
Owner: Winchell Thoroughbreds (Ron Winchell)
Trainer: Steve Asmussen
A Kentucky-bred colt by Gun Runner, out of the Tapit mare Time to Tap, has had some excellent stakes efforts at several tracks, but hasn’t yet broken through for that first black-type win. He did finish second, beaten 2-3/4 lengths in his last race, the Grade 3, $500,000 West Virginia Derby at Mountaineer Park on Aug. 4. He lost to Dragoon Guard, who has won his last four consecutive races, including the Grade 3, $300,000 Indiana and West Virginia Derbies. He is one of four horses Cox has nominated to ship here. Dimatic’s record is 10 starts, two wins, two seconds and one third for $414,003 earned.
Canada Gate
Owner: Hronis Racing
Trainer: John Sadler
This Kentucky-bred colt by Constitution, out of the Stay Thirsty mare Princess Karen, is a maiden winner at Del Mar near San Diego last time out and his record is 5-1-1-1, $66,600. Sadler’s other sophomore who is on the fence right now is Indespensable, who just ran second in his first stakes try. The Constitution colt was two lengths back of Muth in the $125,000 Shared Belief Stakes on Sept. 1 at Del Mar. Muth was the winner earlier this year of the Grade 1, $1.5 million Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark.
Real Men Violin
Owner: Tilted Shamrock Stables
Trainer: Ken McPeek
This Kentucky-bred colt by Mendelssohn, out of the Tapit mare Meg Fitz, is a multiple stakes-winning horse that would be one of the most experienced entrants of the bunch if he comes. Real Men Violin has run second or third in the $250,000 St. Louis Derby at FanDuel (formerly Fairmount Park); $300,000 Texas Derby at Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie, Texas; $200,000 Illinois Derby at Hawthorne in Chicago, and the Grade 2, $400,000 Jockey Club Stakes at Churchill Downs in Louisville. His record is 12-1-5-3, $325,170. McPeek has also nominated Django, Elephant’s Ear and Gould’s Gold for the Oklahoma Derby.
The horses whose connections have shown interest in possibly running in the Oklahoma Derby include, E J Won the Cup, owned by Superfecta King Stable and trained by O’Neill; Flat Hanby, owned by JT Stables and trained by Boyd “Jobe” Caster; Hades, owned by D.J. Stable and Robert Cotran, and trained by Joe Orseno, and Society Man, owned by Reeves Thoroughbred Racing, West Paces Racing, GMP Stables and Carl and Yurie Pascarella. Society Man is conditioned by Gargan.
Locally, trainers Ray Ashford, Shawn Davis, Bret Calhoun, Travis Murphy and Caster would carry the flag for trainers with stables at this track if their nominations go.
The Oklahoma Derby Day card begins at 3pm on Sept. 29 and also includes the $200,000 Remington Park Oaks and the $100,000 David M. Vance Sprint among the scheduled eight stakes races on the lone Sunday of the season.
Remington Park racing resumes Wednesday through Saturday, Sept. 18-21, with the first race nightly at 6:30pm. All times are Central.
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Remington Park has provided more than $357 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 presents simulcast racing daily and non-stop casino gaming. The 2024 Thoroughbred Season continues through Dec. 13. The Grade 3, $400,000 Oklahoma Derby takes place on Sunday, Sept. 29. Must be 18 or older to wager on horse racing or enter the casino gaming floor. Visit remingtonpark.com for more information.
