For Immediate Release – Oklahoma City, OK – September 18, 2024 – C W Prize ran his record to five wins in seven starts at Remington Park on Wednesday night by winning back-to-back allowance races in his first two tries at this track since the meet opened.
Fifth-leading rider at Remington Park, Richard Eramia, pushed all the right buttons again on this night to beat Fly to the Bank in their renewed rivalry. C W Prize went straight to the front and never looked back in the 6-1/2 furlong race on the main track for leading owner Bryan Hawk of Shawnee, Okla., and Oklahoma Horse Racing Hall of Fame trainer Joe Offolter.
It looked like an instant replay of the race Aug. 23 when C W Prize finished a head in front of 7-year-old gelding Fly to the Bank in that 6-1/2 furlong sprint. Fly to the Bank was easily the top earner in the field Wednesday with a bankroll of $540,836 going in. C W Prize’s wallet sat at $131,226, but the gelded son of Code West, out of the Pure Prize mare M B Prize, is three years younger than his rival at 4 years old.
C W Prize reached the wire three lengths ahead of runner-up Fly to the Bank (7-5) who was another two lengths in front of third-place finisher Tommyhawk (16-1), another old-timer at 7-years-old. No one tries harder than Tommyhawk, who has now hit the board in 29-of-47 career starts.
C W Prize earned $24,000 from the $40,000 purse and improved his lifetime record to 12 starts, six wins, one second and four thirds for a bankroll of $155,226. He was bred in Oklahoma by his owner. C W Prize is now three-for-three at the distance.
C W Prize made every pole a winning one, setting interior fractions of :23:35 for the first quarter-mile, :46.45 for the half-mile and 1:10.92 through the first three-quarters of a mile before stopping the timer with a winning time of 1:17.22 over the fast track.
As the heavy 4-5 post-time favorite, C W Prize paid $3.60 to win, $2.20 to place and $2.10 to show.
The win was the ninth time Hawk has had his picture taken in the winner’s circle this meet with one of the many horses he owns. He is two ahead of second-place Dick Cappellucci, who also got a victory this night for his seventh of the meet. Eramia has 12 wins and had moved past Jose Alvarez for sole possession of fifth place in the jockey standings, until Alvarez won the final race of the night aboard Adios Cole. That put them deadlocked in fifth, 18 wins behind Stewart Elliott who has 30 after his two-win night Wednesday.
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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.
