MISTER OMAHA KEEPS BALL ROLLING FOR LEADING OWNER BRYAN HAWK WITH VICTORY IN OKLAHOMA CLASSICS JUVENILE

Oklahoma City, OK, October 19, 2024 – Veteran rider Luis Quinonez is not one to go against the grain and he was given specific orders when riding the $76,000 Oklahoma Classics Juvenile winner Mister Omaha on Friday night at Remington Park.

“They told me just win; to do that no matter what,” said Remington Park’s second all-time winningest jockey. “And I have to follow instructions.”

Mister Omaha made sure Quinonez didn’t have to use the “no matter what” part as the 2-year-old Oklahoma-bred colt by Omaha Beach, out of the Into Mischief mare Cosmic Code, blew his competition away by 5-1/2 lengths at six furlongs on the main fast track. It was Quinonez 23rd all-time win in an Oklahoma Classics race, putting him only three behind the track’s all-time winningest rider Cliff Berry’s 26.

“He is pretty special,” said owner-breeder Bryan Hawk, who is stamping his name with force in the Remington Park owner standings with a nice lead. If the breeders’ stats were kept regularly, he would be the leading one of those as well. “I tried to sell him in Kentucky, but if my price wasn’t reached, I was going to bring him home. I did just that and raised him.”

Mister Omaha was in the 2023 Fasig-Tipton Fall Yearling sale and his reserve price of $120,000 was not met. Oklahoma Horse Racing Hall of Famer Joe Offolter has trained the colt since he was brought back to Oklahoma.

“He came back from his very first workout and it was a grinning moment,” Offolter said.

Mister Omaha’s only loss came in his career debut when he ran second to Big Kitty by a head on Aug. 16 here. He followed that with an impressive maiden win by 3-3/4 lengths on Sep. 27 at 5-1/2 furlongs before getting his first stakes win on Friday.

The career debut was a short five-furlong sprint and may not have been to the liking of Mister Omaha. Stretching out to six furlongs, he made it look like a walk in the park for Quinonez. He stopped the timer in 1:11.66 and set every early fraction but the first one. Tzedakah was the first quarter-mile pacesetter in :21.87, but Mister Omaha didn’t like having a horse in front of him after that. He closed the two lengths on that front runner and led at the half-mile in :45.57, followed by :58.48 at five-eighths.

The winner was sent off as the 2-1 favorite and paid $6.20 to win, $4.40 to place and $2.60 to show.

Mister Omaha made $45,600 for his score in the Classics Juvenile, running his brief three-race total earnings to $72,409

It was Quinonez’s second win in this stakes series, also winning in 2014 with one of Oklahoma’s all-time greatest horses, Hall of Famer Shotgun Kowboy, for owner-trainer-breeder C.R. Trout.

This was the sixth all-time Oklahoma Classics win for Offolter, moving him past Steve Asmussen and Wilson Brown and into a tie with Joe Lucas, Joe Petalino and Wade White. Offolter would later break out of that tie with another win. It was Offolter’s and Hawk’s first win in this stakes series.

Cajun Stoops (11-1) checked in second, a half-length ahead of third-place Ship the Money (5-2). The rest of the order of finish was Cold Fact (2-1) fourth, Big Kitty (10-1) fifth, Slades Tank (45-1) sixth, Gunny Highway (59-1) seventh, Tzedakah (15-1) eighth, Buck Lake (28-1) ninth, and Simmeron (37-1) tenth.

•••••

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 Oklahoma Classics Night of stakes racing for top Oklahoma-breds takes place on Friday, Oct. 18. Must be 18 or older to wager on horse racing or enter the casino gaming floor. Visit remingtonpark.com for more information.

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Edward J. DeBartolo (at that time, the owner of Balmoral, Thistledown and Louisiana Downs) built Remington Park in Oklahoma City as a $100 million showcase for Thoroughbred racing. The inaugural race meet during the fall of 1988 was an opportunity for Oklahoma Thoroughbred horsemen to race in their home state and for horsemen from throughout the region to enjoy Oklahoma’s hospitality.

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