by Richard Linihan | Remington Park
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – June 10, 2026 – The 2026 Remington Park Thoroughbred season begins Friday, Aug. 21 and features major races in the Grade 3, $400,000 Oklahoma Derby and the $300,000 Springboard Mile.
The Oklahoma Derby, set for Sunday, Sept. 27, the only Sunday of racing during the season is likely to include some 3-year-olds that were on the Kentucky Derby trail this spring. Trainer Brad Cox has won the Oklahoma Derby an unprecedented four times and will likely be trying for his fifth win this fall. Among the prominent 3-year-olds in Cox’s barn this year are Commandment (7th, Kentucky Derby and 2nd in the Belmont Stakes) and Further Ado (11th, Kentucky Derby as the 5-1 favorite and winner of Grade 3 Matt Winn Stakes at Churchill on June 7).
Cox had previously been tied with Oklahoma Horse Racing Hall of Fame trainer Donnie Von Hemel, who has three Oklahoma Derby winners in his career. Cox broke out of that tie in 2024 when Most Wanted won the Oklahoma Derby. His other winners were Warrant (2021), Shared Sense (2020) and Owendale (2019).
Von Hemel’s winners were Clever Trevor (1989 when it was the Remington Park Derby), Queens Gray Bee (1992), and Going Ballistic (2007). He would be looking to regain that tie with Cox if he were to enter a horse in 2026. Von Hemel has 3-year-old Crupper who ran in the Preakness Stakes on May 16. Crupper earned his way to the Preakness off a stakes win at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark., on April 18 in the Bathhouse Row, winning by a half-length at 6-1 odds over Chad Allan, another horse that could come to Remington Park for the Oklahoma Derby. Chad Allan is trained by Robert Young, who has had a longtime stable at Remington Park in the fall.
Another possibility for the Oklahoma Derby might be Royalamerican as he should return to Oklahoma City and his home track with owner-trainer-breeder C.R. Trout of Edmond, Okla. Royalamerican won the $76,000 Oklahoma Classics Juvenile Stakes last year at Remington Park, making him one of the top Oklahoma-breds among the 3-year-old crop this year.
The 2025 edition of the Oklahoma Derby, the 37th running, saw history made as Victoria Oliver became the first female trainer to win the race when she conditioned winner Bracket Buster.
Express Kid, last year’s winner of the Springboard Mile at Remington Park, a race that includes Kentucky Derby points to the top five finishers, received his invitation of free entry into the Oklahoma Derby on virtue of his Springboard victory. The horse has changed hands since winning that race. He has only raced once this year, in the Sunland Park Derby in New Mexico, finishing second to Pavlovian by a nose on Feb. 15. Express Kid was sold this winter in an Fasig-Tipton online auction for $800,000. He is now trained by Justin Evans.
The Springboard Mile is a key race for 2-year-olds looking for points in the race for the gate in the 2027 Kentucky Derby and has been scheduled for the season’s final night on Saturday, Dec. 19.
Two stakes races on the 2026 schedule have been renamed – the Bob Barry Memorial Stakes is now called the Shawn Bergquist Stakes and the E.L. Gaylord Memorial Stakes has changed to the Scissortail Stakes. Bergquist was a longtime jockey agent for local Hall of Famer Cliff Berry and also served in the racing department for more than 10 years, primarily as stall superintendent. He lost a hard-fought battle with cancer near the end of 2025.
Overall, the 30 stakes races are worth an estimated $3.7 million. The entire stakes schedule for the Remington Park season follows. If the race is for Oklahoma-breds, it will be denoted with (OK).
Aug. 28 – $50,000 OK Stallion Colts & Geldings Handicap, 3-year-olds, 7 furlongs (restricted)
Aug. 28 – $50,000 OK Stallion Fillies Handicap, 3-year-old fillies, 7 furlongs (restricted)
Sept. 11 – $50,000 Red Earth Handicap, 3-year-olds-and-up, 7-1/2 furlongs, turf (OK)
Sept. 11 – $50,000 Cliff Berry Turf Sprint Handicap, 3-year-olds-and-up, 5 furlongs, turf (OK)
Sept. 11 – $50,000 Shawn Bergquist Memorial, 3-year-olds-and-up, fillies & mares, 7-1/2 furlongs, turf (OK)
OKLAHOMA DERBY DAY
Sept. 27 – $200,000 Remington Park Oaks, 3-year-old fillies, 1-1/16th miles
Sept. 27 – $100,000 David M. Vance, 3-year-olds-and-up, 6 furlongs
Sept. 27 – Grade 3, $400,000 Oklahoma Derby, 3-year-olds, 1-1/8th miles
Sept. 27 – $150,000 Clever Trevor, 2-year-olds, 6-1/2 furlongs
Sept. 27 – $50,000 Scissortail Stakes, 2-year-old fillies, 6-1/2 furlongs
Sept. 27 – $75,000 Ricks Memorial, 3-year-olds-and-up, fillies & mares, 1-1/16th miles, turf
Sept. 27 – $75,000 Remington Green, 3-year-olds-and-up, 1-1/8th miles, turf
Sept. 27 – $250,000 Great West Turf Sprint, 3-year-olds-and-up, 5 furlongs, turf
OKLAHOMA CLASSICS NIGHT – All Oklahoma-breds (all purses estimated)
Oct. 16 – $145,000 Oklahoma Classics Distaff Handicap, 3-year-olds-and-up, fillies & mares, 1 mile-70 yards
Oct. 16 – $175,000 Oklahoma Classics Cup Handicap, 3-year-olds-and-up, 1-1/16th miles
Oct. 16 – $130,000 Oklahoma Classics Distaff Sprint Handicap, 3-year-olds-and-up, fillies & mares, 6 furlongs
Oct. 16 – $130,000 Oklahoma Classics Sprint, 3-year-olds-and-up, 6 furlongs
Oct. 16 – $100,000 Oklahoma Classics Juvenile, 2-year-old colts & geldings, 6 furlongs
Oct. 16 – $100,000 Oklahoma Classics Lassie, 2-year-old fillies, 6 furlongs
Oct. 16 – $130,000 Oklahoma City Turf Classic Handicap, 3-year-olds-and-up, 1-1/16th miles, turf
Oct. 16 – $130,000 Oklahoma Classics Distaff Turf, 3-year-olds-and-up, fillies & mares, 1-1/16th miles, turf
Nov. 6 – $50,000 Slide Show Handicap, 2-year-old fillies, One mile (OK)
Nov. 6 – $50,000 Silver Goblin Handicap, 3-year-olds-and-up, 6-1/2 furlongs (OK)
Nov. 6 – $50,000 Don C. McNeill, 2-year-olds, One mile (OK)
SPRINGBOARD MILE NIGHT
Dec. 19 – $75,000 She’s All In Handicap, 3-year-olds-and-up, fillies & mares, 1 mile-70 yards
Dec. 19 – $50,000 Jim Thorpe Handicap, 3-year-olds, One mile (OK)
Dec. 19 – $300,000 Springboard Mile, 2-year-olds, One mile
Dec. 19 – $75,000 Toby Keith, 2-year-old fillies, One mile
Dec. 19 – $75,000 Jeffrey A. Hawk Memorial, 3-year-olds-and-up, 1 mile-70 yards
Dec. 19 – $50,000 Useeit, 3-year-old fillies, One mile (OK)
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Remington Park has provided more than $414 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. The 2026 Thoroughbred Season at Remington Park will begin on August 21. Remington Park presents year-round simulcast racing and casino gaming. Guests must be 18 or older to wager on horse racing or to enter the casino gaming floor. Visit remingtonpark.com for more information.
