Derby Qualifying Points Boost Springboard Mile

A race for juveniles that attracted horses like Will Take Charge  and Caleb's Posse  in recent years, the Remington Springboard Mile Stakes at Remington Park gained even more status last year when it was added to the Road to the Kentucky Derby. 

As a race that awards Derby qualifying points (10-4-2-1 to the top four finishers), this year's $400,000 Springboard Mile Dec. 16 has attracted an expected field of 11 juveniles. Last year, the stakes enjoyed an immediate upswing in status as well as added attention from horseplayers.

"2017 was the first year for the points, and we saw a big increase in just the way the race was wagered on," said Remington Park communications and broadcasting manager and announcer Dale Day. "That's kind of how we can gauge it. When the wagering goes way up, that tells you the eyes of the fans and the gamblers and the horseplayers are paying attention to it."

Asmussen Brings Quintet Into Springboard Mile

For Day, having a Kentucky Derby points race at a smaller track is not just important for the track but also for owners who may not be able to afford to have horses at the major tracks on the East and West Coasts.

"It's important that it's not just racetracks on either coast getting all the attention, having the big races," Day said. "There's a lot of people who have invested in horse racing in this area of the country, and maybe they are not on the national levels on the expenses of racing yet, but it gives them a chance at a big-money 2-year-old race.

"And now with the Kentucky Derby points, possibly a chance to dream a little more with that." 

For Remington Park's all-time leading trainer by wins, Donnie Von Hemel, the fact the race attracts out-of-town shippers gives local connections a chance to see whether their horses belong on the Derby trail.

"For the horsemen who race in the region, it's certainly important for trainers and owner/clients that you do have a testing ground," Von Hemel said. "There will be some out-of-towners coming in, and you can really get a chance to measure your horse—see if your horse needs to continue on that track or step back a level. So I think it helps the evaluation process both for the local and regional horses also. I think it's a very good thing all the way around. I don't see a downside."

This year's expected field offers a nice mix of horses from those categories, with six who made their previous start at Remington and five who most recently raced in New York or Kentucky. Winchell Thoroughbreds and Willis Horton Racing's Bankit enters off a 5 3/4-length win in the Sleepy Hollow Stakes for New York-bred juveniles Oct. 20 at Belmont Park, and  L and N Racing's Tone Broke has put together consecutive wins by a combined 17 lengths at the mile distance at Remington. Both of those horses are trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, who has entered a total of five horses.

For Von Hemel, stabling horses at Remington Park and participating in the track's races—both with Oklahoma-breds and Kentucky-breds—also plays an important part in getting his horses ready for the Oaklawn Park meet. 

"I still have a number of clients from Oklahoma with Oklahoma-breds, so there's not a better place if you have some Oklahoma-breds that can run some," Von Hemel said. "They have a real chance to make some money at Remington. We even have some Kentucky clients who would rather get their young horses started (at Remington Park) maybe where they have a little better chance to be successful and create a little bit of a winning attitude before you go tackle some of the bigger places. We're moving to Oaklawn here in a week or so. They start in January, and you better be tied on when you get there. It will be tough. The money's good, but you have to run to get it, for sure."

The chance to earn Kentucky Derby points and a chunk of the $400,000 purse both play a part in why trainers bring their horses to Remington. But Day thinks the race's location on the calendar also helps attract some horses who are either still looking for Kentucky Derby points or don't want a long layoff before the 3-year-old races begin.

"We are really, at this time of the year, the only major 2-year-old race left," Day said. "It's one more opportunity at the very end of the year to consider, especially if they don't want to lay their horse off for a long period of time before the 3-year-old campaign. It kind of fits right there in the middle of the bigger races in October-November and the big prep races in January-February. So it's a good spot."

Both Von Hemel and Day are hoping that having a Kentucky Derby prep race leads to graded status for the Springboard Mile and others on Remington Park's stakes schedule.

"It's always difficult if you're not on the East Coast or the West Coast to have any kind of respect for your larger races. It's really hard to get graded races because graded races beget graded races, so if you don't have any in the region, it's hard," Von Hemel said, adding that making the Springboard Mile a points race has had some of the same benefits that come when a stakes is graded.

"Churchill is basically taking it away from the graded stakes committee and saying, 'We're going to decide which races matter.' To be included in that, in December, it still generates some notice to the track from other parts of the country. When people bring horses in, maybe they'll decide they want to come back, whether it be for the season or for other races. It gives Remington a chance to put its best foot forward."

Besides the 11 horses who entered, this year's Springboard Mile attracted 58 nominations, including two grade 1 winners among six horses who ran in the Breeders' Cup World Championships. While none of the horses in those groups will make the trip to Remington, just having them nominated is important to the track. 

"Nominations don't cost anything, but the fact that (connections of) horses who have been prominent already in high-level 2-year-old races … are considering the race, that's a big deal to us," Day said.

Entries: Remington Springboard Mile S.

Remington Park, Sunday, December 16, 2018, Race 11

• STK
• 1m
• Dirt
• $400,000
• 2 yo
• 7:52 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Epic Dreamer (KY)	Javier Castellano	121	Kelly J. Breen	8/5
2	2Kaziranga (KY)	Iram Vargas Diego	121	Steven M. Asmussen	15/1
3	3Marquee Prince (KY)	Florent Geroux	121	Brad H. Cox	10/1
4	4Six Shooter (KY)	Alex L. Canchari	121	Paul E. Holthus	8/1
5	5Long Range Toddy (KY)	Richard E. Eramia	121	Steven M. Asmussen	12/1
6	6Tone Broke (ON)	David Cabrera	121	Steven M. Asmussen	15/1
7	7Dobbins G (OK)	Luis S. Quinonez	121	Martin Lozano	30/1
8	8Bankit (NY)	Ricardo Santana, Jr.	121	Steven M. Asmussen	3/1
9	9Tobacco Road (KY)	Ramon A. Vazquez	121	Steven M. Asmussen	15/1
10	10Dunph (KY)	Reylu Gutierrez	121	Michael J. Maker	10/1
11	11D Toz (OK)	Lane J. Luzzi	121	Danny Pish	20/1

Entries: Trapeze S.

Remington Park, Sunday, December 16, 2018, Race 10

• STK
• 1m
• Dirt
• $100,000
• 2 yo Fillies
• 7:22 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Discreet Beauty (IN)	David Cabrera	121	Genaro Garcia	5/1
2	2Cowgirls Like Us (KY)	Iram Vargas Diego	121	W. Bret Calhoun	7/2
3	3Ciao Ciao (TX)	John Bisono	115	Robert A. Young	30/1
4	4Dicey (OK)	Kevin Roman	121	Patrick E. Swan	8/1
5	5Bella Alicita (KY)	Javier Castellano	117	Steven M. Asmussen	9/2
6	6Merada (FL)	Ricardo Santana, Jr.	119	Steven M. Asmussen	5/2
7	7Backflash (KY)	Ramon A. Vazquez	117	Steven M. Asmussen	20/1
8	8Cover Charge (KY)	Lane J. Luzzi	117	Ronnie E. Cravens, III	20/1
9	9Miss Perfecta (TX)	Ken S. Tohill	119	Randy L. Morse	9/2