2024 Remington Park Oaks Winner, I Got This, Lived Up to Her Name With a Standout Victory at Remington Park

OKLAHOMA CITY – The spring race meet at Remington Park is a guarantee of three things – wild animals are everywhere on Extreme Race Night, a $1 million purse in the Heritage Place Futurity will make eyes bulge, and trainer John Hammes will pull off an upset when you least expect it.

It wasn’t expected in the featured allowance race Thursday night, but Hammes did it with 12-1 longshot Eagle of Fire in the 12^th race when virtually everyone expected Ultimate Battle, the 1-5 favorite, to waltz into the winner’s circle. Hammes’ Eagle of Fire was having none of it, blasting from the gate from the outside No. 8 post-position and cruising home a winner by a half-length over Ultimate Battle. Under jockey Miguel Ramirez, Eagle of Fire, a 3-year-old Colorado-bred gelding by One Fabulous Eagle, out of the Tres Seis mare Ima Fearless Fire, gave Hammes and Ramirez their first wins of the season.

Eagle of Fire paid $26.20 to win, $5.20 to place and $3 to show, earning $17,175 from the $29,480 allowance purse. Owners Bradley J. and Robin Hart of Bear River City, Utah, saw their swift gelding win for the third time in his career from only seven starts. He was bred by M. Vaughn and Jill Cook and was purchased for $50,000 from the Heritage Place September Yearling Sale of 2024 in Oklahoma City. He improved his record to 7-3-1-0, $36,671.

It was no wonder folks were shocked by the upset as Eagle of Fire showed absolutely nothing in a seventh-place finish in his first start here this year on April 11, losing against the same class he beat Thursday – allowance non-winners of three career races. On April 11, he ran 2-3/4 lengths back of Moneys Right and Wera C, who ran 1-2, a half-length apart. One clue might have been that Wera C came right back from that loss to be the fastest qualifier for the $373,800 Heritage Place Oaks trials last weekend. After all, Eagle of Fire was coming off a seven-month layoff when he got pummeled in that first start of the meet. 

Last year, Eagle of Fire was racing on top of the world at Prairie Meadows in Altoona, Iowa. He broke his maiden on July 3 there by a head at 15-1 odds. Ramirez was his rider that day as well. The gelding came right back against winners on Aug. 4 there and won again by a head against non-winners of two career races, this time at 9-2 odds. He then tried futurity trial horses and finished second, beaten a half-length. The horse that was lighting it up at Prairie Meadows is the one that showed up again tonight. Eagle of Fire stopped the timer for 330 yards in :16.916 seconds into a very stiff headwind over a fast track.

After Ultimate Battle checked in second, Xpressiv (4-1) got up for third after beating Eagle of Fire like a drum in the winner’s first start. Xpressiv was third behind Moneys Right and Wera C on April 11, well ahead of Eagle of Fire in seventh. Hammes’ winner Thursday earned a speed index of 84 for his effort.

Remington Park racing continues Friday with a first post time of 6 p.m. CDT. 

Remington Park has provided more than $411 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 $1,000,000 Heritage Place Futurity takes place on the final night of the spring season on Saturday, May 30. 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.

By  Richard Linihan

SHELBYVILLE, Ind. (Thursday, May 14, 2026) – He may be fairly new to racing, but Beachum definitely knows how to win. After winning both his starts as a two-year-old last year, Beachum returned for his three-year-old debut and not only won his trial, but he established himself as the top qualifier headed to the $103,000 Harley Greene Derby Final.

Beachum and jockey Cristian Penaloza entered the gate in post five and came out of the gate with the pack. However, it didn’t take the Escondido Beach gelding long to take over in the 350-yard dash. He led the field of eight down the track, fending off a late charge by last year’s Quarter Horse of the Year in Indiana Rock N The Beach and Edgar Diaz to win by a neck in :17.821. Rock N The Beach was a clear cut second over Whiskey Beach and Eduardo Diaz for third.

Beachum was overlooked by the betting public, paying $20.60 for the win. The product of the Cleary Family breeding operation of Indiana, Deane Lehman now owns the gelding, who is trained by Ron Raper. Beachum is a perfect three for three in his young career.

While the first trial of the night had excitement with Beachum, the last of four trials also provided a lift in enthusiasm. CV Denali and Edgar Diaz and Caelus and Diego Villamil Bocanegra could not be separated at the wire for the dead heat performance in a time of :27.842. A Flare for Politics and Eduardo Diaz finished third.

CV Denali, trained by Claudio Barraza, comes from a royally bred family. She is a sister to both Botticelli Beach and Shakeitonthebeach, both multiple stakes winners in Indiana. Campos Family Ventures owns the Escondido Beach filly, who is now four for five in her career.

For Caelus, it was his first start of 2026 and only his second career win. The Racy Secret gelding is owned by Perez Racing Stable and trained by Natasha Perez. Both CV Denali and Caelus share the second spot on the top 10 qualifiers heading to the Harley Greene Derby final set for Saturday, May 30 at Horseshoe Indianapolis.

The full field advancing to the Greene Derby Final, in order of time with jockey, includes: Beachum (:17.821, Cristian Penaloza); CV Delani (:17.842, Edgar Diaz) and Caelus (:17.842, Diego Villamil Bocanegra); Seven Beaches (:17.844, Yovani Flores-Munoz); Rock N The Beach (:17.874, Edgar Diaz); HH Shakem Cate (:17.878, Giovani Vazquez-Gomez); Victory Beach (:17.893, Eduardo Diaz); HF Kiss This Too (:17.904, Diego Villamil Bocanegra); Nitro Beach (:17.962, Fernando Morin); One Sweet Wagon (:17.966, Cristian Penaloza). Trainer Tim Eggleston, 2025 Leading Quarter Horse trainer, will saddle three for the final (Rock N The Beach, Victory Beach, Nitro Beach) while Ron Raper (Beachum, One Sweet Wagon) and Natasha Perez (Caelus, HF Kiss This Too) will each saddle two.

The Harley Greene Derby Final will be the featured event on the first all-Quarter Horse racing program of 2026 at Horseshoe Indianapolis. It will be joined by the $30,000 Maiden Stakes Final as well as $70,000 Born Runner Classic and trials for the Horseshoe Indianapolis QHRAI Derby. First post for the day is 10:45 a.m.

The 24^th season of live Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse extends through Friday, November 13. For more information on racing at Horseshoe Indianapolis, visit www.caesars.com/horseshoe-indianapolis/racing or find details on social media @HSIndyRacing.

By Tammy Knox

Exciting Stakes Races took place today across two racetracks! Check out the winners below, and don’t forget to return for the full Stakes Results!

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