Grade 1 Winner and Dual-Sport Sire Imperial Hint Euthanized at 12 Due to Laminitis

AJAX DOWNS, MAY 19, 2026 – When Joe Tavares, one of Ajax Downs‘ most successful trainers, went shopping for racehorses the past two winters it would have been hard to predict that four of those purchases would be in the first stakes race of the 2026 season. The $32,805 QROOI OPEN DERBY on Wednesday, May 20 features an evenly matched field of 10 three-year-olds including three Trial winners, two of which are owned by Tavares.

The Open Derby is a 300-yard dash and it is the sixth race on Wednesday’s card that also includes another edition of the Battle of the Breeds, pitting Thoroughbreds versus Quarter Horses.

LIGHTS DYNASTY, bought by Tavares for $13,000 from an Oklahoma mixed sale last year, has been installed the 3 to 1 morning line favourite for the Open Derby final based on his impressive Trial win when he clocked the fastest time of the three Trials, 15.92. The son of The Marfa Lights, won one of two starts last season. Cristian Benitez is the rider and the pair start from post position 8.

OPEN A NEW CORONA, a Louisiana bred filly owned by Tavares, was a narrow winner of her Trial, edging heavily favoured Copilot by a nose in her first race since last June. Open a New Corona’s time was 15.94 for an 81 speed index. J.B. Botello has the mount from post one. Copilot and jockey Diego Benitez drew post three.

The third Trial winner was John Wilson’s LIL MZ WIN who won easily under jockey Helen Vanek for trainer Scott Reid in 16.01 for a 79 speed index. Lil Mz Win, an Indiana-bred, will break from post 9.

Admission to Ajax Downs is always free and you can watch and wager on the races from trackside tables or at www.HPIBet.com.

Be sure to visit www.ajaxdowns.com for the racing schedule and list of events. 

Ajax Downs is hosting the iconic Royal Canadian Mounted Police Musical Ride on July 19 following the afternoon races. Attending racing and the Musical Ride requires a ticket which you order through our website.

$32,805 QROOI OPEN DERBY; Race 6, Ajax Downs, May 20

300 yards, post time 5:35 p.m.

Post Horse Jockey Trainer Odds

1. OPEN A NEW CORONA    J.B. Botello    J. Tavares 7-2

2. ESPECIALLY TEMPTING  I. Mosqueira  S. Reid 6-1

3. COPILOT                           D. Benitez      S. Reid 4-1

4. THIRTY OUGHT SIX         C. Benitez       J. Pascoe 10-1

5. ASPEN T                            C. Jeschke     J. Tavares 8-1

6. MI REINA JANETTE           T. Phillips       J. McMahon 15-1

7. LIL PHYLER                       J. Medina       J. Pascoe 10-1

8. LIGHTS DYNASTY            C. Benitez      J. Tavares 3-1

9. LIL MZ WIN                        H. Vanek        S. Reid 8-1

10. ARICHE                            J. Cruz           J. Tavares 12-1

By Jennifer Morrison

LOS ALAMITOS RACE COURSE, CYPRESS, CA… While all eyes were on heavy 1-5 favorite Cm Jessa Blue Monday, it was her stablemate, Cmhowaboutthemcowboy, who stole the spotlight on Sunday night at Los Alamitos. Pulling a 10-1 upset, the eligible maiden came through in the final yards for his first career victory in seven starts to win the $34,782 Adequan California Derby Challenge.

     The thrilling victory secured what figured to be an expected result in this race, owner Randy Dickerson and trainer Luke Lindsey holding the Adequan California Derby trophy. The racing team of Dickerson and Lindsey entered the 400-yard feature with a powerhouse three-horse entry in this race.

      The drama began before the gates even opened, as the heavily favored Cm Jessa Blue Monday broke through the front of her stall prior to the start. After being safely unloaded, examined, and reloaded into the outside post, she still turned in a resilient effort to finish a solid third.

      Meanwhile, Cmhowaboutthemcowboy took full advantage of a clean trip. Guided by jockey Armando Viramontes, the gelded son of Flying Cowboy 123 was fourth at the start but gained ground with every single stride. Showing grit in the final yards, he outdueled multiple stakes winner Jess F Y I by a nose at the wire.

     The Dickerson homebred stopped the clock in :20.131, earning a $17,391 paycheck while punching his ticket to the Adequan Derby Challenge Championships at The Downs at Albuquerque on October 17.

     “She was fine,” trainer Luke Lindsey said of CM Jessa Blue Monday’s pre-race gate incident. “We get them all ready to win and to still have a chance in case something like that happens. We knew [Cmhowaboutthemcowboy] could run and thought he could go the distance. He’s been getting in a lot of trouble, but tonight he had a clear shot and just kept going.”

      For Dickerson, a prominent Pacific Northwest owner and breeder, the victory added another chapter to a highly successful breeding program. Cmhowaboutthemcowboy is out of the mare Mi Fames A Dandy.

      “He’s out of a good mare that we had, and she’s produced a lot of winners for us,” Dickerson said. “My wife and I have been blessed to be able to be out here at Los Alamitos. We have some nice horses and Luke has been doing a tremendous job. CM Jessa Blue Monday got us our first Grade 1 placing and Luke loved her from the first moment we went out and saw her when she was being broke. He said, ‘Hey, we got one.’ She’s proven to be. When she had her shot (in the Oaks), she’s taken it.”

      Dickerson has been a fixture in the sport since 1997. Following Sunday’s feature win, his stable has amassed 71 Quarter Horse victories from 410 starters, with total career earnings climbing to $601,653. Two of his top runners over the years are Cm Boom Shakalaka and Cm Got Overserved, and both are siblings to Cmhowaboutthemcowboy. Cm Boom Shakalaka won the Dillingham and James Smith Handicaps at Los Alamitos, while Cm Got Overserved is a multiple stakes winner of 15 races and nearly $99,792.

       Michael McKay’s Jess F Y I, trained by Hector Magallanes, settled for second-place finish and earnings of $7,478. The son of Gold Heart Eagle V has finished in the money in seven of nine starts. Ricardo Ramirez piloted the Hector Magallanes trainee, who won the Firecracker Futurity at Grants Pass and John Deere Juvenile Challenge at Emerald Downs last year. With Ruben Lozano up, Cm Jessa Blue Monday finished third and was followed by HM Tellum Sweetly, Cmtellumwhereyagotit, and Flying Female. 

By Los Alamitos Publicity

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