HOTT TEMPTATION WAITS THROUGH FINAL SIX HERITAGE PLACE FUTURITY TRIALS THURSDAY TO BE FASTEST QUALIFIER AT REMINGTON PARK

by Richard Linihan

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – May 9, 2024 – Hott Temptation finally broke through to break her maiden in her third attempt at Remington Park and did it in style Thursday night, winning her Heritage Place Futurity trial in the fastest time of the night.

The five fastest qualifiers at 350-yards on Thursday night will join with Friday’s five fastest to make up the 10 American Quarter Horses that will vie for a million-dollar purse in the Grade 1 Heritage Place Futurity. The richest horse race in Oklahoma is the headline event on the final night of the Remington Park season on Saturday, June 1.

Of course, Hott Temptation’s first two non-winning efforts weren’t exactly against your run-of-the-mill maidens, though. Trainer Cody Noel sent this 2-year-old Quarter Horse daughter of Tempting Dash, out of the Tres Seis mare Pandorum, to post for the first time in her career on March 8 over a sloppy track and ran second, beaten only a head in the Oklahoma Futurity trials. She lost to Liberty for Jess, who did qualify for that futurity final. Hott Temptation came right back in the $50,000 Oklahoma Juvenile Stakes and ran a competitive third, beaten only a length by This Eagles Armed. She has been ridden in all three starts by jockey Mario Delgado.

Hott Temptation’s winning romp for owner Reliance Ranches of Guthrie, Okla., came in the sixth race with an 8-mph tailwind. The night started with a tailwind of 12 mph and decreased to about 5 mph late in the card. Hott Temptation won $8,838 for taking her trial and improved lifetime to three starts, one win, one second and one third for a total of $16,266 earned. She was purchased at the Ruidoso Select Yearling Sale in New Mexico last year for $91,000. The gap between earnings and purchase price might sound like quite a chasm, but consider this. The winner of last year’s Heritage Place Futurity finals, San Lencho, earned $507,209 in that $1.2 million race. Hott Temptation will be one ofthe favorites moving forward for this year’s final.

Trainer Juan Diaz, Jr., and jockey Nestor Duran were the only two to qualify more than one horse to the final on June 1, clawing their way in with the fourth- and fifth-fastest qualifiers of the night. Oklahoma Futurity winner Joose Boxx was the fourth qualifier while Kiss My Maruska, the Grade 2 Louisiana Downs Futurity runner-up, getting the last spot of the night.

The following were the five fastest qualifiers from Thursday with horse, time, speed index, trial number (with windspeed), trainer and jockey:

• 1) Hott Temptation, :17.581, 92, trial six (8 mph tailwind), Cody Noel, Mario Delgado
• 2) Firey Eagle, :17:613, 91, trial eight (6 mph tailwind), Jed Vane, Francisco Calderon
• 3) A Line in the Sand, :17.637, 90, trial four (11 mph tailwind), Jason Olmstead, Edwin Escobedo
• 4) Joose Boxx, :17.658, 90, trial eight (6 mph tailwind), Juan Diaz, Jr., Nestor Duran
• 5) Kiss My Maruska, :17.660, 90, trial nine (6 mph tailwind), Juan Diaz, Jr., Nestor Duran

Remington Park racing continues Friday night with 12 more Heritage Place Futurity trials on tap. The five fastest horses from Thursday night and Friday will compete in the Grade 1 $1 million race on closing night, Saturday, June 1. First post time Friday and Saturday is 6 p.m. with a full card set to start at 4 p.m. on Sunday. All times are Central.

•••••

Remington Park has provided more than $349 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 Remington Park 2024 American Quarter Horse, Paint and Appaloosa Season continues through June 1 with the biggest racing program of the season. The Champions Night boasts total purses in excess of $2,000,000, led by the $1,000,000 Heritage Place Futurity. Parking and admission are always free. Must be 18 or older to wager on horse racing or enter the casino gaming floor. Visit remingtonpark.com for more information.