LEWS MUDDYBUDDY WINS LAICO BIRD STAKES AS BETTING FAVORITE UNDER JOCKEY ROMAN CRUZ

by Richard Linihan

OKLAHOMA CITY – April 28, 2024 – Lews Muddybuddy stayed undefeated after two starts, winning the $68,000 Laico Bird Stakes for Oklahoma-bred 2-year-olds on Saturday night at Reminton Park. JockeyRoman Cruz rode the winner.

The 2-year-old gelded son of Big Lew, out of the Pure D Dash mare Mudd D Dash, broke second from the gate, a neck behind Shaken Goin On, but soon took the lead and drove home a winner by a head. He was sent off at 4-5 odds as the heavy favorite, but was pushed all the way in the 330-yard race. RR God and Cowboys (15-1) was nearly the upsetter, running second with a huge move right next to the winner.

Lews Muddybuddy earned $39,000 for the win and improved to two-for-two after winning an Oklahoma-bred maiden race here on March 28. The juvenile American Quarter Horse stopped the timer in :17.111 on the fast track for a speed index of 80. Trainer Juvenal Licona-Vazquez sent Lews Muddybuddy to the track for owner Margaret and Gene Mudd of Mounds, Okla. He has now earned $53,105 in those two starts. He is a homebred for the owners.

Liberty for Jess (5-1), a winner of an Oklahoma Futurity trial on March 8 here, checked in third, another head behind in a blanket finish that covered six horses with those finishers’ margins behind with RR God and Cowboys in second a head back, Liberty for Jess another head in third, Ruth D (5-1) another head in fourth, and High Dollar Dynasty (5-1) another head in fifth, and Shaken Goin On (9-1) in sixth another neck farther back. Rounding out the order of finish were BV Chick Magnet (21-1) seventh and Im Riled Up (24-1) eighth.

Lews Muddybuddy paid $3.80 to win, $3.40 to place and $2.40 to show across the board. It was the first win in the stakes series for all connections.

The Laico Bird Stakes is named after the 1967 All American Futurity winner and American Quarter Horse Association World Champion who was bred in Oklahoma and campaigned over her career by , of Norman, Okla.

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Remington Park has provided more than $347 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.