SHY KISSER SLAPS BIG ONE ON HER COMPETITORS, WINNING THE DEE RAPER SOONER STATE STAKES AT REMINGTON PARK

By Richard Linihan

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – April 20, 2025 – Shy Kisser wasn’t shy about showing her competition to losers alley as she won the $100,000 Dee Raper Sooner State Stakes on Saturday at Remington Park as a 22-1 longshot.

The race is a restricted Grade 1 for Oklahoma-breds, 3-years-old and older at 400 yards.

Jockey Mario Delgado used every ounce of energy encouraging the 6-year-old Oklahoma-bred mare to get there first. In the end, Shy Kisser slapped the kiss of fate on her opponents with a win by a head. She returned a healthy $47.80 to win, $27.80 to place and $7.40 to show.

Hooked N Gone, the class of the field with $570,323 earned, held the lead most of the race until Shy Kisser just nailed him at the wire. Hooked N Gone is a graded stakes winner and Shy Kisser’s only previous stakes win came in the $24,000 Miss Ellen Stakes at Will Rogers Downs in Claremore, Okla., last fall.

Shy Kisser earned $57,600 for her efforts and improved her career running lines to 26 starts, five wins, six seconds and six thirds. The mare has made $234,364 in earnings for owner Leobardo Soria of Oklahoma City, who won the Sooner State for the first time. She was bought for $19,000 at the Heritage Place September Yearling Sale in Oklahoma City. Trainer Juvenal Licona-Vazquez won this race for the first time, but it was the second time Delgado has made it to the winner’s circle in the Sooner State. He also won this race in 2020 with Eagles Fly Higher.

Running time for the winner was :19.574 for a speed-index of 96, over a sloppy track. The rest of the order of finish past the top two was Lucky Luke (21-1) third, One Stolin Eagle (7-2) fourth, Paint Your Lips P (32-1) fifth, Cardiac Cowboy (6-1) sixth, Heza Relentless Mess (21-1) seventh, Rare Roy (46-1) eighth and the even-money favorite RGs Gold Wagon was last after rearing up high at the start of the race.

The Sooner State Stakes honors influential Oklahoma horseman Dee Raper. He played a key role in helping Oklahoma pass pari-mutuel racing legislation in the early 1980s. Raper also served 14 years as president of the Oklahoma Quarter Horse Racing Association, all while operating Belle Mere Farms in Norman, Okla. with his wife Betty. Belle Mere stood such top stallions Bully Bullion and Mr Eye Opener, while campaigning the likes of Eye Yin You to multiple stakes triumphs. Dee Raper was inducted into the Oklahoma Horse Racing Hall of Fame at Remington Park in 2012.

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Remington Park has provided more than $377 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 year-round simulcast racing and casino gaming. The 2025 American Quarter Horse Season, features the $1,000,000 Heritage Place Futurity on May 31, the final night of this meet. Must be 18 or older to wager on horse racing or enter the casino gaming floor. Visit remingtonpark.com for more information.