There is going to be some local flavor at the 93rd running of the Canadian Derby at Century Mile Racetrack & Casino in Edmonton on Saturday.
The Horses At Evergreen Park racing fans will remember one of the entries – Sea Splendor.
The Kentucky-bred three-year-old won the Grande Prairie Derby at J.D.A. Raceway on July 31st.
Sea Splendor, owned by Highfield Investment Group, Inc./Dialed In Racing Stable/Graham Thoroughbreds/True North Stable, is trained by Craig Smith.
At the GP Derby he finished just ahead of runner-up El Fantasma and well in front of third place finisher Tricky Speedster.
That win netted the ownership group $15,237 and was a big factor in Sea Splendor being able to compete in the Canadian Derby.
Sixteen horses were nominated for the big $200,000 race in Edmonton, but only 12 made the cut – based mostly on earnings. Sea Splendor, with $36,421 in lifetime earnings with almost half of that coming in Grande Prairie, got into the top 12.
Former Evergreen Park Racing Club head trainer Robertino Diodoro has three horses in the field – Red Knobs, the top money-earner of all the entries with $167,242 in purses; Great Escape; and Clancy’s Pistol. Those horses finished one-two-three respectively at the Manitoba Derby earlier this month – a Manitoba Derby record for a trainer.
Norm Tremblay, manager of the Evergreen Park Racing Club and an Evergreen Park board member, is part-owner of Great Escape.
Local racing fans would have no doubt been cheering for Slaats, owned by local chuckwagon driver Kirk Sutherland. Slaats was one of the 16 nominated and was the fourth highest money earner with $131,697, but pulled out of the Canadian Derby.
Another Derby Day winner at The Horses At Evergreen Park 2022 is entered in the $100,000 Century Casino Oaks on Saturday – the last race of the day right after the Canadian Derby.
Diplomatica, trained by former local Tim Rycroft, won the Grande Prairie Oaks on July 31 at J.D.A. Raceway and is one of nine horses in the Oaks race in Edmonton.
