Big Events Headline Playfair Weekend

The two most lucrative events of the Spokane horse racing season, the divisions of the All West Futurity, will offer almost $75,000 in purse money this weekend as Playfair Race Course reaches the midway point of its 59th campaign with a revised schedule of days and times.

Ten fillies will race after first money from a purse of $35,440 Saturday in the filly division of the All West Futurity. Ten colts and geldings will run for $38,812 on Sunday. Both races will be run at six furlongs.

Many of the starters in both races will be pointing for a victory that would keep them eligible to win the $100,000 Playfair Challenge Series bonus.

All eligible horses were sold last fall at the All West Thoroughbred Yearling Sale in Spokane. The starting fields will be made up of the first five finishers in each of two trials for each division last Wednesday.

Following the final midweek program of the season on Wednesday at 3 p.m., there will be racing on Friday at 3 p.m., Saturday and Sunday at 1:30 and Monday at 3 p.m.

Red Silver Hope, Royal Senorita and unbeaten Wake’s Choice will be favored in the filly division of the All West Futurity. Red Silver Hope, owned by Grace and James Schmitt of Corvallis, Mont., edged Royal Senorita in the fastest of last week’s trials. Wake’s Choice, owned by Evelyn Warthen of Spokane, easily won the second of the two trials for fillies.

Invest In Festin and Toughy’s Gold established themselves as heavy favorites in the colts and geldings division by racing to easy victories in the trials. Invest In Festin, owned by Curt Johnson of Yakima, won by 9-1/2 lengths. Toughy’s Gold, owned by banker William C. (Bud) Dashiell and Playfair general manager Dan Hillyard, won by 7-1/2 lengths.

The filly division is offering its largest purse since 1988. The colts and geldings, competing in the most lucrative event this season, will run for the largest award in their division since 1989.

Ray Tracy Jr., among the top five in the trainer standings, will saddle two of the favorites, Red Silver Hope and Invest In Festin.

The Playfair Challenge Series offers a $100,000 bonus to any eligible horse that can win either division of the All West Futurity, either the Juvenile His or Juvenile Hers Stakes and the Spokane Futurity. There is a consolation award of $5,000 for the points leader that runs in all three events, if no horse wins all three. Eligible horses must have been sold at the All West Sale and must be fully nominated to the Northwest 2-Year-Old Series.

The 1995 All West Sale has been scheduled for Monday night, Oct. 30.

Jason Eads has broken the race for the riding title wide open. Eads had 45 victories through Monday, the 21st day of the 50-day season. That total gave him a lead of 20 over Lane Rennaker. Marty Wentz and Darrell Brinkerhoff have 22 and 21 triumphs respectively.

Bruce Wagar, the 1988 champion, continues to pace the trainers. The Greenacres horseman has saddled 11 winners. Former Playfair riding champion Todd Stephens is second with eight victories, one more than Tracy, Tim Harder, Kim Wright and Paul Wise.

All West stable

Murray Creek Stable of Great Falls, Mont., with a long history of success in the All West Futurity and the All West Derby, will have three starters in this weekend’s All West Futurity divisions. AllIhaveonztheradio, a full sister to stakes-winner On Board, a two-time winner this fall, will be among the favorites in the filly division. Rockinawayfromhere and Chivalry Isnotdead will represent owner Larry Semenza’s stable, Playfair’s earnings leader last season, in the colts and gelding division.

Stat sheet

Washington-bred horses have won 139 of the 201 local races for 69.3 percent, including eight of 10 races on last Sunday’s card… . Favorites have recorded 74 victories in the 216 races for 34.3 percent. They have been third or better in 147 races for 68.1 percent….

, DataTimes