Eagle of Fire (8) defeats Ultimate Battle (4) in the featured allowance race on Thursday, May 14, 2026 at Remington Park. Jockey Miguel Ramirez was up for the victory.

© Dustin Orona Photography

By Richard Linihan

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK–MAY 15, 2026– The spring race meet at Remington Park is a guarantee of three things – wild animals are everywhere on Extreme Race Night, a $1 million purse in the Heritage Place Futurity will make eyes bulge, and trainer John Hammes will pull off an upset when you least expect it.

It wasn’t expected in the featured allowance race Thursday night, but Hammes did it with 12-1 longshot Eagle of Fire in the 12^th race when virtually everyone expected Ultimate Battle, the 1-5 favorite, to waltz into the winner’s circle. Hammes’ Eagle of Fire was having none of it, blasting from the gate from the outside No. 8 post-position and cruising home a winner by a half-length over Ultimate Battle. Under jockey Miguel Ramirez, Eagle of Fire, a 3-year-old Colorado-bred gelding by One Fabulous Eagle, out of the Tres Seis mare Ima Fearless Fire, gave Hammes and Ramirez their first wins of the season.

Eagle of Fire paid $26.20 to win, $5.20 to place and $3 to show, earning $17,175 from the $29,480 allowance purse. Owners Bradley J. and Robin Hart of Bear River City, Utah, saw their swift gelding win for the third time in his career from only seven starts. He was bred by M. Vaughn and Jill Cook and was purchased for $50,000 from the Heritage Place September Yearling Sale of 2024 in Oklahoma City. He improved his record to 7-3-1-0, $36,671.

It was no wonder folks were shocked by the upset as Eagle of Fire showed absolutely nothing in a seventh-place finish in his first start here this year on April 11, losing against the same class he beat Thursday – allowance non-winners of three career races. On April 11, he ran 2-3/4 lengths back of Moneys Right and Wera C, who ran 1-2, a half-length apart. One clue might have been that Wera C came right back from that loss to be the fastest qualifier for the $373,800 Heritage Place Oaks trials last weekend. After all, Eagle of Fire was coming off a seven-month layoff when he got pummeled in that first start of the meet.

Last year, Eagle of Fire was racing on top of the world at Prairie Meadows in Altoona, Iowa. He broke his maiden on July 3 there by a head at 15-1 odds. Ramirez was his rider that day as well. The gelding came right back against winners on Aug. 4 there and won again by a head against non-winners of two career races, this time at 9-2 odds. He then tried futurity trial horses and finished second, beaten a half-length. The horse that was lighting it up at Prairie Meadows is the one that showed up again tonight. Eagle of Fire stopped the timer for 330 yards in :16.916 seconds into a very stiff headwind over a fast track.

After Ultimate Battle checked in second, Xpressiv (4-1) got up for third after beating Eagle of Fire like a drum in the winner’s first start. Xpressiv was third behind Moneys Right and Wera C on April 11, well ahead of Eagle of Fire in seventh. Hammes’ winner Thursday earned a speed index of 84 for his effort.

Remington Park racing continues Friday with a first post time of 6 p.m. CDT.

About Remington Park
Remington Park has provided more than $411 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. The $1,000,000 Heritage Place Futurity takes place on the final night of the spring season on Saturday, May 30. Remington Park presents year-round simulcast racing and casino gaming. Guests must be 18 or older to wager on horse racing or to enter the casino gaming floor. Visit remingtonpark.com for more information.

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