Hey Wauss and My Budd are two of seven graded futurity finalists from a total of 98 who will head the $1,010,000 Ed Burke Million Futurity [G1] trials on Sunday at Los Alamitos.

© Amber Mendez/Los Alamitos

LOS ALAMITOS, CA–MAY 24, 2024–Led by seven graded futurity finalists - My Budd, Play Misty, Hey Wauss, Fear N Fridays, Set The Edge,  Exploiter and Zoomin For Home - a total of 98 juveniles will be in action during a full night of trials to the $1,010,000 Ed Burke Million Futurity on Sunday at Los Alamitos. A total of 12 trials will be contested on this busy night, with every 350-yard trial set to feature at least eight horses entered per race before scratches.

The 12-race card will include three Pick Four wagering opportunities, an early Pick Four starting in the first race, a middle Pick Four starting in the fifth race, and a Late Pick Four starting in the ninth race. The Pick Six will begin in race number seven and continue through the 12th event in the program.

The Place Pick All, which last weekend featured some of the year's highest pools, will consist of the first 10 races on the card. All in all, Ed Burke Million trials night promises to be one of the best and biggest Quarter Horse racing nights of the year at the Orange County oval. The juveniles with the 10 fastest times will advance to the Ed Burke Million final, which will be held here on Sunday, June 16.

Among the 98 runners in action on Sunday, 24 have already tasted victory. Sixty-two of the 98 trial participants have finished third or better at least once in their young careers. Monty Arrossa and Heath Taylor will each saddle 16 horses on the night, with Jose Flores sending out 11 and Juan Aleman saddling 10.

The opening trial of the night will include a pair of winners in J. Francisco Diaz’s Cowboy Bolt, a gelding by Flying Cowboy 123 won his debut by 3/4 lengths on May 5, and Marla Robinson Family Trust’s A Political Wave, a filly by Apollitical Jess who won one of the first races for juveniles of the meet back on April 6.

The second trial is led by Jose Flores and Javier Rodriguez’s Big Hurt, who delivered a 3/4-length victory as the favorite on May 4. His winning time of :15.63 at 300 yards is one of the fastest at this distance so far during this meet. Recent maiden runner-ups Hot Ones, J La Profesora and Apollitical Duchess will also be in action in this trial.

Angel Salazar’s Devils Tower, a colt by Favorite Cartel, will be joined by Ed Allred’s Mitchum and Keith Nellesen’s Robert Adair Kindergarten Futurity finalist Zoomin On Home in the third trial. Devils Tower, who is out of the dam of Grade 1 winners Little Talks and Rock You, was highly touted prior to his career debut on April 28. He was surprisingly sixth in that race before returning with a daylight score at 220 yards on May 11.

Headlining the fourth trial will be Allred’s homebred Norco, one of the most talked about juveniles so far this season. A full brother to Grade 1 winner Circle City and Grade 2 winner Nomadic, Norco won his first career start by a jaw-dropping 2 1/4 lengths on April 27, a victory that ranks among the best debuts by an Allred-owned runner in a long, long-time. Allred is Quarter Horse racing’s all-time leading owner in wins. Norco’s victory came in a time of :15.57, the fastest posted in juvenile debut here this season.

Boardshorts Stables, LLC’s Open Book, and Nellesen’s Toxic Details, a pair of local maiden winners, are two others to watch in the fourth race. Balgo Racing’s Barbara, who arrived at the Orange County track after winning her first start at Turf Paradise on May 1, will also be in action in this race.

Trial number five is a showdown between strong maiden winners Wire Fraud, Robs Reason, Up To Party, and Kindergarten finalist Set The Edge. Of this quartet, Felix Gonzalez’s Wire Fraud was the most impressive, as he won his debut by 1 1/2 lengths on May 4. His winning time of :15.63 also ranks close to Big Hurt and Norco among the fastest by a 2-year-old first-time starter this season.

Robs Reason and Up To Party were not as flashy in winning, but both made up ground on the way to victory. Set The Edge, who finished seventh in the Kindergarten, is still a maiden, but he’s already faced some of the toughest juveniles on the grounds.

Gregg Gibson and Steve Wright’s Laredeaux was impressive from the rail in winning his debut by 1 1/4 lengths on April 28 and now leads trial six. Nellesen’s My Budd, who finished second in the Kindergarten final, will follow in trial number seven. Allred’s Do The Job, who overcame a lot of trouble to win his debut by 3/4 lengths, and Levings Racing LLC’s Authority, who was second to Do The Job in that race, are among the top contenders looking to give My Budd all he can handle in trial seven.

Dutch Masters III’s Play Misty, who ran third in the Kindergarten final after winning her trial, will look to continue her strong form while leading the eighth trial. Reliance Ranches’ Snow Bound, a half-sister to multiple Grade 1 winner BH Lisas Boy, and Fyrestorm, a half-brother to Grade 2 winner Hes Chickless, will also race in this division.

Fabrizio, Jensen, and Young’s Hey Wauss, and Antonio Diaz’s Exploiter, the fourth and sixth-place finishers in the Kindergarten, will face off in the ninth trial. Denis and Julie Schoenhofer’s Astronaut, who ran second in her local debut after arriving here from Remington Park, will headline the 10th trial. The penultimate heat, trial 11, will feature a trio of winners in AGMW Racing’s Fear N Fridays, Parsons Ranch’s Powerful Wise Lady, and Bobby Cox’s Gynysys. Fear N Fridays was the fastest qualifier to the Kindergarten before a troubled start prevented him from a high finish in the final. He finished sixth in that race.

The final trial looks like a wide-open affair. Dutch Masters III’s La Peralta is the only maiden winner in this race, which also features runner-ups such as Fast Moving Wildfire, Play Fair, and Party Time Tom.