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Flores And Willis Repeat As Remington Park Seasonal Champs, Guzman Wins First Owner Title
James Flores, AQHA Racing's 2019 Champion Jockey, won the Remington Park riding title for a third straight year. The Claremore, Okla. resident won 62 races from 262 mounts.

© Dustin Orona Photography
Flores And Willis Repeat As Remington Park Seasonal Champs, Guzman Wins First Owner Title

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK—MAY 31, 2020—The 2020 Remington Park American Quarter Horse, Paint and Appaloosa Season closed on May 30. The 50-date season concluded with repeat leaders in two of the three horsemen’s standings.

Jockey James Flores and trainer Eddie Willis, each added another seasonal title to their resumes. Flores was the top rider for the third season in a row while Willis won his second consecutive training title. Leading the owner standings for the first time was Jose E. Guzman.

James Flores – Leading Jockey
Flores, the 2019 American Quarter Horse Association Champion Jockey, won the Remington Park riding title for a third straight year. The Claremore, Okla. resident won 62 races from 262 mounts for a stellar win rate of 24%. He also had 37 second-place finishes and another 32 runs in third for an in-the-money rate of 50%.

Flores won the Grade 1 Debbie Schauf Remington Park Championship aboard Dexxter on the final night of the season, May 30. He also rode Aint She Tempting to win the Oklahoma Futurity in March and Eye Work For You to win the Remington Park Futurity in April. He just missed a futurity triple, finishing second aboard Aint She Tempting in the Heritage Place Futurity, the final race of the season.

Jockey Cody Smith was second to Flores with 34 wins while Juan Pulido was third with 30 victories.

Flores also led all jockeys in mount earnings with $1,731,673. He was the only jockey to top the million-mark for the season.

Eddie Willis – Leading Trainer
Winning his second straight trainer title with 37 wins, Willis also added to his all-time lead for meet championships at Remington Park. His 2020 title is his 11th overall in Oklahoma City, with his first taking place in 2004.

Eddie D. Willis earned his second consecutive Remington Park Training title with 37 wins. © Dustin Orona Photography
Willis, of Caney, Okla., saddled 37 winners from 236 starters, scoring in 16% of his races. His charges also ran second 52 times and third another 30 times, giving him an in-the-money rate of 50%.

Willis won the Oklahoma Derby in March with Love Is Everything V and scored victory on the season’s final night with Jess B Glory in the Grade 1 Junos Request Stakes and Facing The Fire in the Easy Jet Stakes.

Trainer Dee Keener was second in the standings with 29 wins while Guillermo Valdivia was third with 26 victories.

Willis also led all trainers in earnings with $1,131,137. He was the only trainer to have more than $1 million in stable earnings.

Jose E. Guzman – Leading Owner
A victory with Eye Work For You in the season’s richest race was the highlight score for first-time Remington Park leading owner Jose E. Guzman of Donna, Texas.

Jose E. Guzman-owned horses won 14 races from 35 attempts this season to take the Leading Owner title.
© Dustin Orona Photography
Eye Work For You won the $891,900 Remington Park Futurity in April to headline a strong season in which Guzman-owned horses won 14 races from 35 attempts for a victory rate of 40%. Guzman runners also had seven second-place efforts and two thirds, for an in-the-money rate of 66%.

Second among owners was Darling Farms of Lamont, Okla. with 10 wins. Regina Laymon of Neosha Falls, Kan. was third with eight scores.

Guzman also led all owners in earnings with $610,408. Bobby Cox of Fort Worth, Texas was second in earnings with $430,494, thanks in very large part to Shott Gun winning the Grade 1, $826,260 Heritage Place Futurity on the final night of the season.

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Tracked by more than 163,000 fans on Facebook and more than 10,100 Twitter followers, Remington Park has provided more than $242 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 will host the 2020 American Quarter Horse, Paint and Appaloosa Season from March 6 through May 30. For more information, reservations and group bookings please call 405-424-1000, 866-456-9880 or visit remingtonpark.com.