CLAREMORE, Okla. – Another year is in the books for the American Quarter Horse Association as the 2023 racing season has concluded at Cherokee Casino Will Rogers Downs.
A total of 279 total races ran in 27 days . Of them, 54 were with mixed (Paint and Appaloosa) horses and 225 with Quarter Horses. The season concluded on November 19, with an improvement in average field size from 7.99 in 2022 to 8.22 in 2023 . The meet saw more than $5.2 million in wagers.
“We were pleased to see some growth in field size this meet. Horsemen are cooperating with our hair testing program as a condition of entry better each year since its inception in 2020,” said John Lies, racing secretary, announcer and oddsmaker at Cherokee Casino Will Rogers Downs. “We also saw some exciting finishes again this fall in many of our derbies and futurities which make s us already look forward to the future.”
Queen for Cash, owned and bred in Oklahoma by Gary Vaughan and trained by Jesus Ruiz, retained her title as 2023 Horse of the Meet. After winning the 2022 honors, the five-year-old Appaloosa mare returned to the track this year and won all three of her starts in stakes races by a combined 12 lengths earning over $25,000 and pushing her career earnings to more than $171,000 with a lifetime win clip of 50%, having now won 13 of her 26 career starts.
Jockey of the Meet honors were awarded to Roman Cruz with 41 wins at a 20% clip, a 13-win lead in the competition. Jesus Ruiz, trainer of Queen for Cash, earned top Trainer accolades with 25 wins at a 19% clip.
With six wins from 28 starters and $137,728 in earnings, Brenda Reiswig was named 2023 Owner of the Meet. Five owners equally earned six wins each at the meet with monetary earnings serving as the tiebreaker.
With more than 250 games, live music, heart-pounding horse racing action and impeccable service, Cherokee Casino Will Rogers Downs is your source of entertainment. The casino and track are both located three miles east of Claremore on Hwy. 20. For more information, visit www.cherokeecasino.com and click on the Will Rogers Downs tab, or call (918) 283-8800.