Frank Alvarado and McCann’s Mojave win the $1 million Sunshine Millions Classic

NEW FACES AS 30th SEASON BEGINS SUNDAY

AUBURN, Wash. (April 25) – With over 4,000 wins to his credit and a home less than five minutes from the Alameda County Fairgrounds in Pleasanton, Frank Alvarado figured his days as a racing nomad were over.

With Pleasanton locked in as the new hub for Northern California racing, Alvarado had a perfect scenario for the latter stage of his career.

Instead, the 56-year-old Panamanian is amongst a large contingent of new riders and trainers who have migrated north to Emerald Downs, the suburban Seattle facility that begins its 30th season Sunday, a 51-day meet stretching April 27-Sept. 7.

“Honestly, it still hurts,” Alvarado said of the demise of racing at Golden Gate Fields and the Alameda County Fairgrounds. “I thought I would have three more years, and I’d be riding practically at home.”

A recent guest on the Horse Racing Northwest podcast, Alvarado said the groundwork is being laid to begin riding here Saturday, May 10.

“It’s not easy for me to go to Emerald Downs, I’ve ridden (in Northern California) since 2000,’’ Alvarado said. “But you show up every morning, work hard, and hopefully the trainers will give me a good shot.”

Other riders invading from California are Francisco Duran, Adrian Castellanos, Francisco Monroy, and Julien Couton—although Duran and Couton have ridden here with success in the past.

They will be out to dethrone Alex Cruz, who begins 2025 bidding for an unprecedented sixth consecutive riding title. In fact, no rider had ever won five straight titles at a Washington track until Cruz captured the 2024 crown by 14 wins over Kevin Krigger.

Apprentice Manuel Americano, a virtual unknown at this time here last year, has all but wrapped up the riding title at Turf Paradise, and is another who figures to challenge for top spot in 2025.

Other returners include Krigger, a former Emerald Downs riding champion and runner-up last year to Cruz; Carlos Montalvo, Emerald Downs’ leading stakes rider the last two years; Juan Gutierrez, the track’s all-time leader with 1,592 wins; Javier Matias, No. 6 all-time in wins with 658; Silvio Amador, coming off two straight top six finishes; and Kevin Orozco, ninth all-time in stakes wins with 24 and regular rider on 2024 Horse of the Meeting Precise Timing.

Although opening day entries were slow, 40 horses composing a seven-race card, racing secretary Bret Anderson anticipates the local horse population swelling into the 950 range once Turf Paradise wraps its meet next week. That would be up over 200 horses from last year.

On the trainers’ front, Justin Evans—Emerald Downs’ champion in 2023 and 2024—is currently cruising to his fifth straight title at Turf Paradise and his large contingent will soon ship north.

Led by Frank Lucarelli, No. 1 all-time with 1,169 wins, 10 of the top 15 trainers in track history return for 2025: Tim McCanna (976), Howard Belvoir (828), Blaine Wright (503), Tom Wenzel (472), Vince Gibson (443), Joe Toye (427), Charles Essex (407), Dan Markle (390).

Wenzel and Wright also are taking aim at Doris Harwood’s track mark of 67 stakes wins, with Wenzel beginning the season with 61 stakes wins and Wright 59.

Those Emerald mainstays will be challenged by a group of a dozen or so trainers up from California. McCanna, 24 wins shy of joining Lucarelli as trainers with 1,000 wins at Emerald Downs, has a significantly larger stable here than in recent years, while Isidro Tamayo, Victor Trujillo, Ruby Thomas, Jamey Thomas, and Michael Lenzini are among newcomers who figure to win races here.

In addition to 3-year-old filly Precise Timing, other top returners include 5-year-old mare Aloha Breeze, winner of five stakes over three seasons; 4-year-old gelding Dynamic Secret, dominant victor of the 2024 Muckleshoot Derby; and 7-year-old gelding Slew’s Tiz Whiz, Horse of the Meeting in 2022 and 2023 and three straight top three finishes in the Longacres Mile including a win in 2022.

The entire $1,0750,000 stakes schedule is consolidated over four Sundays with six stakes events on July 20 and Aug. 17 and quadruple-headers June 22 and Sept. 7. The 90th edition of the $125,000 Longacres Mile headlines a sextet of stakes on Aug. 17.

In wagering news, roving $0.50 Pick 3s will feature an industry low takeout of 12%, while Washington and Kentucky are the only two states to offer its patrons penny breakage.

Post time is 1:50 p.m. Saturday, Sunday and holidays, and 7 p.m. Friday. The first two weeks offer single days of racing—Sunday’s opening day card, and Saturday, May 3. The schedule ramps up to two days a week beginning the weekend of May 10-11, with Fridays added into the mix beginning June 6.

KEY EMERALD DOWNS DATES
April 27: Opening Day
May 3: Kentucky Derby Day
June 6: Fabulous Friday T-shirt Giveaway
June 8: Bulldog Races
June 13-15: Indian Relay Racing
June 17: Four stakes races
June 29: T-Rex World Championship
July 3: Fireworks Spectacular
July 12-13: Corgi Weekend
July 20: Six stakes races
July 26-27: Premio Esmeralda
Aug 2-3: Washington Showcase
Aug 16: Washington Racing Hall of Fame Induction
Aug 17: Six stakes including $125,000 Longacres Mile
Aug 24: Wiener Dog & Wannabe Races
Sept 5-7: Oktoberfest
Sept 7: Closing Day/Four stakes races

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