Nine One One (No. 3) and Poverty Bay battle in the stretch run

POVERTY BAY PREVAILS AS NINE ONE ONE DISQUALIFIED

AUBURN, Wash. (Sept. 7, 2024) – Nine One One crossed the wire first but was disqualified and placed second with longshot Poverty Bay declared the official winner of Saturday’s $24,500 Browne Family Spirits Purse at Emerald Downs.

Ridden by Alex Cruz, Poverty Bay returned $23.64 as the longest price in the field of six 3-year-olds and up. Joe Toye is the trainer for Rick Kessler and Terra Firma Farm.

Nine One One, ridden by Luis Reyes, prevailed by a nose after six furlongs in 1:09.02, but was disqualified and placed second for veering in and bumping Poverty Bay in deep stretch.

Poverty Bay from the inside and Nine One One engaged in a virtual gate to wire match race, setting fractions of :21.95, :44.36, and :56.27, before their exchange of bumps in the final sixteenth.

A 5-year-old Washington-bred by Coast Guard, Poverty Bay scored his first win in five starts at the meet and fourth in 21 starts overall. His earnings rose to $97,992 including $13,965 for Saturday’s victory.

Although based in Vancouver, Nine One One has raced mainly at Emerald Downs and is 2-2-1 in six starts in Auburn and 2-5-1 in 10 starts overall.

Whiskeyjack, a slight favorite over Nine One One in the wagering, was a length back in third place with Firewalker, Naval Escort, and It’s Turbo rounding out the order of finish. Pirate Red, the morning line favorite, was scratched earlier in the day.

John Parker

NOTES: John Parker became only the second owner to hit the 200-win mark at Emerald Downs, reaching the milestone with Wear the Crown ($3.60) in the Saturday opener. The leading owner six of the last eight years, Parker is third with 11 wins in 2024. . .Elder Mack ($10.80) held off Jin Tong in Saturday’s $25,500 co-feature for older horses, running a mile in 1:36.60 under Silvio Amador for Blaine Wright and Chappell Alpine Farms. The only 3-year-old in the race, Elder Mack has won two straight at a mile while hard-luck Jin Tong has dropped his last three decisions by a head, a nose, and a neck. . .Congratulations to owners/breeders Theresa and Edward DeNike scoring with homebred Stylish Manner ($14.24) in the second race. . .Karlos Lopez and Alex Cruz rode two winners each. Lopez has five wins the last two racing days while Cruz now leads Kevin Krigger 63-44 in the jockeys’ standings. . .The $0.50 Pick 5 returned $5,029.73 while the $0.50 Pick Six carryover is $2,983.23. . .Live racing resumes Sunday with first post 1:30 p.m.