ARMA D’ORO, SLEW’S TIZ WHIZ DEAD-HEAT IN GOVERNOR’S
AUBURN, Wash. (July 21, 2024) – For only the third time in the 29-season history of Emerald Downs a photo could not determine the winner of a stakes race.
Slew’s Tiz Whiz rallied boldly inside, catching Arma d’Oro in the final stride, and the 6-year-olds finished on even terms in 1:14.91 for 6 ½ furlongs.

Ridden by Jose Zunino for trainer Tom Wenzel and Slew’s Crew Racing, Slew’s Tiz Whiz earned $18,750 and paid $3.82 to win. The 2022 and 2023 Emerald Downs’ Horse of the Meeting, Slew’s Tiz Whiz won his third straight Governor’s Stakes, one shy of Handy N Bold’s record four wins from 1999-2003.
Arma d’Oro overtook Neiman and Papa’s Golden Boy past mid-stretch and appeared headed for a clean-cut victory, but Slew’s Tiz Whiz rallied furiously along the rail and claimed his fifth Emerald Downs’ stakes win overall.
Ridden by Kevin Krigger for trainer Justin Evans and Rakoczy racing, Arma d’Oro earned $18,750 and paid $3.84 to win.
“I looked down inside and saw Zunino coming, but we managed to do it,” Krigger said. “This is my first dead heat in a stakes race.”
The Governor’s was the final local tune-up for the 89th renewal of the $150,000 Longacres Mile on Sunday, Aug. 11.
Claimed for $25,000 two races ago, Arma d’Oro is 7 for 33 lifetime with earnings of $151,370. The Kentucky-bred son of Violence finished fourth in the 2023 Longacres Mile and ran the fastest mile of the current meet, 1:34.04, in an eight-length win June 16.
Slew’s Tiz Whiz is 9 for 22 lifetime with earnings of $298,457 including a win and a third in the last two Longacres Miles.
As for Sunday’s race, Zunino thought he might have rallied a tad too late.
“I thought Kevin got there, to be honest,” Zunino said. “But Slew’s Tiz Whiz is amazing.”
Neiman, ridden by Karlo Lopez, finished third, 1 ¾ lengths behind the winners. Upset winner of the Budweiser Stakes last month, Neiman won the pace duel with Papa’s Golden Boy after a half in :44.20 and held on well to the finish third.
The top three finishers all went off at odds of 5 to 2, although Neiman goes in the books as the official betting favorite with $13,880 wagered to win, followed by Slew’s Tiz Whiz with $13,001, and Arma d’Oro with $12,857.
Rounding out the order of finish were Deshambeau, Mongolian Memory, Muncey, Papa’s Golden Boy, Coastal Kid, and Firewalker.
Krigger and Evans are the hottest combination going at Emerald Downs, teaming for three more wins Sunday and are 19 for 44 combined at the meet. They have combined for nine wins the last four racing days with doubles July 14, July 19 and July 20, and a triple Sunday.
The only other Emerald Downs’ stakes resulting in dead heats were the 2009 Boeing Stakes with Holy Nova and Elusive Horizon and 2012 Auburn Stakes with Makors Finale and D’honorable One.

George Todaro’s Aloha Breeze with jockey Carlos Montalvo
ALOHA BREEZE ROMPS IN WASHINGTON STATE LEGISLATORS
In the $50,000 Washington State Legislators Stakes for older fillies and mares, Aloha Breeze made short work of her five rivals with a front-running 6 ¾-length score over Daffodil Sweet in 1:15.06 for 6 ½ furlongs.
Winning her fourth Emerald Downs stakes, Aloha Breeze cleared the field on the backstretch and set fractions of :22.22, :44.34, and 1:08.52 enroute to her win of 2024. Tom Wenzel, winning his third straight Washington State Legislators, saddled the winner for owner George Todaro of Seattle.
“This is my favorite horse,” said regular rider Carlos Montalvo. “She’s so classy.”
A 4-year-old Kentucky-bred by The Factor, Aloha Breeze improved to 6-2-0 in 10 career starts, with a winner’s share of $27,500 upping her career earnings to $167,510. A stakes winner at ages 2, 3, and 4, Aloha Breeze was voted track champion 2-year-old filly of 2022 and track champion 3-year-old filly of 2024.
The winning margin was a stakes record, eclipsing a 6 ¼-length victory in 2015 by Kikisoblu, who also raced in Todaro’s red and green silks.
Daffodil Sweet, a 12 to 1 shot ridden by Isaias Enriquez, chased the winner home and held second, while Our Lyla Grace, the defending champion, closed well for third place. Rounding out the order of finish were Jamies Inheritance, Young Life Laura, and Tizzy Twister. Blazingbellablu, the 2 to1 morning line favorite, was scratched earlier in the day.
Older fillies and mares reconvene Aug. 11 in the $50,000 Emerald Distaff at a mile and one-sixteenth.
NOTES: Sunday’s handle totaled $845,484 on eight live races. . .Todaro’s 14 stakes wins are good for fourth on the track’s all-time owners’ list. . .With two stakes wins Sunday, Wenzel moved up to second all-time with 59 stakes wins at Emerald Downs. Doris Harwood is No. 1 with 67 stakes wins, followed by Wenzel with 59, Blaine Wright with 58, and Frank Lucarelli with 55. . .With 30 days in the books, Alex Cruz owns a 40-26 lead over Karlo Lopez atop the jockeys’ leaderboard. With seven wins in three days, Krigger moved into third with 25 wins. . .In the trainers’ standings, Evans leads Blaine Wright 34-23. . In the Diaper Derby, one crawler named Rosie Perez of Renton dominated the race winning with ease…Live racing resumes Friday with first post 7 p.m.
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