The All American Futurity is just around the corner and on September 2nd the winner of the race will be the king of the Quarter Horse world.
But to make it to the finals of the All American Futurity, horses must qualify for the 10-horse field of 2-year-olds.
On Friday and Saturday, 14 trials will be held at the Downs of Albuquerque, with the five fastest times of each day advancing to the final.
This year’s Trials and Finals will be held at the Downs of Albuquerque after the Ruidoso meet was moved there last month due to severe flooding that severely damaged the track.
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Here’s a look at the top horses and other stories surrounding the 440-yard races.
More: Race meeting postponed Horse racing at Ruidoso Downs cancelled and moved to Albuquerque
The Triple Crown is in play
Special Effort was the last horse to win the Triple Crown in 1981, but this year Hezgothelook Z has a chance to accomplish that feat.
Hezgothelook Z, who is listed as the favourite at 5-2 in his trial race, runs the third trial race on Friday for trainer Toby Keeton and jockey Bryan Candanosa.
Hezgothelook Z won the Ruidoso and Rainbow Futurities at Ruidoso and has won four of five career starts.
Other top contenders
- Aguila Rapida (5-2 in the morning line), second in the Ruidoso Futurity and third in the Rainbow Futurity, runs in the first trial on Friday. Keeton trains Aguila Rapida.
- FDD Dreams (7-2 in the Morning Line), runner-up in the Rainbow Futurity, will join Hezgothelook in his third tryout for trainer Xavier Rodriguez on Friday.
- Just Dulce (5-2 in the morning standings), ninth in the Rainbow Futurity, runs in the 14th trial on Friday.
- Little Vaquero (2-1 in the morning line), fourth in the Rainbow Futurity, will compete in the eighth trial on Saturday. Rodriguez is the trainer,
- Kempton (2-1 in morning standings) makes his New Mexico debut after winning three races at Remington Park in Oklahoma City, including the Heritage Place Futurity. He skipped the Rainbow Futurity to prepare for the All American Trials and runs in the 10th Trial on Saturday. Veteran New Mexico trainer JJ Gonzales trains the horse.
All American Derby and Oaks test runs on Sunday
The trials for the 440-yard All American Oaks and All American Derby races will take place on Sunday and begin at 12:30 p.m.
The Oaks will have four trials to determine the ten qualifiers and the top contenders in the Oaks trials include Asscher, Running to the Moon and Miss Hi Tide.
The Derby consists of eight classes and races five through twelve. Top horses include Cowboy Gun Z, who won the All American Futurity last year, Visa and Dashing Tres. Dashing Tres finished third in the Ruidoso Derby and won the Rainbow Derby.
The 10 horses with the fastest times qualify for the final. Both the Oaks and Derby finals take place on Labor Day weekend.
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Felix F. Chavez can be reached at [email protected]; @Fchavezeptimes on X
