Duke City Sprint Stakes highlights program

Bernin Sensation, an allowance winner in his New Mexico debut on July 8, is one of six 3-year-olds entered in today’s 5½-furlong, $50,000 Duke City Sprint Stakes at Albuquerque Downs.

Trained by Todd Fincher for owners R.D. Hubbard, Shaun Hubbard, and Ray Willis, Bernin Sensation is coming off of a 1¼-length victory as the even-money favorite in a July 8 6-furlong, non-winnersof-three allowance race. The Kentucky-bred son of 2006 Preakness Stakes (G1) winner Bernardini drew the rail post and will be ridden by Alfredo Juarez Jr.

Teed Off Stable’s Pink Cotton, the 5-2 morning-line favorite, returns to New Mexico off of a sixth-place finish in the 1-mile, $65,000 Prairie Mile Stakes at Prairie Meadows near Des Moines, Iowa, on June 9. The bay colt has won two of four starts, including a 6-furlong first-level allowance at Prairie Meadows on May 25 and has earned $36,750.

Pink Cotton drew post 5 and will be ridden by Elvin Gonzalez for trainer Bart Hone.

The Duke City Sprint will be the fourth race on Albuquerque Downs’ 10-race program. Estimated post time for the stakes is 7:20 p.m. (MDT). The complete lineup, in post position order including jockey assignments and morningline odds:

Bernin Sensation (Alfredo Juarez Jr.), 3-1

Wine N Divine (J. Martin Bourdieu), 4-1

Outrageous Green (Enrique Gomez), 5-1

Ranger Rod (Miguel Perez), 8-1

Pink Cotton (Elvin Gonzalez), 5-2

Evolve (Alejandro Medellin), 7-2

DOWNS NOTES: Racing secretary Gerald Richards has received 23 nominations for the track’s signature Thoroughbred race, the 1⅛-mile, $200,000 Downs at Albuquerque Handicap. One of the nominations, defending champion Smack Smack, is a homebred 6-year-old gelding trained by Don Von Hemel for country music star Toby Keith’s Dream Walkin Farms Inc. Bob Baffert, a four-time Eclipse Awardwinning trainer, has nominated Cat Burglar, a 7-year-old son of Unbridled’s Song who ran third in the 1-1/16-mile, $300,000 TVG San Diego Handicap (G2) at Del Mar on July 22. Entries for the Downs at Albuquerque Handicap, which runs Aug. 6, will be drawn today.

Through the first 19 days of the 58-day Albuquerque Downs meet, Juarez Jr. leads all Thoroughbred jockeys with 21 wins from 67 mounts. J. Martin Bourdieu tops all quarter horse jockeys with nine wins from 40 mounts. Justin Evans tops all thoroughbred trainers with 19 wins from 65 starters, and Jesus Carrete leads all quarter horse trainers with eight wins from 25 starters.