Emerald Downs is a thoroughbred

Thoroughbred

The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...

 racetrack in Auburn, Washington

Auburn, Washington

-Parks:Auburn has an extensive system of parks, open space and urban trails comprising 29 developed parks, 5 undeveloped sites under planning, 2 skate parks, 2 water roatary parks, and over of trails , and almost of open space for passive and active recreation.-Environmental Park:The Auburn...

, located a half mile east of Highway 167. It is named after Seattle, the Emerald City.

History

Emerald Downs first opened its to doors to race fans on June 20, 1996, with the inaugural 100 day meet running through November 4. It replaced Longacres Racetrack, which closed in September 1992 after sixty seasons of racing. Following the closure of Longacres

Longacres

Longacres was a racetrack in Renton, Washington from 1933-92. It was the home of thoroughbred racing in western Washington and was the longest continually operated track on the West Coast. Longacres was the first racetrack on the coast based on parimutuel betting. The land was sold to the Boeing...

, racing was not held in Western Washington from 1993–1995. However, Thoroughbred racing continued at Yakima Meadows and Playfair race course

Playfair race course

Playfair Racecourse, was the home of horse racing in the city of Spokane, Washington, United States, from 1901 to 2000 The track started out as a 4 furlong oval, later expanded to 5 furlongs in 1946. The premier races run at the track were the Playfair Mile, Spokane Derby and Inland Empire...

 in Spokane during this time. Emerald Downs is a Limited Partnership, with a group of investors led by Track President Ron Crockett. In 2002, the land where Emerald Downs is situated was purchased by the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe for roughly $70 Million.

The Track

The Emerald Downs track is a one mile (1.6 km) oval in the shadow of Mount Rainier

Mount Rainier

Mount Rainier is a massive stratovolcano located southeast of Seattle in the state of Washington, United States. It is the most topographically prominent mountain in the contiguous United States and the Cascade Volcanic Arc, with a summit elevation of . Mt. Rainier is considered one of the most...

. The track surface itself is made of geo-textile fabric, washed rock, course sand, and one-component track material. However, there is no turf course. The tote board

Tote board

A tote board is a large numeric or alphanumeric display used to convey information, typically at a race track or at a telethon .The term "tote board" comes from the colloquialism for totalizator , the name for the automated...

 is located in the center of the oval track.

The Emerald Downs infield is designed as a storm system that is sized to accommodate all storm runoff for the entire southern portion of the track property, including all rooftop surfaces as well as parking lots and the racetrack surface. Before releasing any water, Emerald Downs tests for turbidity and PH levels. Samples are also sent to a laboratory for further testing of dissolved oxygen, ammonia and fecal coliform levels. Finally, the water is released into Mill Creek at an engineered rate of discharge in order to help prevent flooding downstream from the track. Much of the infield is under water during the fall and winter, creating a home for ducks, geese, rabbits, and other small wildlife.

The Grandstand

The Emerald Downs Grandstand is a modern racetrack facility designed by EwingCole

EwingCole

EwingCole is an integrated architecture, engineering, interior design and planning firm founded in 1961 as Alexander Ewing & Associates. Headquartered in Philadelphia, PA, with offices in Washington, DC and Irvine, CA, the firm provides services for project types including academic, corporate,...

. There is general admission seating on track level, including a grassy park area with free children's activities on weekends (weather permitting). Outside on the third floor are box and reserved seats in the grandstand, as well as box and reserved seats on the fifth floor indoor clubhouse.

Pari-mutuel windows are located on each floor to place wagers. There are eight food stands and six beverage services throughout the facility. There is also the Rainer Restaurant on the fifth floor, with reservations generally accepted two weeks in advance.

The state-of-the-art facility and in-house catering at Emerald Downs lends itself to hosting a variety of events year-round. The Triple Crown Suites on the 6th floor and the large banquet space on the 4th floor are just a couple of venues available for group events.

Barn Area

Each of the 11 barns is a complete facility for horsemen with: 116 stalls; 22 tack and feed storage areas; six trainer offices; 12 hay and straw storage areas; 10 wash racks; 13 dorm rooms for grooms and six mechanical hot walkers. Each stall is 10 feet (3 m) by 12 feet (3.7 m) in size. For the horse’s protection, each stall is padded with plywood wainscot kick-boards.

Sales Pavilion

The Morris J. Alhadeff Sales Pavilion is the home for the Washington Thoroughbred Breeders Association. The $1 million facility opened to the public on December 14, 1997, for the 1997 Winter Sale. It was funded by significant donations from Micheal and Kenneth Alhadeff and other industry members. The entire structure – including the sales arena and 4400 square feet (408.8 m²) of office space – is 17300 square feet (1,607.2 m²).

Equine Hospital

Funded jointly by Northwest Racing Associates, track veterinarians, the families of Mike and Ken Alhadeff and private contributors, the Morris J. Alhadeff Equine Hospital is a state-of-the-art facility used by the Emerald Downs Veterinary Association. The vet clinic includes:

• Surgery Suite
• Two padded induction/recovery rooms
• Radiology Room
• Prep room for minor procedures
• Isolation stall (for contagious ailments)
• Dark room for film developing
• Office space

Mitigation Site

As part of the process in building the facility that exists today, Northwest Racing Associates, L.P. developed an extensive plan to mitigate the impact of a fill on low grade wetlands on the Emerald Downs property. Located a mile and one-half south of the track property, at a cost of $6.5 million, 56 acres (226,624.2 m²) of wetlands were created or enhanced. On the east side of SR-167, 100,000 cubic yards of soil were excavated, creating 6 acres (24,281.2 m²) of open water. Habitat features were added to benefit water fowl, birds of prey and mammals.

Racing

The track hosts Live Thoroughbred racing from mid April through the end of September. Races are run Friday through Sunday and holidays the majority of the season. During mid-summer, the track races on a Thursday through Sunday schedule. The track conducts several large ungraded stakes and many overnight handicaps and stakes. There are an average of 8 races on week nights, and 10 races per race weekend. In addition to live racing, the track offers simulcast wagering year round.

The first Quarter Horse race in track history was held in 2010. In 2011, Emerald Downs plans to feature Quarter Horse races more regularly as a supplement to the Thoroughbred program.

Jockeys

Gallyn Mitchell is the all-time leading rider at Emerald Downs through the 2010 racing season and the only jockey to have raced at every meet since Emerald Downs opened in 1996. Jennifer Whitaker is the all-time leading female rider. Ricky Frazier set records for wins in a season (157) and earnings ($1,632,102) in 2007. Frazier won the riding title again in 2009 with 155 victories and $1,492,455 in earnings. He also is the all time leader in stakes victories with 72 entering the 2011 season. Vann Belvoir owns the best winning percentage in track history at 23.9%. The track record for wins in a single day is six, shared by Seth Martinez (July 27, 2008) and Kevin Radke (September 2, 2002). Cassie Papineau set a record for wins by an apprentice with 70 trips to the winner's circle in 2009.

Many famous jockeys have ridden at Emerald Downs, including several members of the Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame. Laffit Pincay Jr., Pat Day

Pat Day

Patrick Alan "Pat" Day is an American jockey. He is a four-time winner of the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey and was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1991...

, Eddie Delahoussaye

Eddie Delahoussaye

Edward J. Delahoussaye is a retired American Thoroughbred jockey from New Iberia, Louisiana.He began his career in 1968 and ten years later became the top American jockey with 384 wins...

, Russell Baze

Russell Baze

Russell Avery Baze is a horse racing jockey. He holds the record for the most race wins in North American horse racing history, and is a member of the United States Racing Hall of Fame....

, Gary Stevens, Alex Solis

Alex Solis

Alex O. Solis is a jockey based in the United States. He currently lives in Glendora, California and rides predominantly in Southern California...

, Garrett Gomez, David Flores, Robby Albarado

Robby Albarado

Robby J. Albarado is an American Thoroughbred horse racing jockey. He began riding at the age of 12 at bush tracks in his native Louisiana and after turning professional, earned his first win at Evangeline Downs in 1990...

 and Gary Baze

Gary Baze

Gary Baze is an American Thoroughbred horse racing jockey. An inductee of the Washington State Racing Hall of Fame, his Hall of Fame profile says of him: "As much as anything, Baze is respected throughout the industry for his honesty, courtesy, sportsmanship and work ethic."A member of the...

 have all competed on the Emerald Downs oval.

Rank	Jockey	Career Wins 1996–2010
1	Gallyn Mitchell	1,252
2	Ricky Frazier	886
3	Juan Gutierrez	778
4	Frank Gonsalves	561
5	Kevin Radke	532
6	Ben Russell	501
7	Pedro Alvarado	400
8	Nathan Chaves	399
9	Jennifer Whitaker	371
10	Gary Baze	351

Trainers

Tim McCanna is the all-time leading trainer at Emerald Downs through 2010 and has won 10 training titles since the inaugural season of 1996. McCanna won a track record 66 races in 2008. Washington Hall of Fame Trainer Jim Penney remains one of the most accomplished trainers in state history. His five career wins in the Longacres Mile (three at Emerald Downs) ranks best of all time. He is also the only trainer in Washington State history to win five races in a single day twice. Doris Harwood is the only other trainer to accomplish the feat a single time, collecting five wins on August 8, 2009. Penney's 33 career stakes wins rank third all-time and he also earned a training title at Emerald Downs in 1998 when he led all conditioners with 46 wins. Doris Harwood set a record for earnings in a single season with $931,916 in 2009. She also won 12 stakes in 2009, tying a track record she set in 2007.

Rank	Trainer	Career Wins 1996–2010
1	Tim McCanna	770
2	Frank Lucarelli	623
3	Howard Belvoir	509
4	Jim Penney	505
5	Bud Klokstad	402
6	Doris Harwood	393
7	Sharon Ross	337
8	Roy Lumm	333
9	Dan Markle	276
10	Terry Gillihan	273

Owners

Rank	Owner	Career Wins 1996–2010
1	Ron Crockett Inc.	204
2	Larry & Veralene Hillis	136
3	Tim & Sue Spooner	130
4	Billie Klokstad	121
5	Dunn Bar Ranch LLC	120
6	Seawind Stables LLC	97
7	Howard Belvoir	90
8	Rick Beal	82
9	Northwest Farms	81
10	Homestretch Farms Inc.	80

Horses

Wasserman is the track's all-time leading earner, with $514,722 in purses won entering the 2011 racing season. West Seattle Boy is the winningest horse in track history with 20 career trips to the winner's circle, the most recent on August 28, 2011 as a 12 year old. Noosa Beach leads in career stakes victories with 11. In 2005, Halonator set the track record for wins in a season with 8.

Rank	Horse	Career Wins 1996–2010
1	West Seattle Boy	20
2	Bob Stories	16
	Market Master	16
4	Fleet Pacific	15
5	Kimo's Friend	14
	Toobusytocall	14
7	Hit a Star	13
	If Not Why Not	13
	Last Thoughts	13
	Skyrider	13
	Taz's Treasure	13

Horse of the Meeting

Year	Horse
2010	Noosa Beach
2009	Assessment
2008	Wasserman
2007	The Great Face
2006	Flamethrowintexan
2005	No Giveaway
2004	Demon Warlock
2003	Youcan'ttakeme
2002	Flying Notes
2001	Makors Mark
2000	Edneator
1999	No Curfew
1998	Wild Wonder
1997	Kid Katabatic
1996	Name for Norm

Speed Records

Distance	Time	Horse	Age	Weight	Date
2 Furlongs	:21⅖	Midnight Cruiser	2	118	May 4, 2000
	:21⅖	Adventuresome Man	2	118	May 10, 2000
870 Yards	:47.09	Cosmic Clash (QH)	3	118	April 24, 2011
4½ Furlongs	:50	Sea Speaker	2	119	August 25, 2007
5 Furlongs	:55⅖	Jazzy Mac	5	98	August 20, 2000
	:55⅖	Victor Slew	4	115	August 24, 2003
	:55⅖	Starbird Road	4	119	October 1, 2006
5½ Furlongs	1:01⅕ (Tied World Record)	Willie the Cat	3	118	April 16, 2004
	1:01⅕ (Tied World Record)	The Great Face	5	120	April 20, 2007
6 Furlongs	1:07 (State Record)	Atta Boy Roy	4	123	September 13, 2009
	1:07 (State Record)	Noosa Beach	4	118	May 16, 2010
6½ Furlongs	1:13 (World Record)	Sabertooth	7	118	May 22, 2005
One Mile	1:33 (State Record)	Sky Jack	7	123	August 24, 2003
1 1/16 Mile	1:39⅗ (State Record)	Kid Katabatic	5	123	July 26, 1998
1⅛ Mile	1:45⅖ (State Record)	Flying Notes	3	122	September 2, 2002
1 3/16 Mile	1:57⅖	Andoras Attitude	4	119	August 25, 2005
1¼ Mile	2:01	Itstufftobegood	4	124	August 5, 2005
1½	2:29	Military Deputy	5	120	August 26, 2007
1¾ Mile	3:02	Itstufftobegood	4	128	September 18, 2005
2 Miles	3:32⅗ (State Record)	Horatio	5	115	September 20, 2004

Longacres Mile

Emerald Downs biggest race is the Longacres Mile Handicap

Longacres Mile Handicap

The Longacres Mile Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in August at Emerald Downs in Auburn, Washington. The race is open to horses three years of age and older and is run on dirt over a distance of one mile...

, a Grade III

Graded stakes race

A graded stakes race is a term applied since 1973 by the American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association to thoroughbred horse races in the United States and Canada to describe races that derive their name from the stake, or entry fee, owners must pay...

 event. The race was announced in June 1935 so Longacres founder Joe Gottstein could have a signature one mile (1.6 km) race. He felt the mile was an overlooked distance, neither a sprint nor an endurance run. In order to attract racers and attention, the purse was set at $10,000, instantly the largest staked one mile (1.6 km) race in the country (and it would remain so for more than 40 years).

As soon as the announcement was made, the first running of the race had 20 entrants; 16 actually started. The stakes attracted the owners of a New Orleans horse named Biff, grandson of legendary Man o' War

Man O' War (horse)

Man o' War, is considered one of the greatest Thoroughbred racehorses of all time. During his career just after World War I, he won 20 of 21 races and $249,465 in purses....

, who had just won $5000 in Chicago. Biff had the attention of everyone for weeks before the event and no owners would run their horses in preliminary races with him. Biff was first out of the gate but was stalked by Coldwater, a 20-1 longshot that wasn't regarded well. Near the end of the mile Biff was showing clear strain and Coldwater overtook him to win.

In 2008, locally owned and bred Wasserman took the Longacres Mile closing fast to win in a photo finish over horses shipped in to run the race. The Longacres Mile is now a featured "Win and Your In" race into the Breeders' Cup

Breeders' Cup

The Breeders' Cup World Championships is an annual series of Thoroughbred horse races, most but not all Grade I, operated by Breeders' Cup Limited, a company formed in 1982. From its inception in 1984 through 2006, it was a single-day event; starting in 2007, it expanded to two days. The location...

, but the 2008 winner declined the invitation. The 2009 winner, Assessment, subsequently chipped a bone in his ankle during a workout and was ruled out of contention in the Dirt Mile.

The 75th Longacres Mile was run on August 22, 2010. It was won by the betting favorite, Noosa Beach. Ridden by Ricky Frazier and trained by Doris Harwood for owner Jeff Harwood, the winner paid $5.60, $3.80 and $3.00. Jersey Town finished second, followed by the 2009 Mile champion, Assessment.

Highest $2 Win Payoffs

Payoff	Horse	Date
$142.00	My Lady Boots	July 27, 1997
$139.60	Clurmor	July 28, 2007
$122.00	No Giveaway	Aug. 21, 2005
$120.80	Unknown Doctor	June 12, 2008
$109.00	No Way To Go	Aug. 12, 1996

Highest $2 Place Payoffs

Payoff	Horse	Date
$58.00	Georgia Echo	Oct. 6, 1998
$55.60	Sugarslittleacorn	May 4, 2003
$52.40	Royal Alaskan	May 17, 1998
$50.00	Wrapped In Ribbon	July 7, 2007
$46.80	My Lady Boots	July 27, 1997

Highest $2 Show Payoffs

The massive payoffs for the top three horses listed were a result of a fourth-place finish by then-undefeated Knight Raider in the Diane Kem Stakes for two year old fillies on Washington Cup Day. $148,000 of the $156,000 pool was put on Knight Raider, providing huge payoffs for the top three finishers when she finished out of the money.

Payoff	Horse	Date
$187.00	Have'n Wild Time	September 13, 2009
$156.40	Pistolpackin'gal	September 13, 2009
$108.60	Private Fortune	September 13, 2009
$38.80	Super Raptor	April 5, 1997
$35.00	Jazzie Act	July 14, 1996

Highest $2 Daily Double

Payoff	Horses	Date
$1,907.40	Neardistracted-Magical Monday	May 17, 2002
$1,878.20	Delirious Laughter-Bishop Wins	Aug. 8, 2003
$1,464.80	Follow My Heineken-Specious Edition	July 5, 1999
$1,289.60	Zairsaplan-Sea Tac Jet	May 9, 2004
$1,102.80	Cider Burg-Strategic Patience	July 4, 2010

Highest $1 Exacta Payoffs

Payoff	Horses	Date
$2,317.80	Salty Season-Another Bar Fly	Aug. 28, 1998
$2,077.40	No Way To Go-Almost Smashed	Aug. 12, 1996
$1,843.60	Naab The Win-Do As You’re Toad	Aug. 14, 1998
$1,678.80	Mighbabe-Scatty	Sept. 7, 1998
$1,286.80	Tip A Moon-Treasure Girl	Dec. 21, 1996

Highest $1 Trifecta Payoffs

Payoff	Horses	Date
$27,356.90	Meridian Thriller-Foxy Love-Foxy Frosty	July 2, 2002
$24,399.00	Freefur-Mollie Stone-Jennifer Star	June 26, 2005
$24,337.90	Timbercamp-Kisses of Wine-Initial Reaction	May 7, 2006
$23,782.80	Salty Season-Another Bar Fly-Seattle Jack	Aug. 28, 1998
$20,805.20	Clurmor-Buckshot West-Cahill Blues	July 28, 2007

Highest $1 Pick Three

Payoff	Horses	Date
$7,479.90	Alena’s Tornado-Wa Dancer-Talking About	July 9, 2000
$7,177.70	Tommy Ray-Braydon’s Choice-Wacky Joe Wacky	July 25, 1998
$6,987.60	Chisos Free Candy-Sea Pirate-Dee Cee Nine	April 11, 1997
$6,649.50	Alibhai Basket-Lucky Pusher-Travel The Sun	Aug. 8, 1998
$6,274.60	Volare Princess-Secret Game-Wrapped In Ribbons	July 7, 2007

Highest $1 Pick Four

Payoff	Date
$18,223.20	April 17, 2009
$13,373.30	Aug. 2, 2007
$12,829.25 ($0.50 Pick Four)	May 30, 2011
$12,593.30	June 26, 2005
$12,096.40	May 26, 2008

Note: The Pick Four was changed to a $0.50 minimum wager in 2010.

Highest $2 Pick Six

Payoff	Date
$217,140.00	June 8, 1997
$96,172.00	Aug. 5, 1996
$80,489.40	Sept. 1, 1996
$64,700.80	Sept. 14, 1996
$48,507.80	Nov. 6, 1996

Highest $1 Superfectas

Payoff	Date
$15,487.20	June 2, 2002
$15,319.60	Sept. 21, 2003
$14,926.70	Aug. 21, 2005
$14,423.10	July 25, 1999
$13,858.40	July 20, 2008