09/10/2026
The state’s richest night of Thoroughbred racing, dedicated to Oklahoma-breds, is ready at Re*****on Park. The 2026 Oklahoma Classics will feature 10-races, all for state-breds, on Friday, Oct. 16.
The final eight races on the program are stakes events, led by the $175,000 (estimated) Classics Cup Handicap at 1-1/16 miles. Mister Omaha is seeking his second consecutive win in the richest Classics race, after his triumphant romp by 9-3/4 lengths a year ago. The heavy morning-line favorite in the Classics Cup at 1-2, Mister Omaha will be ridden by his regular pilot, Luis Quinonez.
Quinonez is the active leading jockey in the Oklahoma Classics with 23 scores during the series. He is seeking his third win in the Classics Cup after Mister Omaha last year and That’s Something in 2022 provided his initial scores in the race.
Bred and owned by Bryan Hawk of Shawnee, Okla. and trained by Joe Offolter, Mister Omaha is by Omaha Beach from the Into Mischief mare Cosmic Code. A winner of nine races from 17 career attempts, Mister Omaha is seeking his sixth win over the main track at Re*****on Park. Now a 4-year-old, Mister Omaha had a leisurely five furlong work this morning in 1:02.31, handily.
While the heavy favorite in the field of six, Mister Omaha is not the leader of the group in career wins or career earnings. The top winner in the field is Inca Empire with 11 scores. The 7-year-old owned by Danny Caldwell and trained by Oscar Flores, won the Classics Cup in 2024. Inca Empire is the longest shot on the Classics Cup morning line at 20-1 odds.
The top earner in the Classics Cup is Number One Dude with $678,090 banked from 50 lifetime attempts. An 8-year-old owned and bred by Terry Westemeir of Broken Arrow, Okla., Number One Dude is now trained by Tristan Ashford. He is 15-1 on the morning-line odds and will be seeking his second Classics victory, having captured the Juvenile in 2020.
Nucleus, a two-time winner this season at Re*****on Park, will attempt to grow his streak in the Classics Cup. Owned by the Tulsa, Okla. partnership of Clark Brewster and Ken Reimer, Nucleus won a 5-1/2 furlong allowance sprint on Aug. 29, followed by a turf score at 7-1/2 furlongs on Sept. 24. He is the only entrant to this year’s Classics Cup with a win this season at Re*****on Park.
A 3-year-old son of Omaha Beach from the Into Mischief mare Natalie’s Mischief, Nucleus is trained by Steve Asmussen and will be ridden by his son Erik Asmussen. The c**t is at 4-1 odds on the morning-line and he was bred by Bryan Hawk.
Hawk is the breeder of the half the Classics Cup field with Nucleus, Inca Empire and Mister Omaha all from his operation.
The field for the Classics Cup, by post position and program order, with trainer, jockey and morning-line odds:
Nucleus: Steve Asmussen, Erik Asmussen, 4-1
Winters Lion: Ronnie Cravens III, Rene Diaz, 15-1
Inca Empire: Oscar Flores, Tyler Bacon, 20-1
Number One Dude: Tristan Ashford, Leandro Goncalves, 15-1
Classy Empire: Michale Biehler, Weston Hamilton, 7-2
Mister Omaha: Joe Offolter, Luis Quinonez, 1-2 (morning-line favorite)
The Oklahoma Classics open with a pair of starter allowance events at 6:30pm on Oct. 16, followed by the stakes schedule. The Classics Cup is the ninth race of 10 and has an approximate post of 10:25pm. All times are Central.
This is the 34th renewal of the Oklahoma Classics at Re*****on Park. The event began in 1993.
A total of 86 Oklahoma-breds entered the 10-races for Oklahoma Classics for an 8.6 average field size per race.
Re*****on Park racing continues Thursday-Saturday, Oct. 8-10, with the first post every evening at 6:30pm-Central.
📸: coadymediausa
