Portland Meadows will host the second XpressBet Jockey Challenge Nov. 29. It will feature four riders at the Oregon and four from Southern California.
The contest will feature four races and use a point system to determine the top riders and teams. Prizes will total $20,000.
First post time for the Monday program will be 12:40 p.m. PST. The challenge races will be run between 2-4 p.m.
Representing “Team Southern California” will be Joel Rosario, Joe Talamo, David Flores, and Martin Pedroza. They will be matched up against the current top four riders in the Portland Meadows jockey standings: Joe Crispin, Javier Matias, Mark Anderson, and Troy Stillwell.
“This will be such a great event,” Portland Meadows director of racing Jerry Kohls said. “To have riders of this caliber coming to ride and compete against our best jockeys, it will truly be a great competition.”
The first jockey challenge was held Jan. 7, 2009. The Portland Meadows riders defeated a team from Golden Gate Fields in Northern California.
HRTV will be on hand to cover the event and will broadcast it nationally. The jockeys will take part in an autograph session and meet and greet patrons just before the races.
Portland Meadows will offers a $25,000 guaranteed pick four on the four races that make up the XpressBet Jockey Challenge. Portland Meadows’ pick four has a 14% pari-mutuel takeout rate, the lowest in the country for the bet.