Charles Town kicked off its 2024 season Wednesday night with an eight-race program, and in at least one way, it bore a strong resemblance to plenty of the racing nights that have come before it: trainer Jeff Runco and jockey Arnaldo Bocachica teamed up to win two races.

In the sixth, the duo struck when first-time starter Tomorrow’s Edge, a four-year-old West Virginia-bred owned by David Raim, registered a flashy 6 ½-length victory against state-bred maiden special weight company. The running time of 52.14 seconds for 4 ½ furlongs was nearly a full second faster than that logged by Swiped the Castle in winning the earlier division of the same race.

One race later, Mackenzie’s Music, a homebred for Runco and his wife Susan, who operate as Coleswood Farm Inc., got the Boca-Runco duo back to the winner’s circle with an easy win in the night’s allowance feature. Mackenzie’s Music now has five wins from 16 career starts.

Charles Town issued the following press release yesterday in advance of its season opener:

Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races is set to begin racing in the new year on Wednesday, January 3, following another successful season in 2023. Wednesday’s card is the first of 158 live days of racing scheduled at Charles Town for 2024. The track’s two graded stakes – the Charles Town Classic (GII) and recently upgraded Charles Town Oaks (GII) – are expected to take up their usual places on the calendar in late August, pending finalization of the track’s stakes schedule in January. State-breds will take center stage in early October as Charles Town will host the 38^th renewal of the West Virginia Breeders Classics.    

2023’s Charles Town Classic (GII) saw Daniel Alonso’s Skippylongstocking capture the track’s signature event in wire-to-wire fashion under jockey Tyler Gaffalione for trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr., who also sent out runner-up O’Connor (CHI). Both runners figure to be among the favorites for this month’s Pegasus World Cup Invitational (GI) at Gulfstream Park, a race won last year by the late two-time Charles Town Classic champion Art Collector. 

The Charles Town Oaks (GIII) saw Vahva one-up her dam, 2012 Charles Town Oaks runner-up Holiday Soiree, with a 1 ¼ length win in the 2023 renewal. Deftly handled by Hall-of-Famer John Velazquez, Vahva pulled away late to give trainer Cherie DeVaux her first win in the Oaks. Vahva went on to validate her win next out by taking the Lexus Raven Run (GII) at Keeneland, and the daughter of top stallion Gun Runner remains in training for her four-year-old season. 

On the wagering front, the $7,976,942 wagered on the Charles Town Classic and Oaks card established a new single card handle record for the track, shattering the previous mark of $7,179,783 set on the 2021 Classic card. 

West Virginia Breeders Classics XXXVII took place on October 14 and Coastal Mission cruised to victory in the Sam Huff West Virginia Breeders Classic. Owned by Coleswood Farm Inc., trained by Jeff Runco, and ridden by Arnaldo Bocachica, the son of Great Notion went on to finish a respectable fifth in the Cigar Mile (GII) at Aqueduct in his subsequent start. In the richest race for fillies and mares on the Breeders Classics card, Hessica secured her second straight win in the West Virginia Cavada Breeders Classic. 

For the sixth time in his career, Bocachica topped the annual jockey standings at Charles Town in both wins and earnings. Winning at a 27% rate in 2023, Bocachica’s 184 winners from 674 starts allowed his mounts to bank $3,966,689 in earnings over the course of the year. Marshall Mendez’s 123 victories were enough to claim the runner-up spot on the list with Carlos Lopez, Reshawn Latchman and Denis Araujo rounding out the top five. 

Trainer Anthony Farrior won his second consecutive trainer’s title, claiming the top spot with 137 wins, 34 more than runner-up Ronney Brown. While Jeff Runco’s 88 wins were only good for third in the standings, he made the most of his 485 starters as he produced $2,645,326 in earnings, allowing him to take the earnings title. 

CHARLES TOWN 2023 LEADERS

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