Published: March 27, 2008 09:10 am         

Got Country Grip seeks historic win tonight in OKC

By Libby Cluett
lcluett@mineralwellsindex.com

Locally owned paint racehorse Got Country Grip is entered to run tonight at Remington Park in Oklahoma City, where another win for the speedy sprinter would tie the modern horse racing record of 16 consecutive victories.

“Grip” has proven himself in every race he’s run.

Owned by Garner resident Jimmy Maddox and trained by Brandon Parum of Jones, Okla., Grip won his 15th consecutive race in the Olympia Joe Handicap at Lone Star Park on Nov. 24. With that win, the two-time World Champion paint broke the 14-consecutive-win record held by three quarter horses that each lost in their 15th races.

According to Maddux, his horse won that record-breaking trip with a “tap on the shoulder” by his jockey G.R. Carter, while running on a sloppy track after a six-month hiatus.

At 5 years old, the solid bay paint gelding has not only broken the consecutive racing record of paints and quarter horses, the gelding has also set American Paint Horse Association world records for speed.

Tonight, Maddux would like to see his horse tie the modern horse racing record held by thoroughbreds Cigar, Citation and Hallowed Dreams.

“The variables are against you,” said jockey Carter in a Lone Star Park press release after the November win. “In horse racing, you know something is bound to happen – that’s just the way it is. I don’t care what the competition is, this streak is one of the greatest things I’ve ever seen.”

To date, Grip has earned $247,500 in his racing career. Maddux said it has been difficult to find good races with enough competitors for his horse to run in.

Tonight at Remington Park, Grip will run in a $15,000 allowance race against paints and appaloosas with Carter onboard. In a 350-yard sprint, he will break from post number four in a field of eight horses including Check This Treat, Jess Streakin, Bust N Moves, Boy of Summer, Wheels Quick Flash, Braggin Rights and Calista Corona.

For information on tonight’s results, check www.remingtonpark.com/Racing/Results. According to the APHA, the races will be simulcast at any simulcast racetrack, or on DISH Network on HRTV. Post time for race nine is scheduled for 9:53 p.m.

According to a Remington Park press release, Got Country Grip is expected to compete in a pair of stakes races later in the Remington Park season – the $25,000 Mr. Lewie Memorial Handicap on April 19 and the $25,000 National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum Stakes on May 24.