Muckleshoot Gold Cup Indian Relay Races Scheduled for Father's Day Weekend
AUBURN, Wash. – Emerald Downs has announced 23 stakes worth $1,240,000 in purses for its 2023 live racing season that begins Kentucky Derby Day, Saturday, May 6.
The prestigious Muckleshoot Gold Cup Indian Relay Race Championships have been confirmed for Father’s Day Weekend, June 16-18. There are several relay race championships in the West, but none is farther west than this one! Mark your calendars!
Admission to Emerald Downs is always free for Native families, any tribe, any day. One person should show a valid ID from a federally recognized tribe. The 88th running of the $150,000 Longacres Mile anchors an August 13 stakes quadruple-header featuring the $50,000 Emerald Distaff, the $50,000 Muckleshoot Derby, and the $50,000 Washington Oaks.
The track’s premier event for 3-year-olds and up, the Longacres Mile was captured in 2022 by KD Thoroughbreds Slew’s Tiz Whiz over Lusk Racing’s Papa’s Golden Boy as Washington-breds took down the top two spots.
The older horse division, 4 years and up, begins with the $50,000 Budweiser Stakes (6F) on Sunday, June 25, followed by the $50,000 Governor’s Stakes (6 ½ F) on Sunday, July 23, and the Longacres Mile.
The 2023 stakes schedule features eight stakes double-headers, the Super Sunday quadruple-header August 14, and a closing day triple-headerSunday, Sept. 17, featuring the $70,000 Gottstein Futurity for the Northwest’s top 2-year-olds.
The $50,000 Seattle Stakes for 3-year-old fillies and $50,000 Auburn Stakes for 3-year-old colts and geldings kick off stakes action on Sunday, June 18.
Seven stakes are offered for 2-year-olds – three apiece for fillies and colts and geldings – finishing with the Gottstein Futurity at a mile and one-sixteenth.
Washington Cup features four stakes – the $50,000 Washington CupJuvenile Colts & Geldings and $50,000 Washington Cup and $50,000Washington Cup Juvenile Fillies on Sunday, August 27, and the $50,000 Muckleshoot Tribal Classic and $50,000 Washington Cup Fillies &Mares on Sunday, September 17.
In addition to 21 Thoroughbred stakes, Emerald Downs offers two stakes for Quarter Horses – the $30,000 John Deere Juvenile Challenge Championship for 2-year-olds and the 14th running of the $40,000 Bank of America Emerald Championship Challenge for 3-year-olds and up.
Opening day for the 2022 season is Saturday, May 6, coinciding with the 149th Kentucky Derby. The 52-day meet concludes Sunday, September 17.
Muckleshoot Tribal Council leaders met with Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson at the state Capitol this week for direct government-to-government discussions focused on priorities important to the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe and its members.
Wellness-Fitness professionals and Tribal leaders gathered August 4–5 at the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe for Native Fitness, a two-day event focused on health, movement, culture and community wellness.
More than five decades after Larry Gossett came to the Muckleshoot Reservation looking for Native students to recruit to the University of Washington, the longtime civil rights leader returned to the Muckleshoot Tribal Council Chambers.
Tribal Council Chairman Donny Stevenson shares about his ancestors' and elders' surival of residential and boarding schools. "Sadly... my family’s story and experience are hardly the exception or unique in our Tribal communities..."
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