(Encino / Photos by Holly M. Smith)

From the Turfway Park Media Team / Kevin Kerstein:

PRAIRIE BAYOU WINNER ENCINO RETURNS IN $125,000 DUST COMMANDER

FLORENCE, Ky. (Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026) – Godolphin’s Prairie Bayou Stakes (Listed) winner Encino headlines a field of 10 older horses entered in Saturday’s $125,000 Dust Commander Stakes at Turfway Park Racing & Gaming.

Run at 1 1/16 miles, the Dust Commander is the featured ninth race on Saturday’s card with a post time of 9:55 p.m. (all times Eastern). First post is 5:55 p.m.

Encino, trained by Brad Cox, was a gate-to-wire winner of the Dec. 21 Prairie Bayou, part of the Synthetic Championships. The classy 5-year-old son of Nyquist has won seven of his 13 career starts with other notable victories in the 2024 Lexington (GIII) and the 2025 Presque Isle Mile and Jonathan B. Schuster Memorial. Jockey Luan Machado will have the mount from post No. 4.

Among Encino’s rivals are a duo from Kelsey Danner’s barn: J S Stables’ 2025 Leonatus Stakes winner Baby Max and Dede McGehee’s last-out allowance winner Welaka.

Baby Max will be ridden by Gerardo Corrales from post 9 while Welaka will break from post 5 with Victor Carrasco in the irons.

The field for the Dust Commander from the rail out (with jockey and trainer):

  • Honor Marie (Joe Ramos, Whit Beckman)
  • Swiss Slang (Samuel Bermudez, Larry Smith)
  • Native Shaman (Gabe Saez, Rusty Arnold II)
  • Encino (Machado, Cox)
  • Welaka (Carrasco, Danner)
  • Chiron (Yarmarie Correa, Richie Estvanko)
  • Sugoi (Luis Contreras, Ismael Bahena)
  • Prince of Power (Martin Garcia, Jesus Esquivel)
  • Baby Max (Corrales, Danner)
  • Smokey Mandate (Walter Rodriguez, Mike Maker)

 

For the latest information on racing and gaming at Turfway Park, visit www.turfway.com.

 

 

MULTITASK SLATED AS 3-1 FAVORITE IN FRIDAY’S $125,000 FOREGO STAKES – Godolphin’s four-time winner Multitask was made the lukewarm 3-1 morning line favorite as he faces nine rivals in Friday night’s $125,000 Forego Stakes at Turfway Park Racing & Gaming.

The 6 ? furlong Forego Stakes is Friday’s featured ninth race with a post time of 9:55 p.m. (all times Eastern). First post is 5:55 p.m.

Trained by Eoin Harty, Multitask will break from the rail with jockey Gerardo Corrales in the irons. A son of Candy Ride (ARG), Multitask is a winner of three allowance races, two at Churchill Downs and one at Ellis Park. In his most recent start, he finished second to Arrest Me Red in an allowance contest on Jan. 14 at Turfway Park.

The Forego field also features several accomplished sprinters including Novogratz Racing Stables’ four-time winner Banjo Chris; Howling Pigeons Farms’ three-time winner Its Bourbon Thirty; Michael Dubb and Doug Nachman’s recent allowance winner G T Five Hundred and Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners’ 2024 Gun Runner (Listed) winner Built, who’s also cross-entered in Saturday’s Colonel Power Stakes at Fair Grounds.

          The field for the Forego Stakes from the rail out (with jockey, trainer and morning line odds):

  • Multitask (Corrales, Harty, 3-1)
  • Banjo Chris (Edgar Morales, Troy Wismer, 5-1)
  • Its Bourbon Thirty (Luan Machado, Jerry O’Dwyer, 7-2)
  • Built (Jareth Loveberry, Wayne Catalano, 8-1)
  • Prince of Power (Martin Garcia, Jesus Esquivel, 12-1)
  • Playmea Tune (Walter Rodriguez, Josie Carroll, 6-1)
  • G T Five Hundred (Fernando De La Cruz, Mike Maker, 4-1)
  • Runnin’ Rocket (Gabe Saez, Joe Sharp, 8-1)
  • Script (Danny Sheehy, Rusty Arnold, 8-1)
  • Okiro (Julien Leparoux, Josie Carroll, 20-1)