Say Neigh slipped through an opening inside and drew clear for a 1½ -length victory Saturday in the $11,200 John Parker Purse for 3-year-olds and up at Emerald Downs.

Benefiting from a rail-skimming ride by Javier Matias, Say Neigh covered six furlongs in 1:10.44, and paid $23.40, $8.20 and $5.20. Larry Ross trains Say Neigh for the Riverbend Stable of Gail and Gerald Schneider of Auburn.

A 4-year-old Washington-bred gelding by Council Member, Say Neigh has won two straight and is 2-1-0 in three starts this season and 3-1-1 in nine starts overall with earnings of $20,078.

Hoody, ridden by Erick Lopez, rallied outside for second place and paid $5.60 and $3.80, while Party for One, with Eswan Flores aboard, finished third and paid $5.20.

Coming in Hot, Rallying Market and Blue Law completed the order of finish. Rallying Market, the 8-to-5 betting favorite bidding for his third win of the meet, tired after dueling with Coming in Hot through fractions of :22.57 and :45.75.

The old and young of it all

Emerald Downs truly is a place for people of all ages.

On the same day that 2-year-old Emilie Kubinova Rosales was honored as the track’s Owner of the Week, a couple of real racetrack veterans – 93-year-old Arturo Arboleda and 88-year-old Bob Meeking – combined to saddle the top two finishers in Saturday’s fourth race, as Cats Gulch ($9.40) edged 27-to-1 Lucky Tiger for the victory. Arboleda, incidentally, is enjoying another productive season with a 4-5-2 record in 24 starts at the meet through Saturday.

Saturday’s Pick 7 is a whopper

The $0.20 Pick 7 paid a season-high $23,232 to one winning ticket with all seven winners. Saturday’s Pick 7, enhanced by a $10,138 carryover, included long shots Local One Thirty ($14.60), Candy for Three ($35.60), Say Neigh ($23.40) and Cassidy Command ($17).

Notes

The yellow and orange silks of owner Rick Kessler and trainer Joe Toye swept Saturday’s early daily double with Citizen Sam ($5.40) and Local One Thirty ($14.60). … For the third straight day and seventh time at the meet Rocco Bowen won the day’s first race, this time turning the track aboard Citizen Sam. … Bowen and Leonel Camacho-Flores each rode two winners on the seven-race card. … Trainer Bill Tollett picked up his first win of the meet as Candy for Three ($35.60) rallied for a 16-to-1 upset in race five for maiden special weight 3-year-olds and up. Tollett has 287 career wins at Emerald Downs. … Claiming activity was hot and heavy again Saturday as nine more horses were red-tagged, including four runners in race two and Hoody for $15,000 in race six. … Live racing continues Sunday with the $50,000 Kent Stakes featuring unbeaten Alliford Bay at 3-to-5 on the morning line. First post is 2 p.m.