The Open preliminary round of the 2022 6666 National Reining Horse Association Derby presented by Markel is in the books. This year’s Derby was another record-breaker, with the total Open purse topping $791,869, besting the prior record by more than $21,000!
The large field of competitors was narrowed down to the top 30 (plus ties) in the Open Levels 4, 3, 2, and 1. Those entries advanced to the clean-slate finals, which will be held Saturday, June 26. The Open preliminaries also decided the champions of the Open Prime Time, the Clark’s Pump-N-Shop Novice Horse Open Derby, and the Tamarack Ranch Open Stakes.
Unofficially the bubble for advancing to the finals were:
Level 4 – 218
Level 3 – 217
Level 2 – 214
Level 1 – 209
Winning each division of the Open preliminaries were:
Level 4 – Casey Deary & Americasnexttopgun (Walla Walla Whiz x Americasnextgunmodel) – 223.5
Level 3 – Fernando Salgado & Pale Dun Star (Pale Face Dunnit x Get Ya Some Stars) – 223
Level 2 – Jared Leclair & Maken Diamonds (Whizkey N Diamonds x Makeit In Tinseltown) – 221
Level 1– Melanie Petroll & Dirty Diamonds (Whizkey N Diamonds x Wimpys Cat Step) – 218
Open Prime Time – Shawn Flarida & Trash Your Gal (Gunnatrashya x Ima Sailors Gal) – 222.5
Clark’s Pump-N-Shop Novice Horse Open Derby – Brandon Brant & Dainty Little Spook (Smart Spook x Dainty Little Step) – 220.5
Tamarack Ranch Open Stakes – Shawn Flarida & Alpha Jac Sparrow (Spooks Gotta Whiz x Chexanicki) – 221.5
The draw for the Open finals will be Thursday, June 23, at 10 a.m. in the Platinum Zone of the Coliseum Arena concourse.
Complete results, draws, news and more can be found at NRHADerby.com.