Driving Money wins C.O. Kendrick Stakes at Sunray Park

Driving Money turned the C.O. Kendrick Stakes into a useful benchmark on closing day at SunRay Park, grinding out a half-length victory in the $70,000 dirt sprint for 3-year-olds and stopping the clock in 1:18.97 on a fast track. For a New Mexico-bred gelding by Conquest Mo Money out of Strawberry Drive, it was the kind of stakes effort that asks a bigger question than the final margin: can a regional sprint horse use a clean win at Sunray Park as a launch point for stronger company elsewhere?

The answer, for now, looks promising. Ridden by Luis A. Valenzuela and trained by Dick Cappellucci for Judge Lanier Racing LLC, Driving Money had to work for it. The Tri-City Record’s race note said he dueled early with stablemate Vanishing Money, briefly lost command on the far turn, then found another gear in the final 100 yards to edge Equity Search, the likely post-time favorite, by a half-length. That matters because the win was not built on a soft trip or a collapsing pace. It was earned under pressure, the kind of sprint that tends to translate better when horses move up in class or ship to a different circuit.

The race came with added context at every turn. SunRay Park’s 2026 live-racing season ran from April 10 through May 17, with the Kendrick serving as the closing-day feature of a meet that featured 18 live race days. The New Mexico Horse Breeders Association preview had pointed to a compact but competitive field, noting that Cappellucci and Todd Fincher could each start as many as three horses and that Equity Search entered as a proven local threat after winning two of her first three starts and already handling the Sunray surface in late April. Driving Money’s win over that kind of opposition gives the result more value than a simple home-track overlay.

The clock also helps explain the performance. BloodHorse listed Sunray Park’s 6 1/2-furlong track record at 1:15.30, which puts Driving Money’s 1:18.97 in the solid, not sensational, category. But that is exactly why the effort should stick with bettors and horsemen: it showed a horse who can finish a sprint, handle a fair track, and repel a familiar rival when the race turns serious. Equibase reported the race went off at 4:12 and showed Driving Money returned $21.20 to win, a sign that the market did not fully embrace him before he delivered.

The Kendrick has long been a meaningful late-spring test for New Mexico-bred 3-year-olds, and this year’s edition fit that role again. It was run for $70,000, down from the $75,000 purse used in 2024, but it still drew the kind of regional talent that makes placement decisions matter. For Driving Money, the victory was not just a local title. It was evidence that a horse from Farmington’s spring circuit may have enough grit and speed to be worth following when the path widens beyond SunRay Park.