AUBURN — Sorelli held off stable mate Stella Corona to win by a head Sunday in the $54,000 Bank of America Emerald Downs Championship Challenge for quarter horses.
Winning jockey Eswan Flores said he got to know Sorelli, who paid $6.60, $4.40 and $3.60, while finishing second in the trials two weeks ago.
“This is where it all matters,” Flores said. “She ran a big race last time in the trial, and we were pretty confident she was going to do well in this race. This is definitely a big accomplishment. This is the biggest quarter horse race at the meet.