Earn Your Stripes Wins Pomona Derby

Earn Your Stripes did just that at Fairplex Park Saturday, holding off favored Hot And Smoggy in the final quarter-mile to win the $105,100 Pomona Derby before a crowd of 18,560 at the Los Angeles County Fair in Pomona.

Hot And Smoggy made a run at Earn Your Stripes in the stretch but fell short by a neck. Corey Black, on Hot And Smoggy, made a foul claim but it was disallowed. Dave Patton was the winning jockey, gaining his first stakes win at Fairplex Park.

Earn Your Stripes, trained by Harry Proctor, was timed in 1:49 1/5 for about 1 1/8 miles, a stakes record. The winner paid $6.80, $3.60 and $2.80; Hot And Smoggy paid $3 and $2.80, while Nourished returned $7 to show.