Escondido Gold with Diego Villamil Bocanegra will start in the $127,700 Blue River Derby on Saturday at Horseshoe Indianapolis

© Coady Media

By Nathan Klein, Race Marketing Intern

SHELBYVILLE, IN–JULY 15, 2025—Natasha Perez is no stranger to the "blink and you'll miss it" world of Quarter Horses. Born in Michigan, her father was a trainer, and her mother was a jockey.

Now a trainer, Perez will saddle one of the favorites, Escondido Gold in the $127,700 Blue River Derby Saturday, July 19 at Horseshoe Indianapolis.

Perez started her career as a jockey riding around a "bull ring" she calls, "the best place on earth" which is now the defunct Mount Pleasant Meadows racetrack.

Natasha Perez with one of her horses, Porkyismyname, in her barn at Horseshoe Indianapolis. © Nathan Klein

She rode every breed, but her greatest success was on the Quarter Horses. But in 2021, something changed. She still rode horses, but now in a different role, ponying horses she would train to victory, including the headliner of this weekend's 2025 Blue River Derby, Escondido Gold.

No stranger to success at Horseshoe Indianapolis, Natasha's first stakes victories at the track came at the end of her jockeying career, winning the 2020 Heartland Futurity on the back of Shez Bodacious and the 2021 Indiana Grand Distaff Challenge Stakes on Jess Over Yonder as her second-to-last victory.

When she retired, she had garnered over $1 million in earnings as just a Quarter Horse rider alone but had won on the backs of Thoroughbreds and Arabians. But when it came to both riding and training, Quarter Horses were always her favorite.

"I like the speed," Perez simply put it.

Perez's entries on Saturday's card are numerous; at the top of the list are three horses in two of the major stakes races. In the Gordon Mobley Futurity TW No Beach Secrets ran the second fastest trial of :17.961, only upstaged by the heavy morning line favorite HH Shakem Cate with a time of :17.815.

In the Blue River Derby comes a duo of horses, TW Trumps Secret finishing third in his trial, clocking the eighth fastest time of :20.107.

But at the very top of the standings is her headliner, the only improving Escondido Gold with a time of :19.839. If the three-year-old son of Escondido Beach lives up to expectations and wins the Derby for Allen J. Brenner's BFD Farms, he will become the richest horse she has ever trained. And he's only getting better.

"We figured he would be better as a three-year-old, being able to go farther. He definitely likes to run farther down the track," said Perez. "We knew as a two-year-old he was a little limited that year, but we were really excited about this year. We think he'll be able to go over 400 and maybe even 440 in the future. You can tell by just the way he works he was going to love the distance the farther he went the better he got."

A trainer is one of the people who is around a horse the most and gets to know them on the deepest level. But Perez's riding abilities give her a unique position as she ponies her own horses during training and even during races.

"I feel it helps them to know the person that is there. Keeps them a lot calmer and more relaxed. That's what I like, them to be relaxed. They know who I am, and I love that," Perez said, who works alongside her husband, Saul, in the barn.

As the field of 10 canter to the starting gate this Saturday for the Blue River Derby be on the lookout for Escondido Gold and her trainer, moving as one toward their biggest prize yet. Escondido Gold begins from post five with Diego Villamil Bocanegra in the saddle.

The Blue River Derby is one of four stakes on the program Saturday, July 19 at Horseshoe Indianapolis. More than $700,000 in purse money is offered on the late morning program beginning at 10:45 a.m.

The races will be complemented by several trackside activities, including face painting and inflatables for the younger racing fans plus Quarter Four drawings, courtesy of the Quarter Horse Racing Association of Indiana (QHRAI).

Food trucks and winner's circle giveaways will also be included as well as an appearance by Martha Claussen, nationally known Quarter Horse racing analyst who will be trackside to support the stakes program.

The 23rd season of live Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing runs through Thursday, Nov. 13. For more information on racing at Horseshoe Indianapolis, visit www.caesars.com/horseshoe-indianapolis/racing or find details on social media @HSIndyRacing.

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About Horseshoe Indianapolis
Horseshoe Indianapolis, owned and operated by Caesars Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ: CZR), holds multiple awards for customer service, entertainment, gaming, racing, dining, and diversity. Located just minutes from Indianapolis in Shelbyville, Ind., this one-of-a-kind property has wall-to-wall excitement on the 105,940 square foot gaming floor, featuring more than 1,600 slots and 72 table games along with a state-of-the-art World Series of Poker Room containing 20 tables. In addition, Horseshoe Indianapolis offers the only live Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing in the state, showcased on a one-mile dirt racecourse and a seven-eighths-mile turf course. Simulcast and sports wagering is offered year-round at Caesars Race & Sportsbook, also located on the casino floor, with additional gaming provided at Caesars Race & Sportsbook in Clarksville, Ind. Players can benefit from Caesars Rewards, the industry's most lucrative bonus program, now offered at more than 50 destinations.

Please visit www.caesars.com/horseshoe-indianapolis for more information. You can also find Horseshoe Indianapolis on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Must be 18 or older to wager on horse racing at racetracks and 21 or older to gamble at sports books and casinos. Please play responsibly. If you think you or someone you care about may have a gambling problem, call 1-800-9-WITH-IT (1-800-994-8448). ©2024 Caesars License Company, LLC.

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