Among the older horses, Eccentric, Putt for Birdie, and Bimbilla stood out

Palermo’s push to expand races exclusive to provincial runners continues to pay dividends, building on its traditional Encuentro Provincial and Provincias Unidas specials.

With a large crowd on hand, Sunday’s card featured the Encuentro Provincial Invierno over 1000 meters on dirt, both for 2-year-olds and older horses, yielding excellent results. On a day that usually sees weaker betting due to the closure of many off-track betting shops, turnover reached ARS 649,943,612, averaging ARS 46,424,544 per race. For comparison, the previous day at San Isidro—featuring the G2 Clásico 9 de Julio—handle totaled ARS 633,492,621, averaging ARS 48,730,201 across 13 races (versus 14 at Palermo), further confirming Palermo’s dominance in the current betting landscape.

On the track, the older horses’ divisions of the Encuentro Provincial yielded a mix of expected and surprise results. Eccentric (Il Campione), owned by Stud Abuelo Pocho and trained by Gianfranco Cismondi, secured a well-deserved victory after finishing second in last December’s Provincial Machos edition. Though off a step slow after leaning against the gate, he gradually improved position before accelerating strongly from the 300-meter mark to overhaul Santita Candy (Señor Candy) in the final strides by 3/4 length, clocking the fastest time of the series in 57.42.

It was a first top-level win for jockey Joaquín Gómez, who celebrated with unrestrained emotion aboard the Triple Alliance-bred colt.

The next division brought a big cheer for Córdoba courtesy of Putt for Birdie (Qué Vida Buena), trained by Gonzalo Peralta for Haras Don Florentino and piloted by Mauricio Villarruel. Breaking from the rail, she established herself swiftly down the center of the track before drawing clear by 4 lengths over Talento Moi (El Moisés) in 57.95.

Finally, Bimbilla (Santillano) delivered an upset in the last of the series, toppling the favorite Fantástico Key (Key Deputy) by 1 length. The Haras La Pasión-bred filly, trained by Marcos Bazán for Stud El Desecho and ridden by Juan Larrateguy, surged late from post 1 to win in 58.23, the slowest clocking among the three heats. Notably, Larrateguy also won a similar event in 2022.

Overall, Palermo’s provincial races continue to unearth new heroes while reinforcing its position as Argentina’s betting powerhouse.