Who’s your Kentucky Derby winner? Here’s where you can place bets in the Tri-Cities

Nancy Sorick, the leader of the Tri-City Horse Racing Association, said the first weekend of horse racing at Sun Downs went well.

“Although it was windy and cold, we didn’t have any rain,” she said about the races April 27 and 28 at the Kennewick track.

Bad weather didn’t stop people from coming out and wagering on a lot of 2-year-old babies who had no records to speak of yet.

“We had a total (wagering) handle of $61,000 on Saturday, and $59,000 on Sunday,” Sorick said.

There are still two weekends left of the meet – this Saturday and Sunday, and May 11-12.

Saturday’s highlight will definitely be the Kentucky Derby. Fans can wager on the race and watch it at Sun Downs.

Sorick said the Derby, scheduled to start at 3:50 p.m., will be the final race of the day at Sun Downs.

First post each day is 1 p.m.

Tri-Cities Alliance

The Tri-Cities Alliance Football Club begins its second year in the Evergreen Premier League (EPL) on Saturday with a 5 p.m. game at Yakima United FC.

The EPL is the highest ranking men’s amateur soccer league in the state, and it consists of 10 teams.

The Alliance is in the Cascade Conference, along with the Bellingham United, Oly Town Artesians, Seattle Stars and Yakima United.

The Rainier Conference consists of the Oly-Pen Force, the Pacific Northwest Soccer Club (the newest franchise to join the league), the Spokane Shadow, Vancouver Victory and the Washington Premier.

J.D. Loveless, one of the three men who run the Alliance program, said the Tri-City squad had a great first season in the EPL in 2018.

“We started off really strong,” Loveless said. “Then we were decimated by injuries. I thought we did well that first season. We only missed the playoffs by one point.”

The EPL now also has a feeder league called the Western Washington Premier League, consisting of 10 teams.

The Alliance will play 10 EPL games in the regular season – five home contests, all at Lampson Stadium in Kennewick. The league will have semifinals played the weekend of July 20-21, and the championship will be the weekend of July 27-28.

Tri-Cities’ home opener is set for Saturday, May 11, at 2 p.m., against the Spokane Shadow.

MCC baseball

The District 8 playoff schedule begins Saturday and has been updated.

In Class 4A, here’s Saturday’s lineup: Game 1, Gonzaga Prep at Richland, 11 a.m.; Game 2, Chiawana at Mead, noon; Game 3, Ferris at Hanford, 1 p.m.; Game 4, Walla Walla at Central Valley, 1 p.m.

District 8 playoff schedule Saturday for the Class 3A tournament: Game 1, Kennewick vs. Shadle Park at LaPierre Field, 10 a.m.; Game 2, North Central vs. Southridge at Mt. Spokane High School, noon; Game 3, winner 1 at Kamiakin, LaPierre Field, 1 p.m.; Game 4, winner 2 at Mt. Spokane, 2:30 p.m.

MCC boys soccer

The Greater Spokane League got the upper hand on the MCC in the first round of the Class 4A District 8 tournament on Thursday, winning three of the four contests.

Only Pasco won its opener among MCC teams, edging visiting Lewis & Clark 3-2.

In other games, Ferris beat Walla Walla 2-0, Gonzaga Prep upset Chiawana 2-0 and Central Valley edged Richland 3-2.

Saturday’s second round: Game 5, Gonzaga Prep at Ferris (winner to state), noon; Game 6, Pasco vs. Central Valley (winner to state), at Gonzaga Prep, 1:30 p.m.; Game 7, Walla Walla at Chiawana (loser out), 11 a.m.; Game 8, Richland vs. Lewis & Clark (loser out), Joe Albi Stadium, 2 p.m.

In the Class 3A tournament, the MCC got the best of the GSL on Thursday, as Kennewick beat Mt. Spokane 3-1, and Kamiakin stopped Shadle Park 3-1.

Saturday’s schedule: Game 3, Kennewick at Hermiston, 11 a.m.; Game 4, Kamiakin vs. North Central, Joe Albi Stadium, 11 a.m.

MCC softball

The final regular-season MCC games were to be played Friday night. But we do know that Richland has already clinched the MCC title, heading into the final games with a 14-0 record.

First-round pairings for the District 8 Class 4A tournament that begins Tuesday, May 7: Game 1, Mead at Richland, 5 p.m.; Game 2, Hanford at University, 5 p.m.; Game 3, Lewis & Clark at Chiawana, 5 p.m.; Game 4, Walla Walla at Central Valley, 5 p.m.

The Class 3A tournament pairings weren’t being set until after Friday night’s contests.

MCC track and field

The Kamiakin boys and Walla Walla girls each won regular-season titles with 8-0 records.

Final MCC boys track standings: 1. Kamiakin 8-0; 2. Walla Walla 7-1; 3 (tie), Hanford and Richland at 5-3; 5 (tie), Chiawana and Southridge at 4-4; 7. Kennewick 2-6; 8. Pasco 1-7; 9. Hermiston 0-8.

Girls final MCC standings: 1. Walla Walla 8-0; 2. Hanford 6-1-1 (thanks to a 75-75 tie with Kamiakin on Thursday); 3. Richland 6-2; 4. Kamiakin 5-2-1; 5. Southridge 4-4; 6. Kennewick 3-5; 7. Chiawana 2-6; 8. Hermiston 1-7; 9. Pasco 0-9.

Most of the school’s take this weekend off before prepping for the postseason. That includes the MCC championships, May 10-11 at Hermiston; the District 8 meet with the GSL, set for May 17-18 at Fran Rish Stadium in Richland; and the state meet, scheduled for May 23-25 at Mount Tahoma High School.

This story was originally published May 3, 2019 at 7:03 PM.