Trainer Tim McCanna and jockey Kevin Krigger somehow managed to be hotter than the 94-degree weather Thursday at Emerald Downs.

McCanna tied a state record by saddling five winners while Krigger set a career-high by riding five winners. Together, they combined to win the third, fourth, fifth and seventh races.

And they accomplished all this on only a seven-race card.

McCanna, who tied the track and state record shared by Doris Harwood (2009) and Jim Penney (1998), also accomplished an Emerald Downs first by recording two wins in one race when Vickys Fast Boy ($3.20) and A Black Thorn ($4.40)—both trained by McCanna—dead-heated for first place in the fourth race.

Remarkably, McCanna saddled four winners during a 56-minute span—7:12 to 8:08 p.m.—as Eloika Lake ($7) won the third race, Vickys Fast Boy and A Black Thorn dead-heated in the fourth, and Cougar Guy ($5.60) won the fifth race. McCanna added his final winner in the nightcap as Big Sky Posse ($5.80) rallied for the victory.

McCanna, 48, is a nine-time training champion at Emerald Downs. The Spokane native, off to a relatively slow start at the meeting, zoomed all the way into third place with 29 wins.

“(Assistant trainer) Robert Sodergren and the boys at the barn have been working hard,” McCanna said. “This is a big boost for everybody.”

In the fourth race, a $7,500 claiming event for older horses, A Black Thorn, ridden by Krigger, and Vickys Fast Boy, ridden by Frazier, dueled nearly the length of the stretch before finishing on even terms. McCanna said two wins in one race is something every trainer thinks about.

“I’ve always wanted it, but I’d never come close,” McCanna said. “It’s a once in a lifetime deal.”

Krigger, the 2005 Emerald Downs riding champion, has taken the track by storm since his June 6 return. He already ranks eighth with 23 wins, including 11 wins in the last three days.

The 26-year-old native of St. Croix, Virgin Islands, began his night with a fourth-place finish on Kingledo in the second race—the only misfire Thursday for either Krigger or McCanna—and proceeded to sweep the final five races on the card.

Krigger’s first victory was a nose triumph aboard Eloika Lake in the third race, followed by the dead-heat on A Black Thorn in the fourth. He then steered A Cougar Guy to a neck victory over He’s the Pitz—the third straight race Krigger and Frazier battled head-and-head to the wire.

Victory No. 4 was a 1 ½-length score aboard the 3-year-old filly Raebella in the featured $10,000 Ashbaugh Beal Purse for 3-year-old fillies. That set the stage for the Krigger and McCanna to get their five-baggers, and Big Sky Posse did the honors with a neck victory over 37-to-1 long shot Wheelhouse in the seventh race.

Interviewed in the winner’s circle, Krigger dead-panned “When is race eight?”

News and Notes

• Rasparov ($27.60) and jockey Leonel Camacho-Flores combined to give veteran trainer Arturo Arboleda his first victory of the meeting with a front-running score in the second race.

• Frazier rode two winners and leads Juan Gutierrez 55-45 in the jockeys’ standings.

• Live racing continues Friday with first post at 6 p.m.