Jockey Arnaldo Bocachica is the leading jockey in the area. Courtesy photo

CHARLES TOWN — Nationally famous jockeys Luis Saez and Paco Lopez won the $800,000 Charles Town Classic and $400,000 Charles Town Oaks, respectively, last Friday at the Charles Town Races, but it was local achievers Jeff Runco (trainer) and Arnaldo Bocachica (jockey), who opened the most eyes during the 13-race card.

Runco won five races on the lengthy card. And his rider every time was Bocachica. Runco is currently the leading trainer, as he has been for years now, and Bocachica the leading jockey at Charles Town.

Trainer Runco and jockey Bocachica began their night of sustained success by winning the third race, a 6.5-furlong allowance test with a $30,800 purse. Heretodaygonmanana won for the twosome and paid $7.80 for $2 win tickets.

Coming right back in the next race — the $75,000 Sadie Hawkins Stakes at 7-furlongs — Runco and Bocachica clicked again with Star of Night, the prohibitive favorite, who returned only $2.40 on a $2 win ticket.

Then in the fifth race, it was Aaron’s Tap topping the field in a $35,200 allowance race at 4.5-furlongs. Aaron’s Tap returned $12.40 to his backers, who might have wagered as much on the Runco-Bocachica duo as they did on the winning thoroughbred.

A fourth consecutive win came in the Robert G. Leavitt Stakes at 7-furlongs. The payoff for the successful Social Chic was $4.40 in the $75,000 race.

Before the fifth win for Runco-Bocachica came the dollar-heavy Charles Town Oaks at 7-furlongs. Trainer Georgina Baxter and jockey Lopez teamed to vanquish the large field with the thoroughbred R Adios Jersey paying $12.80 to his backers.

Just following the Charles Town Oaks was the night’s feature race, the Charles Town Classic with another large field going 1 1/8 miles. Favorite Art Collector stalked last year’s Classic winner (Sleepy Eyes Todd) for much of the distance race before gliding past the front runner and then maintaining his hard-won lead to post a 1 1/2-length win for trainer Bill Mott and rider Luis Saez. Art Collective paid just $4.60 to win.

In the night’s last heat, Runco and Bocachica clicked with Muad’dib in the $75,000 Frank Gall Memorial Stakes at 7-furlongs. Muad’dib paid $6 to win, while Runco also saddled second-place finisher North Atlantic (ridden by Dennis Araujo) as well as the race’s fourth-place finisher.

Through racing as of Aug. 28, Runco had saddled 78 winners from 328 starts, with 58 seconds and 54 thirds. Bocachica paced the jockey standings in wins with Araujo entrenched in second place.

Trainers Bill Mott and Georgina Baxter and riders Paco Lopez and Luis Saez were satisfied with their treks to Charles Town for the night’s two large-money races, and so were locals Jeff Runco and Arnaldo Bocachica.