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admin March 11, 2024 0 Comments

TRAINER DEE KEENER QUALIFIES HALF THE FIELD OF 10 QUALIFIERS FOR FINALS OF $210,200 OKLAHOMA PAINT & APPALOOSA FUTURITY

by Richard Linihan

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – March 7, 2024 – No one has won more Paint and Appaloosa horse races in the history of the game than trainer Dee Keener. On Thursday night, he showed why when he qualified five of the 10 finalists for the March 23 finals of the $210,200 Oklahoma Paint & Appaloosa Futurity at Remington Park.

The six trials to determine the qualifiers were the feature event on the Opening Night of the 2024 American Quarter Horse, Paint and Appaloosa Season at Remington Park.

One of the five Keener trainees was the fastest qualifier of the night – OG Nikki Sixx – paying tribute to a classic heavy metal band, Motley Crue. Sixx, the human, is the founder, bass player and primary songwriter for Motley Crue. The horse, OG Nikki Sixx, covered 300 yards over a slightly wet fast track in :15.773 seconds for Keener, under the guidance of jockey Roman Cruz. That barely out-posted the second-fastest qualifier, Wire Transfer’s :15.776. Both Paints scored speed indexes of 80. Both horses won their trials with no wind affecting the race.

Wire Transfer won for trainer Matt Whitekiller with jockey L. Salvador Martinez at the helm. Chief Iron Eagle was the only Appaloosa to qualify for the finals.

Keener’s five qualifiers were the first, third, fifth, sixth and eighth fastest horses. OG Nikki Sixx is a 2-year-old gelded son of the most prolific Paint sire going in CRM Livewire. He is out of the Spit Curl Jess (QH) mare Spittin Jessie (QH). The owner of this swift Paint is 918 Bloodstock of Inola, Okla., the same hometown as Keener. OG Nikki Sixx won his trial by a half-length over his stablemate Toll Road, who also qualified for the finals.

Keener won three races on the night. Whitekiller was the only other trainer to qualify more than one for the finals. These two conditioners fought it out for the most wins in Paint and Appaloosa history a few years back after both had passed arguably the best ever – the late, great Lewis Wartchow. He held the top spot for years and had far fewer starters than Keener and Whitekiller.

918 Bloodstock enjoyed the same three wins on the night with Keener with RF Livies Buckshot ($20) in race four, OG Nikki Sixx ($6) in the race five and Vesper Martini ($4.80) in race nine.

The top 10 qualifiers for the finals of the Oklahoma Paint and Appaloosa Futurity were (with their jockey, trainer, trial number (race number), times and speed index were:

  • OG Nikki Sixx (Paint), Roman Cruz, Dee Keener, trial two (race five), :15.773, 80
  • Wire Transfer (P), L. Salvador Martinez, Matt Whitekiller, trial three (race six), :15.776, 80
  • RF Livies Buckshot (P), Jesus Salazar, Dee Keener, trial one (race four), :15.785, 80
  • OSC Is On Fire (P), Nestor Duran, Juan Diaz, Jr., trial three (race six), :15.806, 79
  • Toll Road (P), Rolando Raudales, Dee Keener, trial two (race five), :15.841, 78
  • WF Apolitical Bullet (P), James Flores, Dee Keener, trial one (race four), :15.876, 77
  • Handsomer (P), Jorge Torres, Clint Crawford, trial three (race six), :15.885, 77
  • Vesper Martini (P), Rolando Raudales, Dee Keener, trial six (race nine), :15.916, 76
  • Chief Iron Eagle (Appaloosa), Edwin Escobedo, Luis Villafranco, trial six (race nine), :15.934, 75
  • Livewire Honey (P), Randy Vega, Matt Whitekiller, trial two (race five), :15.950, 75

The trials were interrupted twice by severe weather in the area as lightning strikes fell nearby, pushing the card back by about an hour. Both interruptions were approximately 30 minutes as horses were sent back to the paddock twice to wait out the inclement weather.
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Remington Park has provided more than $345 Million to the State of Oklahoma general education fund since the opening of the casino in 2005. Located at the junction of Interstates 35 & 44, in the heart of the Oklahoma City Adventure District, Remington Park presents simulcast racing daily and non-stop casino gaming. The 83rd edition of the historic Oklahoma Futurity, first contested in 1947, will be run Saturday, March 23. The American Quarter Horse, Paint and Appaloosa Season continues through June 1. Parking and admission are always free. Must be 18 or older to wager on horse racing or enter the casino gaming floor. Visit remingtonpark.com for more information.