Remington Park awards

OKLAHOMA CITY – Only two or three wins separated the competitors in every category of the final leaders for the horsemen titles at Remington Park for the just concluded American Quarter Horse / Paint and Appaloosa Season. All three winners earned titles for the first time – jockey Edwin Escobedo, trainer Dee Keener, and owner Tom Maher.

Edwin Escobedo – Leading Jockey

Escobedo won his first riding title here, outlasting three-time American Quarter Horse Association World Champion and three-time Remington Park top jock James Flores by three wins, 43-40. Flores trailed Escobedo by four wins going into Champions Night on Saturday, June 3, 43-39, and despite Escobedo not winning a single race, he was able to survive any kind of Flores flurry. Flores was able to get one trip to the winner’s circle on Saturday, but it wasn’t enough.

The top five jockeys from the 2023 meet were: Escobedo, 43 wins James Flores, 40

Tie: Roman Cruz, 36 Francisco Calderon, 36

5. Juan Pulido, 25

It was a little different story in the jockeys’ money race. Calderon began Champions Night in second place at $946,728 for horses’ earnings and won five races Saturday and ran second in the biggest race of the year – the $1.2 million Heritage Place Futurity for earnings of $629,646 in one night. That propelled him to the front like a speed boat passing a dinghy for the win at $1,576,374. He finished more than a halfmillion dollars ahead of runner-up Pulido at $1,269,436. The only other jock with more than $1 million earned was third-place finisher Escobedo at $1,131,409. Rounding out the top five were Cruz in fourth at $926,623 and Flores in fifth at $901,374.

Dee Keener – Leading Trainer Keener, the alltime winningest Paint trainer in that genre, needed his Paints, Appaloosas, Quarter Horses and all their wins to defeat the conditioner that Escobedo rides first call for, Jason Olmstead. Keener, of Inola, Okla., squeaked by Olmstead, of Pryor, Okla., 37-35.

It would have taken somewhat of a miracle for

Olmstead to overtake Keener on closing night. Olmstead only had three horses entered on Champions Night and they were all in the same race, the Heritage Place Futurity. Keener had 11 entered and held a 36-35 lead over Olmstead. When all was said and done, Keener had one win on Saturday and Olmstead was shut out in the futurity. The final tally was 37-35.

The top five in the trainers race were:

Keener, 37

Olmstead, 35

Eddie Willis, 27

Tie: Matt Whitekiller and Waylan Melton, 22.

In the money race, the top five trainers were: Melton, $1,204,504 Olmstead, $1,110,678 Keener, $1,011,608 Eddie Willis, $837,091 Monty Arrossa, $698,027

The win in the final race of the meet with San Lencho taking the $1.2 million Heritage Place Futurity on Champions Night pushed Melton past Olmstead and Keener for the earnings lead.

In the owners’ race, it was just as tight as the other two races with the chase coming down to the Battle of the Dakotas.