Easy Running

Painted Turnpike, the reigning king of Paint Horse racing, continued his dominance with an easy romp in the $22,500 Paul Harber Memorial on Friday night at Remington Park. The talented 3-year-old put away older competition for the first time, winning the 350-yard race while never being asked by jockey Cody Smith.

Owned and bred in Oklahoma by Nolan Pevehouse of Webbers Falls, Oklahoma, and trained by Matt Whitekiller, Painted Turnpike broke sharply from his outside post position in the field of eight Oklahoma-breds, never looking back. Painted Turnpike won his 10th career race from 11 attempts, going about his business with the usual professionalism.

“He’s probably one of the only that I’ve been around that is this consistent,” Cody noted. “He just comes out and gives his all every time. I never rolled my whip over. About halfway down he leveled off and it was over. He’s beating them pretty easily.”

Painted Turnpike immediately had the lead in the Paul Harber Memorial, opening his margin while under wraps and crossing the finish in 17.563 seconds over a fast track. Dashin JJ was second, a nose better than Texas Silk who ended third. The older rivals were all out in their chase of the winner with their jockeys driving them to the finish.

The heavy wagering favorite at 1-5 odds, Painted Turnpike paid $2.60 to win, $2.20 to place and $2.10 to show. Dashin JJ returned $7.20 to place and $5 to show. Texas Silk paid $2.80 to show.

Painted Turnpike is now a perfect seven-for-seven in Remington Park races, picking up $13,338 for his low-stress effort Friday night. A 3-year-old colt by PYC Paint Your Wagon (QH) from the Royal Quick Flash mare High Class Turnpike, Painted Turnpike has now earned $261,607 overall with $189,551 of that made at Remington Park.

The Paul Harber Memorial is named after a founding member of the American Paint Horse Association who helped guide the organizations for more than four decades.

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