Corona Relentless (3, red and white blinkers) wins the Extreme Day All Gray Horse Race on April 13 at Remington Park with Roman Cruz aboard. The victory helped Cruz earn the Lip Chip Jockey of the Week award.

© Dustin Orona Photography

by Richard Linihan

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK–APRIL 17, 2025–It was a tough week to determine the winners of the Lip Chip Jockey and Trainer of the Week through cancellations and no stakes races, but there was enough success between jockey Roman Cruz and trainer Matt Whitekiller to earn them the honors.

There were only two full live race days after cancellations on April 10 & 11 to perform extended track maintenance, leaving only 21 races for the entire week to draw from for this award.

Cruz hit the board with 7-of-14 mounts, winning twice, one with the stakes-caliber mare Corona Relentless in an allowance race for trainer Marla Vargas. Whitekiller also won two, and he ran first or second with five of his seven starters for the week.

Cruz’s other victory came with Whos Lewlew, April 12, in a maiden claiming event.

Whitekiller, the second-winningest trainer among Paints, showed tremendous success with them during the quick week of action. Overall, he has won 416 times, behind only Remington Park leading trainer, Dee Keener, with 455, according to stats from the American Paint Horse Association.

This week, Whitekiller’s two trips to the winner’s circle came with a pair of maidens among the mixed breeds – Icy Turnpike on April 13 and Favorite Turnpike on April 12. He also had a near-win with Over the Shock, who ran second by a nose to Ima Chili in allowance company at 110 yards on Sunday.

Favorite Turnpike won at 330 yards, and Icy Turnpike at 220 yards. The maiden winners’ sire is multiple World Champion Painted Turnpike, and Over the Shock is a 6-year-old gelding by, arguably, the top sire going the past couple of years for Paints – CRM Livewire.

All three runners are Paints. Whitekiller trains Icy Turnpike for Luke and Tracy Toyebo of Anadarko, Okla., Favorite Turnpike for himself as he is the breeder-owner-trainer for that Paint, and Over the Shock for Robin Haggard of Gans, Okla.

Whitekiller currently sits at third in this meet’s standings for trainers, getting to the winner’s circle 10 times. He is behind Keener (23) and Jason Olmstead (11).

Cruz had a rough start to the meet, but still has been victorious in 13 rides, putting him in fourth place in the jockeys’ standings behind Francisco Calderon (23), Juan Pulido, and Ali Rivera, who have 15 wins each. Cruz won his first Remington Park riding title last year with 43 victories to Edwin Escobedo’s 41.

Cruz’s win aboard Corona Relentless on April 13 came on Extreme Race Day when there were also races for Clydesdales, zebras, ostriches, and camels. So, it’s not surprising to see the extreme conditions of the race Cruz won with Corona Relentless.

The race was written for 3-year-olds-and-older, Gray Horses Only, at 110 yards. Both of those conditions match the word extreme for racehorses. One might even throw in the age of the trainer – Vargas – for this race. The 19-year-old Texas native conditions Corona Relentless, a Louisiana-bred 7-year-old mare for owner Roberto Rios of Tulsa, Okla.

Remington Park racing resumes tonight through Saturday, April 17-19. Saturday, April 19, is Remington Park Futurity Night. First race nightly is 6pm-Central. There is no Remington Park racing on Easter.

 About Remington Park
Remington Park has provided more than $377 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 year-round simulcast racing and casino gaming. The 2025 American Quarter Horse Season, features the $868,455 Remington Park Futurity on Saturday, April 19. Must be 18 or older to wager on horse racing or enter the casino gaming floor. Visit remingtonpark.com for more information.

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