Buy TicketsTrainer Rusty Arnold wins Race 6 for his 300th Keeneland victory
Lael Stables’ Arrest Me Red caught Mo Stash in the final yards and posted a neck victory in the featured $140,000 The Calumet Purse at Keeneland on Wednesday. (Click here for a video of the race.)
Trained by Wesley Ward and ridden by Frankie Dettori, Arrest Me Red covered 5½ furlongs on a turf course labeled as firm in 1:03.40.
Arrest Me Red is a 6-year-old Kentucky-bred gelding by Pioneerof the Nile out of Maraschino Red, by Medaglia d’Oro. His latest victory marked his ninth win in 23 starts, while he earned $82,460 to push his career bankroll to $1,237,961.
Arrest Me Red returned $7.56, $4.32 and $3.16. Mo Stash, ridden by John Velazquez, paid $6.68 and $4.84 and finished 1¾ lengths in front of That’s Right, who paid $5.82 under Irad Ortiz Jr.
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The winner of Wednesday’s sixth race was Glenn Bromagen II and Michael Dahir’s Neon Icon, who gave trainer Rusty Arnold his 300th Keeneland career victory. (Presentation photo by Coady Media is attached.)
A 4-1 choice ridden by Jose Ortiz, Neon Icon won the 1 1/8-mile race by 1 length in 1:52.16.
“This is great that it was for the Bromagen family because such a big number of these wins were their horses. I have been training for them since about 1986,” said Arnold, who is based at Keeneland and is second behind Bill Mott on the list of all-time leading trainers here.
“I have to thank all the owners: the Bromagens, G. Watts Humphrey (Jr.), Taylor Asbury from way back,” Arnold said. “I know I am going to forget to mention somebody. Calumet Farm has really jumped on and helped me. So many people through the years, I don’t want to forget anybody. Some have been with me a long time.”
Arnold’s father, George, was a longtime trainer based at Keeneland.
“If my (late) dad was here he would like it but he wouldn’t say a lot.”
The younger Arnold recorded the first Keeneland win of his career during the 1977 Spring Meet. He has won 22 stakes here, including these Grade 1 races: Spinster with Clear Mandate (1997) and Romantic Vision (2017); Breeders’ Futurity with Wicked Style (2007); Maker’s Mark Mile with Karelian (2010); Ashland with Karlovy Vary (2012) and Weep No More (2016); and Jenny Wiley with Centre Court (2013).
“This is showing longevity more than anything else,” Arnold said about reaching the milestone. “I have done this a long time and we have been very lucky here. We train here (all year) and that makes it even better.”
Asked if he thought when he started training if he would reach 300 wins at Keeneland, Arnold said, “The only number I had in my head was one. I just wanted to win one.”
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Three days remain in Keeneland’s 17-day Fall Meet. Racing resumes Thursday with a nine-race program that begins at 1 p.m. ET.