Overpowering the opposition with a devastating stretch kick, Renegade stormed to victory in a big win over Silent Tactic in the $1.5 million Grade 1 Arkansas Derby March 28 at Oaklawn Park. He raced 1 1/8 miles in 1:49.70, paying $4 to win as the favorite in the field of eight. Renegade wrapped up his spot in the May 2 run for the roses by rallying strongly in the stretch and powering to a four-length victory before an Oaklawn record crowd of 70,000.

Irad Ortiz Jr. rode the Renegade for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher and owners Repole Stable and breeders Robert Lawana Low. The even-money favorite paid $4 to win.

"This is so special," said co-owner Mike Repole, who draped Renegade's garland of gardenias around his shoulders during the trophy presentation. "This is the best start of his life and the next one is the big one."

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The next one will indeed be the Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve, the legendary opening leg of the Triple Crown at Churchill Downs.

The Arkansas Derby awarded qualifying points toward the Kentucky Derby on a 100-50-25-15-10 basis to its top five finishers. Both Renegade and Silent Tactic will easily have enough points to qualify for the Derby.

"I'm super pleased. I loved the way he finished," said Pletcher, who registered a record sixth Arkansas Derby win.

Aside from the points, the victory followed a 3 3/4-length victory in the Sam F. Davis Stakes and confirmed Renegade's status as one of the top contenders in the 1 1/4-mile opening jewel in the Triple Crown.

In the Arkansas Derby, Renegade and Ortiz raced eighth and last after the opening half-mile as longshot Redland Rebels carved out fractions of :23.35 and :47.80. As the early leaders tired, John C. Oxley's Silent Tactic with jockey Cristian Torres aboard rallied three-wide on the final turn and forged to the front in mid-stretch. The Mark Casse-trained colt could not fend off Renegade, however, as the winner drifted to the middle of the track in the stretch and reached the front leaving the eighth pole. He finished in a time of 1:49.70.

The rest of the order of finish had no significant impact on the Kentucky Derby Leaderboard.

Silent Tactic entered the race safe with 50 points and now has 100. Finishing another two lengths behind in third was Taptastic, who was making just his second career start. Taptastic's 25 points leave him well below the expected cutoff to make the Derby. Ditto for Bricklin who finished fourth and now has 21 points. Blackout Time finished fifth and now has 25 points. Litmus Test, who entered the race with 34 points, finished seventh and seems unlikely to stay on the Kentucky Derby trail.