HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Renegade on Saturday established himself as one of the top choices for the Kentucky Derby with an emphatic, four-length win in the Grade 1, $1.5 million Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park. “If he runs like this, I think he’ll be really tough,” breeder and co-owner Robert Low beamed to track publicity about what takes place five weeks from now in Louisville, Ky.   Renegade earned 100 qualifying points for the Kentucky Derby to secure a spot in the starting gate May 2. Silent Tactic finished second, while it was another two lengths back in third to Taptastic. Bricklin was fourth and Blackout Time fifth to round out the points distribution of 50-25-15-10. The Arkansas Derby was showcased on a 14-race card on a sunny, windy afternoon in the 50s. The track drew a record ontrack crowd of 73,000. Handle on the card from all sources was more than $23 million. :: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. Renegade ($4) was the favorite for the race on the strength of his impressive win in the Sam F. Davis on Feb. 7 at Tampa Bay Downs. He settled off the pace in the Arkansas Derby, as leader Redland Rebels bounded through fractions of 23.25 seconds for the opening quarter, 47.80 for the half-mile and 1:12.52 for six furlongs. Bricklin was in close pursuit, as a trailing Renegade began picking off horses, coming between rivals on the final turn. Jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. angled Renegade out five wide into the stretch, and the horse shuttled home down the center of the track. He covered the 1 1/8 miles on a surface rated fast in 1:49.70. Irad Ortiz Jr. was aboard Renegade for trainer Todd Pletcher, who was winning a record sixth Arkansas Derby on Saturday. Pletcher was impressed by the run from Renegade. “It looked like he got shuffled around a little bit in the first turn and down the backside,” Pletcher said. “It looked like he was traveling well, just kind of looked like Irad was biding his time to start advancing. I was really impressed by the way he finished coming home the last eighth of a mile the way he did.” Renegade is a son of Into Mischief who also races for Low’s wife, Lawana, and Mike Repole. He has now won 2 of 5 starts. He closed out his 2-year-old season with a runner-up finish in the Remsen. “Just love the progression that he’s making,” Pletcher said. “I’m very, very happy for the Lows and the Repoles - great win for them. Just fortunate to have a colt of this quality.” Renegade earned $832,500 for his first-place finish in the Arkansas Derby. Pletcher said Renegade is scheduled to fly back to his South Florida base of Palm Beach Downs on Tuesday. Silent Tactic again put in his run in an Oaklawn prep, as he was second in the Smarty Jones, won the Southwest and was second in the Rebel ahead of the Arkansas Derby. Pletcher won the Rebel with Class President, who he said is probable for the Blue Grass at Keeneland. There is no racing Sunday at Oaklawn. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.