Tejano Twist could reach two career money milestones Saturday
At 0h03, on April 11, 2026 • By Robert Yates, Oaklawn Park
Millionaire Tejano Twist has been one of Oaklawn’s top male sprinters for a long, long time. But there’s still some unfinished business for the 7-year-old gelding – a victory in the Count Fleet Sprint Handicap.
“That’s the one that always gets away from him,” trainer Chris Hartman said.
An unquestioned claim to fame for Hartman, Tejano Twist will take his fourth swing at the six-furlong Count Fleet Saturday. The $500,000 Grade 3 event is Oaklawn’s biggest for older sprinters.
Tejano Twist is one of eight horses entered in the Count Fleet, which is part of a 12-race card that begins at 1:45 p.m. The program is highlighted by the $1.25 million Apple Blossom Handicap (G1) for older fillies and mares. Probable post time for the Count Fleet, the eighth race, is 5:36 p.m.
The Count Fleet field from the rail out: Maximum Bourbon, Ramon Vazquez to ride, 116 pounds, 3-1 on the morning line; Tough Catch, Jose Ortiz, 117, 12-1; Booth, Erik Asmussen, 121, 7-2; Mad House, Paco Lopez, 118, 15-1; Roll On Big Joe, Julien Leparoux, 123, 2-1; Wendelssohn, John Velazquez, 119, 10-1; Tejano Twist, Francisco Arrieta, 122, 6-1; and Dreaminblue, Rafael Bejarano, 117, 8-1.
A late runner, Tejano Twist has started in the Count Fleet the last three years, finishing third in 2023, second in 2024 and fifth in 2025. Tejano Twist enters the 2026 Count Fleet in maybe the best form of his 47-race career.
Tejano Twist ran down 2025 Count Fleet winner Booth to win a March 1 allowance race, then returned to win the $250,000 Whitmore Stakes (G3) March 14 – the final major local prep for the Count Fleet – by two measured lengths under Francisco Arrieta. Both races were six furlongs.
“That was impressive,” Hartman said of the Whitmore. “He rode him with a lot of confidence, that’s for sure.”
The Whitmore marked Tejano Twist’s seventh career stakes victory and first as a 7-year-old. The Practical Joke gelding was already a stakes winner at the age of 2, 3, 4 and 6. He also won the Whitmore in 2023 for Hartman and co-owners Jackie Slawson (JD Thoroughbreds) and Joe Davis.
Tejano Twist has won six stakes and earned $1,595,862 since Hartman, on behalf of JD Thoroughbreds and Davis, claimed the then-3-year-old gelding for $80,000 June 19, 2022, at Churchill Downs. Slawson, an Oklahoma City realtor, is Hartman’s stepdaughter.
“There was a three- or four-way shake for him,” Hartman said. “I watched the horse run when he was a 2-year-old and 3-year-old and sort of surprised he landed in there for ($80,000).”
Hartman said he pitched the claim to two clients, but one “thought it was too much money” and the other said “we’ll get back to you” and “dropped the claim” with another trainer.
“I just said, ‘Well, I’ll just claim it this way,’ so I claimed him for the partnership that it is today,” Hartman said. “When it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be. It was written: We were to have ‘Tejano.’ So, bingo! I’d rather be blessed than good any day of the week.”
Tejano Twist, a 12-time winner overall, could reach two career money milestones Saturday. He has $1,903,882 in earnings, with $964,050 bankrolled at Oaklawn. Tejano Twist has a 6-7-3 record from 17 career Oaklawn starts. Tejano Twist is a four-time Oaklawn stakes winner, also taking the $150,000 Ring the Bell in 2023 and the $150,000 King Cotton in 2025.
Tejano Twist won the Steel Valley Sprint Stakes in 2022 at Mahoning Valley and surpassed $1 million in career earnings with a victory in the Bet On Sunshine Stakes in 2023 at Churchill Downs. Tejano Twist won the Lively Shively Stakes in 2021 at Churchill Downs for trainer Bret Calhoun.
“I would have to say that he’s probably the best one (claim) that I’ve made,” Hartman said. “He’s been the most profitable, I’ll say that much. He’s earned a spot at the ranch.”
Tejano Twist, upon retirement from racing, will reside at Hartman’s farm in Smithfield, Ky., which is about 35 minutes from Churchill Downs.
“He’s got a spot for life out there,” Hartman said.
Hartman was Oaklawn’s leading trainer in 2015 and entered Wednesday with 1,785 career North American victories, according to Equibase, racing’s official data gathering organization. Hartman won the 2015 Count Fleet with Alsvid.
