‘Colorado King’: Record-Setting Collusionist ‘A Point Of Pride’ At Arapahoe

It’s been quite a journey for the connections of Collusionist since they purchased him as a yearling at the 2017 Colorado Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association Silver Cup Sale at Arapahoe Park in Aurora, Colo.

Trainer O. A. Martinez Jr., 60, and his wife, assistant trainer Sharlot Martinez, were on a mission to find a Colorado-bred for their longtime client Eli Diamant. There was one yearling they just couldn’t stop thinking about.

A dark bay or brown son of Ez Effort out of the Benchmark mare Pretty Amazing, herself a full-sister to Grade 1 winner Idiot Proof, was cataloged as hip 51.

“They probably brought him out at least five or six times for us,” Martinez said.

The Martinezes were prepared for a bidding war on hip 51, who they thought was “exceptional,” but were pleasantly surprised when they bought him for just $8,000.

Still called “51” in the barn, Collusionist has proven the steal of the sale, with his career earnings approaching $500,000.

The 9-year-old Colorado-bred has made his fortune the hard way. In 56 starts, he has 25 wins, five seconds, and four thirds. He has banked $477,396 thus far, a Colorado-bred record.

All but one of his victories have come at Colorado’s only racetrack, Arapahoe Park, where his resume is overflowing. He’s won 17 stakes there, led by four victories in the state-bred restricted CTBA Mount Elbert Stakes.

“There’s a reason why he’s the Colorado King,” Martinez said. “He loves it here… he feels the same when we go to a different track. He works the same, feels the same. It’s just for some reason, when he gets here, he’s at home.

“He’s made us, to be honest,” said Martinez, with Sharlot adding, “He’s a point of pride for us.”

Collusionist’s dominance of the Colorado racing scene began as a 2-year-old, after what was called a “Silky Sullivan” debut by then-track announcer Jonathan Horowitz, a reference to the beloved California-bred of the 1950s who closed from extremely far back.

At the start of the five-furlong maiden race in July 2018, Collusionist’s jockey Adrian Ramos lost his irons, trailing the leader over 19 lengths at the three-sixteenths pole. After the break, Collusionist and Ramos aren’t visible on the replay until the field turned for home, and the gelding rapidly made up ground on the leaders to win by 1 ½ lengths.

“That was the most incredible race I’ve ever seen in my life,” said Martinez. “I didn’t believe it on the replay.”

Collusionist isn’t even in the picture for much of the race before unleashing a furious closing kick to make up 20 lengths in his debut at Arapahoe Park. It’s reminiscent of how Silky Sullivan would run them down at @santaanitapark. I edited this video showing them side by side. pic.twitter.com/6NwwEA7zSK

— Jonathan Horowitz (@jjhorowitz) July 17, 2018

Collusionist finished his first season of racing with a win in the Silver Cup Futurity and a runner-up finish in the Gold Rush Futurity. He spent the early part of his 3-year-old season on the Kentucky Derby trail in New Mexico, culminating in an eighth-place finish behind Cutting Humor in the 2019 G3 Sunland Park Derby.

Since then, he has settled into a routine of beating up on the competition at Arapahoe Park.

In addition to four wins in the CTBA Mount Elbert, he has three wins in the Arapahoe Park Sprint, two wins in the Front Range Stakes, two wins in the Aspen Stakes, and single victories in the Firecracker Stakes and the nine-furlong Butch Gleason Classic, the track’s premier race for Thoroughbreds.

“He knows when he wins,” explained Martinez, who also gallops Collusionist in the morning. “He just puffs up and he’ll prance all the way to the test barn… When he goes into the winner’s circle, he puts his ears up and he puts his chest out there, like he knows he’s a good horse.”

Martinez believes the gelding also knows when he loses: “He’s just not a happy horse when he comes back. Especially if he knows he got a bad ride, he’s really, really, really upset when he comes back.”

On Saturday, Sept. 27, Collusionist will make his first start at Arapahoe Park this year in the state-bred restricted Aspen Stakes over six furlongs.

Collusionist is winless in four starts this year, but comes into the 2025 meet at Arapahoe Park in better form than in previous years, with three in-the-money finishes in Wyoming.

“Every time he runs, I get pretty nervous,” Martinez said. “There’s pressure from, ‘he’s the Colorado horse,’ he’s won all the stakes and stuff. And then people, their main motive is to beat Collusionist. There is a lot of pressure there for us to make sure that he’s right, because everybody is out to beat him.”

The gelding has left his gate antics behind as he has aged, with wins coming from either the front or from far back. Martinez expects that Collusionist will make his own decisions on race strategy in the Aspen Stakes.

“If he wants to show speed, he’ll tell you, he’s gonna show a little speed,” Martinez said. “He hates to be rushed, but most of the time, he just takes himself back and just stays back until it's time to go. He knows when to move.”

As a 9-year-old, Collusionist’s time on the racetrack is likely nearing its end. In a day and age when so many racehorses are whisked off the track because they have ‘nothing left to prove,’ Collusionist’s resume speaks for itself.

He won’t win a graded stakes. He won’t become a millionaire, but he has forged a legacy that will be remembered in Colorado. Truly, there is nothing left for him to prove in the Centennial state.

“I think he will tell us when he’s done,” Martinez said. “He’s really smart.”

Collusionist’s connections have planned for his retirement. When it’s time, Diamant will gift his star gelding to Martinez to live out his days as their stable pony, begging for peppermints.

“He’s staying at the barn with us no matter where we go,” Martinez explained. “We’re just going to keep him, and just keep him around till he goes.”

“He’s the love of me, of my family, of my daughters, of my granddaughters, of my grandson,” Diamant said. “Everybody likes him. When you say Collusionist, everybody’s eyes get bigger.”

Yet, when one chapter ends, another begins.

Last fall, Diamant bought an Arizona-bred full brother to Collusionist for $11,000 at the Arizona Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association Fall Mixed Sale. Named Collisionist, the bay colt streaked to a 3 ¾-length debut victory at Arapahoe Park on Sept. 21. He is stalled directly to the left of his older brother in Martinez’s barn.

“Hopefully he’s just half as good as [Collusionist],” Martinez said, adding the colt will target the six-furlong Gold Rush Futurity at the end of the Arapahoe Park meet (a race his older brother finished second in).

There’s still a lot that Collisionist, affectionately known as “Crash” around the barn, needs to prove, but Diamant hopes that one day the young colt’s credentials will be strong enough to secure him a place at stud in Arizona. 

This story was originally reported by Paulick Report on Sep 23, 2025, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Paulick Report as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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