Charlatan & Nadal give trainer Baffert Arkansas Derby sweep
Basin finishes second and Gouverneur Morris in third
Nadal, (third from right), with Joel Rosario (5) aboard, heads past the grandstand on its way to winning the second division of the Arkansas Derby horse race on May 2, at Oaklawn Racing
Casino Resort in Hot Springs, Arkansas. (AP)
HOT SPRINGS, Arkansas, May 3, (AP): Charlatan romped to victory by six lengths in the first division of the Arkansas Derby and Nadal won the second division by three lengths, giving Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert a sweep when the Kentucky Derby was postponed.
The 146th Derby usually would have dominated the first Saturday in May, but it was pushed back to him go. He just took off. That’s a sign of a really good horse.”
Basin finished second and Gouverneur Morris was another neck back in third. Winning Impression finished fourth.
Nadal, named for tennis star Rafael Nadal, won his division in 1:48.34. He paid $3.80 to win. He is 4-0 in his young career and moved to the top of the Kentucky Derby leaderboard with 150 points.
“He looked good; very good race,” winning jockey Joel Rosario said. “He’s a champ.”
King Guillermo, owned by former major league catcher Victor Martinez, finished second. Finnick the Fierce, a 60-1 shot, was third.
It was Baffert’s third win in the Arkansas Derby.
“I thought both horses were going to run really well,” Baffert said. “Charlatan, what a talent he is and how fast he is. Nadal, he’s a tough horse. There’s a lot to him and he’s a cool customer, and I could see he’s getting better and better.”
The race was supposed to be on April 11, but Oaklawn reworked its stakes schedule to run it on closing day Saturday and split it into divisions because of the large number of horses that were entered.
OAKLAND, California, May 3, (AP): Matt Keough, the former Oakland Athletics pitcher and special assistant, has died. He was 64.
The Athletics announced the death Saturday night without providing details.
“Matt was a great baseball man and a proud Oakland A,” Billy Beane, the team’s executive vice president of baseball operations, said in a statement.
“He had an incredible passion for the game and we were lucky to have him and his wealth of knowledge alongside us for the years he worked as a special assistant. He left an unforgettable impression on everyone he touched in baseball. Our sincere condolences are with the entire Keough family tonight.”
Keough was an American League All-Star as a rookie in 1978 and was selected AL Comeback Player of the Year in 1980. He was 58-84 with a 4.17 ERA with Oakland (1977-83), the New York Yankees (1983), St. Louis (1985), Chicago Cubs (1986) and Houston (1986), then went 45-44 with a 3/73 ERA in Japan with Hanshin (1987-90).
Matt Keough, the starting pitcher for the Oakland A’s, tries to gain some composure after two consecutive wild pitches that scored two Yank runs in the third inning at Yankee Stadium, New York, Aug 26, 1978. Keough settled down and continued in the game. (AP)