Purses up for Rebel

No single figure exemplifies Oaklawn Park’s enriched purse structure more than the prize up for grabs in the Grade II Rebel Stakes on Saturday. The Rebel’s purse of $900,000 tops all of the other eight stakes races that also offer 85 Road to the Kentucky Derby points.

HOT SPRINGS — No single figure exemplifies Oaklawn Park’s enriched purse structure more than the prize up for grabs in the Grade II Rebel Stakes on Saturday.

The Rebel’s purse of $900,000 tops all of the other eight stakes races that also offer 85 Road to the Kentucky Derby points, and it overwhelms all but one. The Sunland Derby, in Sunland Park, N.M., has a purse of $800,000, but that is the centerpiece of the Sunland meet.

None of the other 85-point races offer more than $550,000, led by Turfway Park’s Spiral Stakes, a late March Derby trail staple in Florence, Ky.

Gulfstream Park’s Fountain of Youth, Fair Ground Race Course’s Risen Star, and the Gotham at Aqueduct have purses of $400,000.

California-based trainer John Sherriffs, of Zenyatta fame, said money made the Rebel an easy choice among the options for his trainee Royal Mo.

“My goodness,” Sherriffs said. “When I saw that purse, I was very surprised. It makes the Rebel one of the biggest races for 3-year-olds in the country. I mean, among all of them — the Kentucky Derby, the Arkansas Derby, the Santa Anita Derby, any of them.”

Two other high-profile trainers — Hall of Famers Bob Baffert and Todd Pletcher — have shipped in entrants for the race.

Baffert, who has won six of the past seven Rebels, is represented by American Anthem from southern California and Pletcher, who has won four Arkansas Derbies, will have the speedy Malagacy in from south Florida.

Royal Mo (9-2), Malagacy (4-1) and American Anthem (2-1) are three of the top four morning-line favorites, with American Anthem expected to be the post-time favorite. Petrov, trained locally by Ron Moquett, is listed third at 9-2.

The Rebel was raced for $900,000 for the first time last season after increasing to $750,000 in 2015, and $600,000 in 2014 and 2013.

In 2002, the Rebel offered a purse of $100,000.

But Oaklawn management has not limited the benefits of its purse increases to racing’s superstars. Oaklawn has the highest overall top-to-bottom purse structure of any track racing in the winter and spring, and it will increase its prize money even more this Saturday.

The purses for maiden special weight races will increase from $72,000 to $80,000. Allowance races will run purses as high as $84,000, up $8,000 from the season’s start. There also will be a $2,000 purse increase for starter allowance races and claiming and maiden claiming races of $30,000 and higher.

Purses have increased at Oaklawn during each of the past nine seasons, generated foremost by funds from Oaklawn’s gaming facility, which offers many traditional casino-like games of chance and skill. General manager Eric Jackson has long said that was the reason Oaklawn first turned to alternative gambling in the form of Instant Racing, introduced at Oaklawn and Southland Greyhound Park in January 2000.

“The program continues to trend in the right direction,” Jackson said, “and the quality is better than ever.” Many horsemen agree. “We have seen a lot of really good horses here this season,” Moquett said. “I think we’ve been up a level in quality. Every time we go to a maiden special weight, there’s a buzz. You hear, ‘This horse is in there. You better watch this or that horse,’ and that’s exciting. The last couple of

years, that buzz has become more of a roar. Every year it gets better. This is quickly becoming a very competitive, upper-echelon racetrack.”

Larger purses lead to increased competition at every level, meaning those based at Oaklawn have to increase the quality of their stock to keep up with the nation’s top horsemen, who more frequently are shipping in, and not just for the big races.

“The competition is tough here, and the more money they put up, the tougher it gets,” trainer Tom Howard said. “You can’t go in halfcocked and think you’re going to get something done.”

Jackson sounds pleased by the byproduct of Howard’s pronouncement.

“Racing’s been good,” Jackson said. “Everything’s been good.”