Arkansas Derby divided
Two divisions loaded with accomplished horses at Oaklawn.
HOT SPRINGS — The deep and top-heavy field in the second division of Oaklawn’s Grade I Arkansas Derby has the horse racing world’s attention today.
Post time for the 11/8-mile race is scheduled for 6:43 p.m. Each division of the Arkansas Derby carries a $500,000 purse.
Eleven horses were entered for both divisions, but two have scratched from each, including Saratogian and Fast Enough from the second division. Each division will award 170 Kentucky Derby qualifying points, with 100, 40, 20 and 10 going to first through fourth, respectively.
Nadal, a son of Blame from the California barn of Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert, is the 5-2 morning-line favorite
Like Nadal’s stablemate Charlatan, the even-money first-division favorite, Nadal is lightly raced. His third win in three career starts came in Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort’s Grade II Rebel Stakes on March 14.
“They’re both doing fantastic,” Baffert said of his horses. “I think Nadal, for some reason, he doesn’t get the respect that he should be getting. He’s a really top horse.”
Top contenders in the second division include the 3-1 second-choice King Guillermo, a son of Uncle Mo who won the Grade II Tampa Bay Derby; Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner Storm the Court; and Louisiana Derby winner Wells Bayou, trained by longtime Oaklawn regular Brad Cox. Father and son Clint and Lance Gasaway own 80% of Wells Bayou. They are Arkansas natives and residents.
Wells Bayou is 7-2 on the morning line, followed by Storm the Court at 6-1.
Nadal, King Guillermo and Wells Bayou already have done enough to likely qualify for the Kentucky Derby, which was rescheduled from today to Sept. 5 because of the coronavirus pandemic. After that move, the Arkansas Derby was rescheduled from April 11 to today.
When horsemen and owners say they hope to run on the first Saturday in May, they typically mean at the Kentucky Derby. For owners from Arkansas, the Arkansas Derby is a nice consolation.
“We would love to win the Arkansas Derby,” said Lance Gasaway, who was raised in Gould and was inducted into the University of Arkansas-Monticello Sports Hall of Fame in 2015 for his career as a wide receiver in the mid-1980s.
“To be honest with you, there’s no other options out there right now,” Cox said. “We had prepared him as if we were running, and when it came down to entering, once again there were no other options. We just thought, ‘Continue the process of developing this horse,’ and we think this is going to be a good move.”
King Guillermo’s two starts before the 1 1/16-mile Tampa Bay Derby on March 20 were both on the turf last year. His lack of racing experience on dirt coupled with a three-month layoff made him a 49-1 shot at the Tampa, Fla., racetrack.
“He was overlooked because it was his first day on dirt since way back,” King Guillermo trainer Juan Carlos Avila said. “But he has worked every day on dirt real nice, and I want to try one more time at Oaklawn. He has impressed me very much, and I hope for a big race.”
Storm the Court won the 2019 Grade I, 1 1/16-mile Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Santa Anita Park on Nov. 1 as a 45-1 shot. Trained by Peter Eurton, Storm the Court, a son of Court Vision, last raced to a third-place finish in the Grade II San Felipe Stakes at Santa Anita Park on March 7.
Eurton said he wasn’t particularly concerned about the second division’s pace setup.
“He’s got natural speed, and he doesn’t have to be on the lead, which I don’t think he’s going to be,” Eurton said. “But he generally breaks pretty good, and we’ll let him run out of there and see how it unfolds.”
Baffert’s top assistant Jim Barnes has taken charge of Charlatan and Nadal since they arrived at Oaklawn. He likes that the latter will start with two successful tests behind him, though a more important one comes today.
“In the Rebel, Nadal had to answer the same questions Charlatan has to answer,” Barnes said.
“Can he go two turns, two turns in a large field, two turns on the road, and he stepped up to the plate and knocked it out. He went home, did all his prepping in California, then shipped back here, and he looks to be ready.
“All systems look good. He’s ready. I’m not sure which division looks tough- er, but maybe [Nadal’s] of the two, handicapping them, I would say. There are some very talented horses in that field.”