Arkansas travelers

If Santa Anita resumes racing next Friday, as is currently planned, it will mean the track has lost seven days of racing and either postponed or canceled seven graded stakes. Most of these stakes, including the Santa Anita Handicap and Kilroe Mile, have been rescheduled.

The San Felipe Stakes, however, will not be run this year. The cancellation of the Grade 2 staple means that 3- year- olds who had intended to use it as a prep for the Santa Anita Derby will have to go elsewhere. The California shippers include the Bob Baffert-trained duo of Game Winner, last year’s 2-year- old champion, and Improbable. Both undefeated horses are slated to run instead in Saturday’s $1 million Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park.

Baffert has taken the Arkansas route to Churchill Downs before, most notably in 2015 with American Pharoah, who swept the Rebel and Arkansas Derby en route to winning the Triple Crown. The Hall of Fame conditioner also won the Rebel with Hoppertunity in 2014 and the Arkansas Derby with Bodemeister in 2012.

Game Winner and Improbable are overwhelm- ing morning- line favorites (at 4-5 and 3-5, respectively) in the two sections of an over- subscribed Rebel Stakes that drew 19 entries. With all the upsets that have occurred on this year’s Derby trail, though, no horse should be considered a lock – not even a 2-year- old champion. After all, Jaywalk, last year’s juvenile filly champ, lost as the 1- 5 favorite to 51-1 Jatrin two weeks ago in the Davona Dale Stakes at Gulfstream Park.