Arkansas Derby

Last year's champion juvenile colt Storm the Court (Court Vision) is on target for the May 2 GI Arkansas Derby following a five-furlong work in 1:13.60 (3/3) at Santa Anita Monday, trainer Peter Eurton confirmed. Eurton also plans to enter Shooters Shoot (Competitive Edge), winner of a one-mile allowance at Oaklawn Apr. 11, for the nine-furlong race. "Very pleased with his work," Eurton said of Storm the Court. "Very pleased with Shooters Shoot. I know it's going to be tough on both ends with Bob [Baffert]'s two horses, but we're...

Clint and Lance Gasaway, Madaket Stables and Wonder Stables' Wells Bayou (Lookin at Lucky), most recently winner of the GII Louisiana Derby, continued training towards a potential start in the May 2 GI Arkansas Derby with a five-furlong work in 1:00.40 (9/17) at Oaklawn Park Sunday. Wells Bayou, on the outside during his drill with maiden stablemate Wild Union (Bayern), was credited with splits of :24.40 for his opening quarter-mile, :36.80 for three furlongs, :48.40 for a half-mile and galloping out six furlongs in 1:12.40 and seven furlongs in 1:26.40....

Last year's GII Remsen S. winner Shotski (Blame) traveled to Dubai only to ship back home again without racing when the G2 UAE Derby was canceled. He was given some time off after shipping back stateside, but is now back in training with Jeremiah O'Dwyer. The sophomore, who was second in the Feb. 1 GIII Withers S. and fourth in the Feb. 29 GII Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth S., is expected to return to the work tab later this week. "I've given him a bit of down time after coming...

Bellafina (Quality Road), tuning up for the Apr. 25 Carousel S. at Oaklawn Park, worked four furlongs in :47.80 (20/105) under Joe Talamo at the Hot Springs oval Saturday morning. Clockers caught the 4-year-old filly with a final quarter-mile of :23.60 and galloping out five furlongs in 1:00.20. "Unbelievable," Talamo said after getting on Bellafina for the first time. "Absolutely skipped over the track this morning." Bellafina, who shipped in from trainer Simon Callaghan's Southern California base Tuesday, was having her first work over the Oaklawn track Saturday. The three-time...

Oaklawn President Louis Cella has confirmed that the Oaklawn meet will end as scheduled May 2. Just one of five tracks still operating in the U.S., Oaklawn's handle numbers have soared during the coronavirus outbreak, but Cella, in an email to the TDN, pointed to other reasons why the meet will be ending. "First, we have no purse money left," he wrote. "Second, it takes all summer for us to pick up, re-test, re-mix and re-place our entire track cushion, while inspecting the base. We do this annually and it...

Courtesy Oaklawn Barn Notes Bob Baffert has had to hit the reset button in pursuit of his record-tying sixth GI Kentucky Derby victory. Fortunately for the Hall of Fame trainer, he still has the same buttons to push. The first comes Saturday afternoon at Oaklawn when he sends out 5-2 program favorite Thousand Words (Pioneerof the Nile) in the $200,000 Oaklawn S. for 3-year-olds at 1 1/8 miles. Thousand Words, a $1-million Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase, is among four highly regarded Kentucky Derby prospects for the Southern California-based Baffert,...

Wells Bayou (Lookin at Lucky) returned to the work tab for the first time since his Mar. 21 GII Louisiana Derby victory with a four-furlong drill in :49.80 (32/56) at Oaklawn Park Monday. With the GI Kentucky Derby postponed until September and no new date yet released for the GI Preakness S., the bay colt could make his next start in the May 2 GI Arkansas Derby. "We'd love to win the Arkansas Derby," co-owner Lance Gasaway told the Oaklawn Park media team after watching Wells Bayou train Saturday morning....

As one of the few remaining tracks still running races during the COVID-19 pandemic, Oaklawn Park has put jockeys and horsemen on notice that ship-in restrictions will be tightened in advance of the track's upcoming graded stakes races in April and May, which annually bring an influx of shippers to Arkansas. Ship-in jockeys must be named on a stakes mount in order to be cleared for riding on that day's card, and they will be denied access to both the backstretch and the main jockeys' quarters as part of health...

Oaklawn has announced that it is moving its signature race--the GI Arkansas Derby--from Saturday, Apr. 11 to Saturday, May 2, closing day of the 2020 live meet. Due to the closing of the casino and racetrack to the public, Oaklawn could have raced with purses intact through Apr. 18, but, upon discussions with the HBPA, decided instead to reduce purses across the board and "stay until May." As a result, the Arkansas Derby purse will be reduced to $750,000. "Churchill Downs understands the circumstances created by the current health crisis,...

A somewhat puzzling and well-beaten fourth as the second betting favorite in the Jan. 24 Smarty Jones S., Ed and Susie Orr's Silver Prospector (Declaration of War) made amends in no uncertain terms in Monday's $500,000 Southwest S. at Oaklawn Park, parlaying a perfect trip into a one-length defeat of pacesetting Wells Bayou (Lookin At Lucky) at better than 9-2. Answer In (Dialed In), favored off his runner-up effort to Shoplifted (Into Mischief) in the Springboard Mile at Remington Dec. 15, checked in a distant third after racing erratically in...

Ed DeRosa of Brisnet.com takes on TDN's Steve Sherack and Brian DiDonato as they handicap Triple Crown prep races plus the big three races themselves. The three will make $100 Win/Place bets in the preps and $200 Win/Place bets in the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont. Highest bankroll at the end wins. DeRosa - Saturday's Results - Scabbard was sixth and Mailman Money was fourth in their respective divisions of the Risen Star. Ajourneytofreedom was seventh at Golden Gate. Bankroll: $1195. GIII Southwest S. - I really wanted to go...

Oaklawn Park, which opened last Friday, posted strong opening week handle and attendance numbers, including record opening day and January handle. Estimated total attendance for the first three racing dates (Jan. 24-26) was 57,500, a 3.6% increase over the corresponding period last year. Total off-track handle of $12,787,682.84 increased 13.1%. Total all sources handle of $15,400,631.44 represented a 7.7% increase. Opening day all-sources handle $5,789,986.10 and off-track handle $4,759,768 were both Oaklawn records, as was the January off-track record of $4,629,703.63 set last year. "What a great weekend to start...