The $1.5 million Arkansas Derby is Saturday at Oaklawn Park. It is the track’s fourth and final qualifying points prep race for the Kentucky Derby. The 1 1/8-mile race offers a total of 200 points to the top five finishers toward reserving a spot in the Run for the Roses, distributed on a 100-50-25-15-10 basis. Here is a brief look at the field for the 90th edition … Continue reading Who Wins The Arkansas Derby?
The Derby Trail is open for business this weekend with three Kentucky Derby prep races. The winner in each of their respective races will earn twenty qualifying points in hopes of drawing a spot in the gate the first Saturday in May. These three contests are the feature events for Saturday: The Withers Stakes at Aqueduct Park. Inaugurated in 1874, one year before the Kentucky Derby, … Continue reading Road To The Kentucky Derby Getting Busier
Prior to 2013 the traditional qualifying factor for horses wanting to participate in the Kentucky Derby was total Graded Stakes purse earnings. The more money an eligible horse won, the increased chance of entering the starting gate on the first Saturday in May. But beginning in 2013 Churchill Downs scratched the classic earnings method in favor of a points-based system which totally revamped the traditional Prep Races. These Prep … Continue reading When ‘The Road’ Began
Some of the winter season’s best dirt racing returns to the Midwest with the start of 2025-26 campaign at Oaklawn Park. This Friday (12/12) the winter/spring meet at the Hot Springs, Arkansas facility gets underway. Oaklawn racing boasts big fields, which make for good betting races for handicappers. They feature an excellent Stakes program, along with very strong purses throughout its 64-raceday season that will continue … Continue reading Oaklawn Park Set To Open
One of the two premier prep races for the Kentucky Derby on Saturday is the Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park. The 1 1/8-mile contest has been very influential on the Triple Crown trail this century. Several horses have exited this race and gone on to star in the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and Belmont Stakes. Most notably is 2015 Triple Crown Winner AMERICAN PHAROAH as well as last … Continue reading Who Wins The Arkansas Derby?
The Road to the Kentucky Derby is getting shorter, so the qualifying races are hitting fast and furious for the next few weeks, beginning on Saturday with two 100 point contests. The Winners of these races are pretty much assured a spot in the gate, should their connections decide to run. THE ARKANSAS DERBY The third and final leg of Oaklawn Park’s 3-year-old Kentucky Derby … Continue reading Two Big Races On Saturday
The Road to the Kentucky Derby makes a stop at Oaklawn Park on Saturday, with the running of the $1.25 million dollar, Grade 2 Rebel Stakes. This 1 1/16-mile event typically draws a deep, competitive field, buoyed by a massive purse plus 50 qualifying Derby points going to the Winner. The race was inaugurated in 1961 as the Rebel Handicap, and was changed to the Rebel Stakes … Continue reading Rebel History
The Road to the Kentucky Derby at Oaklawn Park reaches the end on Saturday, when the track hosts the $1.5 million dollar, Grade 1 Arkansas Derby. A deep and talented field of ten will travel 1 ⅛ miles on the main Oaklawn track in search of the prestigious Win that also includes maximum Derby qualifying points. The Winner will get 100 points, while the runner-up will receive 50, … Continue reading The Arkansas Derby
Some of the best winter dirt racing in North America is coming to the Midwest, as the Oaklawn Park meet begins this Friday, December 8th. The 2023-24 season will extend until May 4th, when the track shuts down on the same day as the 150th Kentucky Derby. Racing at Oaklawn brings big fields, good betting races for handicappers, an excellent Stakes program, and very strong purses fueled … Continue reading Oaklawn Park Opens
Saturday’s Grade 1, $1.25 million dollar Arkansas Derby will be the 33rd official prep race on the road to the 2023 Kentucky Derby as well as the final one at Oaklawn Park. The 1 1/8-mile race attracted a field of eleven 3-year-olds who will compete for the 100-40-30-20-10 points that go to the top five eligible finishers. Here is a look at the entrants. 1. BOURBON BASH … Continue reading Who Wins The Arkansas Derby ?
