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WALLY HALL: Keeping track of Arkansas Derby story lines

There's something for almost everyone in the 12-horse Arkansas Derby field Saturday at Oaklawn Park.

There are shippers, dreamers, champions and regally bred horses.

There's an Okie bred, Rowdy the Warrior, and Rockin Rudy came into this world in Iowa, so the 12-1 sprinter may be the most corn-fed entry in the race.

Conquest Mo Money was born in New York and ships from Sunland Park in New Mexico.

One of the more compelling stories is 2-year-old champion Classic Empire, who was bred by Pioneer of the Nile. He was trying to follow in the footsteps of American Pharoah, but the first time Classic Empire took to the track as a 3-year-old he ran third in the Grade II Holy Bull Stakes on Feb. 4.

It was said later that he had an undetected abscess in his right hoof, but on March 11 he simply refused to work at Palm Meadows training center near Gulfstream Park in south Florida. Nothing could make him run that day, so it was decided he needed a change of scenery, and he was moved from Palm Meadows farm to Winding Oaks farm in Ocala, Fla.

On March 22, he worked 5 furlongs in 1:01.2, which is considered a very good time on that farm. He came back on March 28 and worked the same distance in less than 1:00, and his ticket was punched to the Arkansas Derby, where he was made the 8-5 favorite Wednesday.

Classic Empire is owned by John C. Oxley, a polo enthusiast, who with his dad started an oil business. After selling it, they went into gas exploration, and that successful company also was sold.

Kentucky-based jockey Julien Leparoux, winner of a couple of Eclipse Awards and seven Breeders' Cup races, is coming in to ride him.

Mike Smith, who started his riding career at Oaklawn, is flying in to ride Untrapped, the third-place finisher in the Rebel Stakes. He is owned by Jonesboro native Michael Langford.

Untrapped and Lookin at Lee, a 15-1 shot, are trained by Steve Asmussen.

Bob Baffert won't be here again, and this time he doesn't have a dog in the fight, but there is no shortage of big-name trainers who travel all over the country.

Along with Asmussen, there is Todd Pletcher, Doug O'Neill and Keith Desormeaux, who will use his brother, Kent, as his rider on Sonneteer, who is 15-1 but drew the coveted No. 7 post position.

Some of Oaklawn's best trainers will take a shot, too, including Ron Moquett with Petrov and Jack Van Berg with long shot One Dreamy Dude, who opened at 50-1 but will go much higher.

Pletcher has second favorite Malagacy, winner of the Rebel, at 2-1, but they drew the outside post.

O'Neill has Rockin Rudy, whose mom is unraced Ruthie the Rock who still lives in Iowa. Rockin Rudy arrives from California, where his past three races were sprints, two on the grass. He'll probably set the early fractions, but it would be shocking if he can hold off Malagacy and Classic Empire in the stretch.

Petrov might be the horse for the course, as he's the only one that ran in all three prep races at Oaklawn, and he's trained by Fort Smith native Moquett. He'll be ridden by one of Oaklawn's top jockeys, Ricardo Santana Jr., who used to ride for Asmussen, but that seems to have blown up about a month ago.

Silver Dust is a talented colt, and he's shown some promise, but he's lightly raced, which can be very good or very bad.

Here's the prediction: Sunny skies and 64,000 in attendance for what has become known as the Smarty Party since 2004, when champion Smarty Jones won the Arkansas and Kentucky Derbies as well as the Preakness.

Sports on 04/13/2017

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