When Smarty Jones won the 2004 Arkansas Derby, everything at Oaklawn Park was about to change.
Smarty Jones won the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness, and finished second in the Belmont, and just like that, with growing purses and a track that was tried and true, Oaklawn Park became the place to be for 3-year-olds with Kentucky Derby aspirations.
Last Saturday's $1 million Grade I Arkansas Derby was the second time in three years that a 2-year-old champion male crossed the finish line first.
Classic Empire, sired by Pioneerof the Nile, won by a half length in a time of 1:48.93.
In 2015, American Pharoah, another Pioneerof the Nile colt, won in 1:48.52, the fastest time since 2003.
Both horses could have run a little faster but didn't need to, and both galloped past the finish line after 1 1/8 miles to show their owners and trainers they could handle the 1¼-mile Kentucky Derby.
American Pharoah's time was the fastest of this Smarty Jones era, and that was about the same time that Oaklawn's dirt started to be compared to the surface at Churchill Downs, which has added to Oaklawn's attractiveness as a 3-year-old training ground.
Classic Empire's time was the fourth-fastest Arkansas Derby since 2004 and besides American Pharoah, who broke a 37-year drought by winning the Triple Crown, the other two had success in parts of the Triple Crown.
In 2005, Afleet Alex won the Arkansas Derby in 1:48.80; think how long it takes to blink and that's the difference between the time of Afleet Alex and Classic Empire.
Afleet Alex never won over Oaklawn fans like Smarty Jones and his trainer, John Servis, did, and was probably the best horse in the 2005 Kentucky Derby. But he ran into more traffic than one encounters on New York City's Park Avenue, and no one was running faster at the end when he got up for third.
He then won the Preakness and Belmont Stakes.
In 2012, Bodemeister won the Arkansas Derby in 1:48.71 and finished second in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness behind I'll Have Another.
Those are not the only Oaklawn-raced horses who have had Triple Crown success, not by a long shot.
One would be hard-pressed to find a track with a more successful body of work in the Triple Crown than Oaklawn since Smarty Jones.
Three horses who prepped at Oaklawn won the Kentucky Derby, seven won the Preakness and four, including Creator who won last year's Arkansas Derby, won the Belmont.
Another 20 times horses hit the board, and since 2004 there have only been two years when the Kentucky Derby, Preakness or Belmont didn't have a horse hit the board who came out of Oaklawn.
So Classic Empire's showing Saturday, including his time, was impressive, especially considering he might not have been on top of his game yet.
Classic Empire took two months off after ending his 2-year-old season with a victory in the Nov. 5 Breeders' Cup Juvenile. He returned to the races in the Feb. 4 Holy Bull at Gulfstream, ran well for 6 furlongs and then was all out to finish third as Irish War Cry ran away with it.
Then there was Classic Empire's much-discussed refusal to work out at Palm Beach Training Center, and he was shipped north to Ocala, Fla., to train at a different farm.
He worked five times before the Arkansas Derby but was never asked to go more than 5 furlongs, however one of those was a bullet work, going the distance in :59.30 on a track labeled as slow.
That was when owner John Oxley, a native of Tulsa, and trainer Mark Casse decided to ship Classic Empire to Oaklawn for the Arkansas Derby.
Classic Empire, like so many before him, took to Oaklawn's dirt surface and environment and responded well. He might just be getting back to his championship stride.
Sports on 04/18/2017