HOT SPRINGS -- It is more than a solid field that will take the track Saturday for the Arkansas Derby, one of two final point-earning stakes races before the Kentucky Derby on May 5.
Favorite Magnum Moon and Quip most likely already have enough points to run on that first Saturday in May, but several other colts in the Arkansas Derby may have what it takes, especially if you like breeding.
This field has some really well-bred 3-year-olds and three of the game's top trainers. Steve Asmussen has three mounts, and Todd Pletcher and Bob Baffert have one each.
The Arkansas Derby has become a fixture for Baffert -- well, not him personally, but he ships his horses and an assistant trainer in while he goes about his job at Santa Anita.
His horse, Solomini, is 19th in the Road to the Kentucky Derby standings with 34 points, so running in the top three should get him in. Pletcher's horse Magnum Moon is 12th with 50 points, and a win Saturday will make him the highest point entry in Kentucky with 150. Quip also has 50 points.
Here's a quick look at the field, starting with the inside pole.
Beautiful Shot started his career with back-to-back victories, but since moving from sprints to classic distances he has run third in the Bob Hope and eighth in the Gotham Stakes. That's why he's 30-1.
Machismo ran last Saturday in the Blue Grass Stakes and obviously didn't like the slop by running 12th. He did run fourth in the Fountain of Youth. He's got the breeding if he can bounce back off six days rest, and obviously his connections hope he can pick up major points.
Tenfold is trained by Asmussen, and the colt definitely has the bloodline to get this distance. He's green -- just don't know if it is money green -- but he's 2-0 in his career and both wins came at Oaklawn.
Dream Baby Dream is also trained by Asmussen and may be appropriately named. His odds, 15-1, seem odd since he finished behind Plainsman once, who is 30-1.
Solomini ran second in the Breeder's Cup Juvenile last year and was third in the Grade I Los Alamitos Futurity and second to Magnum Moon in the Rebel Stakes. He had a little trouble in the race and couldn't close on the winner in the last 100 yards. Very well bred.
Magnum Moon is starting to get some national attention, and a win Saturday could make him the pre-race favorite in Kentucky. He's not only undefeated but no horse in this race is more regally bred. If you cut him, he might bleed blue blood. He sold as a yearling for $380,000. Owners Robert and Lawana Low have received national attention for the 70,000-foot home they are building outside Springfield, Mo. The wine cellar is a cave. They owned Steppenwolfer, who finished third in the 2006 Kentucky Derby.
Plainsman was a late entry and is owned by John Ed Anthony, who has had considerable success as an owner and does not enter a horse unless he feels he has a shot. Plainsman is 30-1 but has a great bloodline and is bred for the distance. He's lightly raced. He will return a big price.
Quip might be the value horse in this race. He won the Tampa Bay Derby and is 3-4 in his career. Like so many others, he's regally bred. He was scratched out of last week's wet Blue Grass for this race.
Combatant has some breeding and a lot of fight, but he ran second in the Smarty Jones and Southwest and was third in the Rebel Stakes. If he's improving, he'll be a value, too.
The 1-2-3 pick here is Magnum Moon by a head over Solomini, and Tenfold gets the show money.
Sports on 04/13/2018