Early Look: Possible fields for Ark. Derby, Fantasy at Oaklawn

Eleven horses were under consideration Saturday morning for the Grade 1, $1.5 million Arkansas Derby next weekend, according to the Oaklawn racing department.

Entries will be accepted and post positions drawn Sunday for the 1 1/8-mile feature and five other Oaklawn stakes races scheduled for Saturday. The Arkansas Derby is Oaklawn’s fourth and final Kentucky Derby 2025 qualifying race and will offer 100-50-25-15-10 qualifying points to the top five finishers. That makes it an automatic qualifier for the winner and just about that for finishing second.

Click here for Oaklawn entries and results.

Coal Battle for trainer Lonnie Briley, Speed King for Ron Moquett, Sandman for Mark Casse, Admiral Dennis and Passion Rules for Brad Cox, Bestfriend Rocket for D. Wayne Lukas, First Division and What Me Worry for Kenny McPeek and Publisher for Steve Asmussen are under consideration.

Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert is scheduled to have at least one entrant, according to the track racing office. His nominees include Grade 2 winner Barnes as well as Cornucopian, who in his only career start produced the fastest six-furlong time in Oaklawn history for a 3-year-old maiden allowance race. That was 1:09.02 in a front-running, 5 3/4-length romp Feb. 23. Cornucopian worked five furlongs in 1:00.0 over a fast track Saturday morning at Santa Anita.

Baffert has won the Arkansas Derby a record-sharing five times including last year with Muth. Mystik Dan, the third-place finisher for McPeek, went on to win the Kentucky Derby.

Coal Battle already has two victories in Derby qualifying races at Oaklawn, taking the Smarty Jones on Jan. 4 and the Rebel (G2) on Feb. 23 in his last start. Each race was 1 1/16 miles. Coal Battle tops the Kentucky Derby leaderboard with 70 points and already is assured of a berth in the May 3 classic.

Speed King was a gate-to-wire winner of Oaklawn’s second Kentucky Derby qualifying race, the Southwest (G3) at 1 1/16 miles Jan. 25. Speed King looks to rebound from a 10th-place finish in the Rebel.

Sandman finished a troubled second in the Southwest and ran third as the favorite in the Rebel. Casse said the Tapit colt will be reunited with runaway Fair Grounds riding leader José Ortiz in the Arkansas Derby.

8 fillies are probable for Fantasy Stakes

The 1 1/16-mile Fantasy (G2) for 3-year-old fillies is Oaklawn’s third and final Kentucky Oaks qualifying race. It also will award 100-50-25-15-10 points to the top five finishers. Thorpedo Anna swept both races last year en route to horse-of-the-year honors.

Fantasy probables, according to the Oaklawn racing department, include Quietside for trainer John Ortiz, Simply Joking for Whit Beckman, Runnin N Gunnin for Asmussen, Maysam for Baffert, Baytown Butterfly for trainer Paul McEntee, Necessity for Norm Casse, Princess Aliyah for Lukas and Take Charge Milady for McPeek.

Quietside exits a one-length victory in the 1 1/16-mile Honeybee (G3) on Feb. 23 at Oaklawn. She tops the Kentucky Oaks leaderboard with 68 points and has her invitation to the field of 14 on May 2.

Simply Joking, who is 2-for-2, has not started since her front-running, 2 1/2-length victory in the Silverbulletday at one mile and 70 yards Jan. 18 at Fair Grounds.

Runnin N Gunnin exits a 4 3/4-length victory in the one-mile Sunland Park Oaks on Feb. 16.

Maysam, sixth in the Sunland Park Oaks as the heavy favorite, won the Santa Ysabel (G3) at 1 1/16 miles March 2 at Santa Anita in her last start.