Too cold: Ky. Derby prep shifts as Oaklawn, Turfway adjust

Cold weather in the forecast prompted schedule changes at Oaklawn and Turfway Park.

Oaklawn moved the Grade 2 Rebel Stakes, a Kentucky Derby points prep, to Sunday from Saturday.

The Hot Springs, Ark., track is moving its Friday card to Saturday, the Saturday card to Sunday and the Sunday card to Monday, according to an alert sent by the track.

The National Weather Service forecast for Hot Springs calls for a partly sunny day Friday, with a high near 35 degrees and a low Friday night around 21.

Saturday will be partly sunny with a high near 42, according to the forecast. Sunday was expected to be mostly sunny, with a high near 54, and Monday was expected to be sunny with a high near 66.

The Rebel offers 50-25-15-10-5 Kentucky Derby qualifying points to the top five finishers. The morning-line favorite is Sandman, runner-up in the Southwest (G3) at Oaklawn in his most recent start.

Turfway Park moved Wednesday’s program in its entirety to Sunday, with a first post of 4:15 p.m. EST. Thursday’s card at the Northern Kentucky track was canceled, and those races will be brought back as extras for upcoming entry days.

The NWS forecast called for a chance of snow Wednesday and a high of 22 on both Wednesday and Thursday.

No changes are expected for Friday and Saturday’s programs, with temperatures forecast in the mid-30s.