Kentucky Derby 2025 trail: Springboard Mile gets field of 12

The biggest 2-year-old stakes race of the Remington Park season, the $300,000 Springboard Mile, drew a maximum field of 12 for Friday night.

The Springboard Mile program was drawn by the Remington Park racing office Thursday. A dozen races, six of them stakes events, will wrap the live racing here for the year. The special early start for the season-ender is 6 p.m. EST.

Speed King will try to live up to his name and status as the morning-line favorite at 7-2 odds. The Ron Moquett-trained colt was impressive in breaking his maiden status in his career debut, winning a six-furlong race at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., by 2 1/4 lengths. Since that Nov. 1 score, Moquett has Speed King training at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark., posting a sharp half-mile work last Friday in 48.8 seconds over a fast track.

Owned by Triton Thoroughbreds of Fort Smith, Ark., Speed King will be ridden by Rafael Bejarano.

Undefeated Jolly Samurai is a close second in the morning-line odds at 4-1. The gelding owned by Jake Brown has won all three of his attempts at Remington Park this season, at 5-1/2 furlongs, six-furlongs and seven-furlongs. His last two attempts were stakes scores in the Kip Deville on Sept. 29 and the Clever Trevor on Oct. 25. Danny Pish trains this closer with Rene Diaz remaining the only rider to be named on him.

Mister Omaha, will attempt to become the first Oklahoma-bred to win the Springboard since Ted’s Folly in 2011. Racing for Remington Park’s season-leading owner Bryan Hawk and trainer Joe Offolter, Mister Omaha will again have Luis Quinonez aboard for the fifth attempt of the season.

Mister Omaha has defeated only Oklahoma-breds to this point in his career, winning his last three races, including the Oklahoma Classics Juvenile on Oct. 18 and the Don McNeill Stakes on Nov. 8. He is the third in the morning-line odds at 5-1.

Jolly Samurai and Mister Omaha share the lead for most wins in this year’s Springboard field with three.

Dr Ruben M will ship from California for the Springboard after breaking his maiden Oct. 14 at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif. Trained by two-time Kentucky Derby winning-trainer Doug O’Neill, Dr Ruben M is at 6-1 in the morning-line and will be ridden by regular jockey Edwin Maldonado.

O’Neill won the Kentucky Derby in 2012 with I’ll Have Another and in 2016 with Nyquist.

The Springboard Mile is a qualifying points race for the 2025 Kentucky Derby. The race offers 10-5-3-2-1 points to its top five finishers.

The leading earner in the race is Coal Battle (10-1) with $127,625. Coal Battle recently won the $100,000 Jean Laffite Stakes on Nov. 8 at Delta Downs in Vinton, La. A winner of two races from four starts, the colt is trained by Lonnie Briley and will be ridden by Juan Vargas.

The Springboard Mile will be the 12th and final race Friday with an approximate off time of 11:28 p.m. EST.