HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – The Grade 2, $1 million Rebel on Sunday at Oaklawn Park has brought together the kind of field that suggests it might prove to be a key race on the Road to the Kentucky Derby. “It’s a very important race,” said trainer Bob Baffert, who will be looking for his ninth Rebel win when he sends out Litmus Test. Litmus Test and Silent Tactic are already graded stakes winners at the 1 1/16-mile distance of the Rebel, while Blackout Time, Soldier N Diplomat, and Strategic Risk are on the cusp of nailing down the same credentials. Rancho Santa Fe and Honey’s to Blame might ultimately prove to be 1 1/4-mile horses, while Class President is a talented upstart. :: Live racing action at Oaklawn Park! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. “We’re all trying to figure out where we fit in the picture,” said Mark Casse, who trains both Silent Tactic and Strategic Risk. The Rebel anchors a 12-race card that gets underway at noon Central. The first five finishers from the race will earn Kentucky Derby points on a scale of 50-25-15-10-5. The forecast for Sunday is a partly cloudy skies and a high of 68 degrees, and the infield is scheduled to be open. The card also includes the Grade 3, $750,000 Honeybee, which is a points race for the Kentucky Oaks. The Rebel drew 10 horses, but Bravaro will be scratched, trainer Saffie Joseph Jr., told Daily Racing Form’s Mike Welsch, and was to run in the Fountain of Youth Saturday at Gulfstream Park. The defection of Bravaro, who drew the rail, is a loss of pace, but it appears there is still ample speed in the Rebel. “Off early Timeform numbers, I think you’ve got about five horses that are going to try to go,” said Brad Cox, who will saddle Rancho Santa Fe. Derby Watch member Litmus Test should be prominent when he starts from post 2 under Flavien Prat. He comes into the Rebel off a win in the Grade 2 Los Alamitos Futurity on Dec. 13. Litmus Test worked a sharp half-mile in 47.80 seconds on Feb. 21 at Santa Anita in his final prep for Sunday. “I actually had him penciled in to run the following week in the San Felipe” at Santa Anita, Baffert said. “What I do at this time of year is I nominate everywhere and whoever’s doing great that week, you know, I put ’em on plane or run them that week. And I loved his work. “He looks good right now, and [the Rebel], if he runs well there, gives him extra time between races. He’s a big colt, just filling out now, just getting better. And so, we’ve been very high on him. He looks like the proper Derby horse, so hopefully he runs well there.” Derby Watch member Blackout Time also is launching his 3-year-old season and enters off a runner-up finish to eventual champion Ted Noffey in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Futurity on Oct. 4 at Keeneland. “We were definitely pleased with that run,” trainer Kenny McPeek said. “He outran Litmus Test that day and he certainly stamped himself as a high-level type of colt, and I think he’ll run ever better as 3-year-old. He’s gotten a little bigger and stronger, for sure.” Brian Hernandez Jr. has the mount on the horse from post 4. “He’ll probably stalk,” McPeek said. “He’s just a lovely horse, is doing everything right.” Silent Tactic, another Derby Watch member, won the Grade 3 Southwest Stakes by 3 1/4 lengths in his most recent out Feb. 8. He closed from next to last and will again be ridden by Cristian Torres. “I don’t see us changing the way he ran,” Casse said. “I think he settles and comes with a run. I wouldn’t want to take that away from him. It worked. And really, going forward, that’s going to be more important, especially when they stretch out. I still see him settling and coming with a run. He is pretty sharp right now, but I don’t see getting off what was success. You dance with what got you there.” Soldier N Diplomat, who drew post 10, stalked the pace and finished second in the Southwest in his first start at 3. Jose Ortiz was aboard and again has the mount Sunday for trainer Steve Asmussen. “I see him working out a very similar trip that he had in the Southwest, but with the race under his belt,” Asmussen said. “I think that he’s coming into it extremely similar, which is exactly what I want him to be. I think we need consistency from him. The outside draw off the bench, I think was a very good spot for him. I’m not as excited about it this time because the racetrack is playing considerably different than it was when the Southwest ran, but he is extremely talented.” Rancho Santa Fe was a close fourth in the Southwest. “I like the trip he got last time,” Cox said. “He broke, he saved ground. I think around the three-eighths pole they started quickening and he didn’t really go forward or hold his position like he needed to, and then when they straightened up he stayed on well. I thought that was encouraging. Just a jump past the wire, he was second.” Irad Ortiz Jr. has the mount from post 8. “I think he’s going to want more ground,” Cox said. “I wish the race was a mile and an eighth, but it’s not. But at this point on the Triple Crown trail, and trying to get to the Derby, you just have to dance these dances. Wherever he goes from here, as long as he runs well, is what he’s really going to want to do, because he’s a mile-and-an-eighth, mile-and-a-quarter, horse.” Honey’s to Blame is a son of stamina influence Blame. “He’s done everything we’ve asked him to do at Oaklawn,” McPeek said. “He’s 2 for 2 and he’s a good 3-year-old colt. He reminds me of Harlan’s Holiday, physically. He’s out of a Harlan’s Holiday mare. He deserves a shot.” Strategic Risk won the Smarty Jones in January at Oaklawn and comes off an uncharacteristic 10th in the Southwest. “His last race was definitely subpar,” Casse said. “We did come back and breeze him a little harder than Silent Tactic, just thinking that maybe not doing enough into that last race hurt him, and he worked really well. We’re going to go into the race with our fingers crossed. “I’ve always said training horses is putting a puzzle together, deciding how the pieces fit, and Sunday will be another day of that, trying to see where the pieces fit. Ideally, it would be nice if both Silent Tactic and Strategic Risk fit in the Derby picture.” Class President is moving to two turns after running second in the Swale at Gulfstream Park. He had won his maiden one start prior and figures to be prominent when he starts from post 3. John Velazquez has the mount for trainer Todd Pletcher. Depending on the break, the veteran Velazquez could have a real impact on how the race shapes up from a pace standpoint. Litmus Test might have a chance to slip away, or the probable favorite could find himself engaged by Class President and others in what looks to be an impactful Rebel two months out from the Kentucky Derby. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.