Calhoun in no hurry with Mr. Big News

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Trainer Bret Calhoun has some horses pointing to stakes at Oaklawn Park, but whether they will include Mr. Big News is yet to be determined. The 3-year-old Mr. Big News, who won the $200,000 Oaklawn Stakes on Saturday, is back home at Fair Grounds.

Calhoun said Mr. Big News is possible for the Grade 1, $750,000 Arkansas Derby. It will be run on the same May 2 card as the Grade 2, $600,000 Oaklawn Handicap, for which he plans to start By My Standards. Calhoun also has the undefeated 3-year-old filly Ain’t No Elmers on deck for the Grade 3, $400,000 Fantasy here May 1.

The plans for Mr. Big News are more fluid, as Calhoun ultimately would like to make the Kentucky Derby with the distance-loving colt. He has no points for the race, but the Kentucky Derby has been postponed to Sept. 5 due to the coronavirus pandemic and additional points races are to be announced by Churchill Downs.

“The Kentucky Derby is almost five months away,” Calhoun said Monday. “There’s plenty of time between now and then to try and find some races to acquire some points. I’d rather be a little more conservative and space his races out right now. It’s a long road to September.”

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Mr. Big News put in a big stretch run Saturday for a half-length victory at 46-1 in the 1 1/8-mile race. He earned a career-high Beyer Speed Figure of 87.

“We’ve always thought he was a true distance horse, a mile and an eighth, a mile and three-sixteenths, a mile and a quarter,” Calhoun said. “And he’s just gotten physically better the last couple of months, really made some big improvements.”

Mr. Big News is owned by Allied Racing Stable, which also has By My Standards, winner of the Grade 2 New Orleans Classic on March 21 at Fair Grounds. By My Standards last worked there Saturday, going five-eighths in 59.40 seconds.

“He had a very, very good work, came out of it good,” Calhoun said. “We’re looking forward to the Oaklawn Handicap. I’m sure it will be a very deep field with limited places to run. It will be a very good field. In my opinion, I think he’s one of the best older horses in the country.”

Oaklawn handled more than $16.9 million on its 12-race card Saturday, eclipsing its all-time record of $16.2 million reached in 2019 on Rebel Day.