HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Full Serrano established himself as a world-class miler in 2024, and he will be returning to the distance Saturday when he leads a deep and diverse cast of eight older horses in the Grade 3, $500,000 Oaklawn Mile. The stakes, which will end at the sixteenth pole, is one of 14 races on an Arkansas Derby Day card that gets underway at 11:35 a.m. Central Time. Full Serrano won the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile in 2024 at Del Mar. His rivals Saturday include fellow Grade 1 winner East Avenue, Grade 2 winner Coal Battle, Grade 3 winner Awesome Aaron, multiple stakes winners Will Take It and Neoequos, the talented upstart Nu What’s New, and the well-bred Gun Party. Full Serrano last raced Jan. 24, finishing third in the $3 million Pegasus World Cup at 1 1/8 miles at Gulfstream Park. The winner of the race, Skippylongstocking, came back in his next start to win the Grade 3 Essex last weekend at Oaklawn. As for Full Serrano, he has been prepping for Saturday with some strong five-furlong works at Santa Anita. :: Live racing action at Oaklawn Park! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. “This was good spacing from the Pegasus,” said John Sadler, who trains Full Serrano. “We had to stay a little longer in Florida after the Pegasus because that was when there was that severe weather in the Midwest, so there was no flying out of Indianapolis or Memphis. Those air cargos were shut down. He had to spend maybe an extra week in Gulfstream before we could get him home. “We thought the Big Cap [at Santa Anita] was just a little bit quick back for him. He’s trained up to this good. We know he’s good at a mile. He showed he could ship the other day, so I think we’re probably in a pretty good spot.” Full Serrano is a son of Full Mast who races for Hronis Racing. He’s earned $1.2 million. Breaking from post 5, Antonio Fresu will have the mount for the first time in the Oaklawn Mile. “He worked him on his last work and liked him,” Sadler said. “This is a tough weekend for jockeys. [Regular rider Joel] Rosario is committed to Gulfstream. It’s that time of year when Derby preps – and, actually, Dubai this week – have a lot of jocks moving around. We’ve had a lot of good luck with Fresu, so he’s going to go over there and ride him. “He’s a forwardly placed horse. No secret about that. He’s going to lay close no matter what.” Nu What’s New moved to two turns on dirt for the first time at the start of the meet in December. He promptly won a maiden special weight on the front end with a Beyer Speed Figure of 101. He came back and wired his rivals in a first-level allowance to earn a Beyer of 103. “He’s got speed and he can carry it around two turns,” trainer Jimmy DiVito said. “That’s a pretty good asset.” Nu What’s New last raced Feb. 28 and finished second to Dubai World Cup contender Magnitude in the 1 1/16-mile Razorback Handicap. “I thought he ran a real good race,” DiVito said. “He broke good, took the lead, ran a good race. He hung in there. He stayed real close to [Magnitude] to about the sixteenth pole. That horse of Steve Asmussen’s – that’s a real nice horse.” Luis Saez has the mount from post 7. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.