Hansen was assigned post position 4 as the 6-5 morning-line favorite for the 88th running of the Grade 1, $750,000 Toyota Blue Grass Stakes, which drew a field of 13 3-year-olds.
There has been one constant in the Arkansas Derby the last two years – Jon Court. Court rode Line of David to victory in 2010 and last year won aboard Archarcharch. On Saturday, Court will be out to win an unprecedented third consecutive running of Oaklawn Park’s richest race when he teams with the D. Wayne Lukas-trained Optimizer.
Mark Casse has run just one horse in the Kentucky Derby, a 52-1 shot who wound up 10th, but he is quite familiar with Churchill Downs.
Trainer Agustin Bezara said Monday that he will nominate Reveron to the Grade 3 Lexington at Keeneland on April 21, with the thought of perhaps running the Florida Derby runner-up in a last-ditch attempt to earn enough graded stakes money to get into the Kentucky Derby field.
Cozzetti, an improving 3-year-old for trainer Dale Romans, will be part of an Arkansas Derby field that had 11 potential starters as of Monday.
Compared to Paddy O’Prado, Dullahan already has quite a head start on the Triple Crown trail. While Paddy O’Prado was a late-blooming type who needed to get into the Kentucky Derby through the back door two years ago, Dullahan already has sufficient graded earnings to make the Derby field after winning the Grade 1 Breeders’ Futurity last fall at Keeneland.
In the winner’s circle following the Santa Anita Derby on Saturday, the scores of employees of owner Paul Reddam who stuffed themselves into the enclosure along with I’ll Have Another began chanting “CashCall, CashCall,” and while it may have been a shout out to their boss’ business, it was an appropriate rallying cry for this year’s Kentucky Derby, because it appears a large influx of cash is going to be needed to make the Derby field.
If Optimizer runs well in Saturday’s Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn, Wayne Lukas may have yet another Kentucky Derby starter.
The Bob Baffert-trained Bodemeister, second in the San Felipe, worked five furlongs in 1:00.40 in preparation for Saturday's Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park.
After winning the Grade 3 Illinois Derby at Hawthorne, Done Talking's connections are aiming for the May 5 Kentucky Derby. The horse stands 18th on the graded earnings list with three graded prep races remaining and could wind up on the bubble.
