Omaha Beach resumes racetrack training

ARCADIA, Calif. – Omaha Beach, unraced since winning the Arkansas Derby on April 13, resumed racetrack exercise on Friday for the first time since undergoing surgery for an entrapped epiglottis that caused him to be withdrawn from the Kentucky Derby last month.

Omaha Beach returned to trainer Richard Mandella’s stable earlier this month and underwent a precautionary throat inspection before he returned training.

“I’m very happy,” Mandella said. “He’ll jog for a week and start galloping. I don’t have a plan. I want to get him back in some kind of shape before I do too much.”

Omaha Beach was the morning-line favorite for the Kentucky Derby and was withdrawn three days before the race. Omaha Beach was rested at a Kentucky farm for a month before returning to Mandella’s stable.

Owned by Rick Porter, Omaha Beach has won 3 of 7 starts and earned $1,121,800. The three wins came in consecutive starts this year – a maiden special weight race at Santa Anita on Feb. 2, a division of the Grade 2 Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park on March 16, and the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park on April 13.