HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Rated R Superstar won four stakes races and earned more than $600,000 last year at the age of 9. His memorable campaign began in the $150,000 Fifth Season at Oaklawn Park, and he’s back to defend his title in the race Saturday. It will be the 10-year-old debut for Rated R Superstar, who with a win against a field that includes fellow graded stakes winners Silver Prospector, Ginobili, and King Fury would push his Oaklawn earnings alone to $1 million. Rated R Superstar has banked $1.7 million overall in a career that includes eight stakes wins. He has been owned by Danny Caldwell the last two seasons. “Every race last year was a stakes race for him, and he won four of them,” Caldwell said. “It’s kind of unique as a 9-year-old to do that. He hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down yet. As long as he’s happy, we’re going to let him do his job.” :: Bet the races with a $200 First Deposit Match and FREE Formulator PPs! Join DRF Bets. Rated R Superstar enters this year’s Fifth Season off a win in the $100,000 Jeffrey Hawk Memorial on Dec. 17 at Remington Park. He closed down the center of the track and earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 94. Since that start, Rated R Superstar has breezed at Oaklawn, going a half-mile in 48.80 seconds on Jan. 5. “We got a good work in him last week and he came back happy,” Caldwell said. “He’s feisty and usually when he’s that way, he’s ready to run. I think he’ll give us what he’s got – if he gets a pace to run at. It looks like there is some speed in there. He’ll also have to get through some horses with a 10-horse field. It won’t be easy at all.” The Fifth Season will end at the sixteenth pole, as with all mile races at Oaklawn. Caldwell feels Rated R Superstar is better at 1 1/16 miles, the distance over which he won last year’s Grade 3 Essex at Oaklawn. His other 2022 stakes win came in the Governor’s Cup at Remington. Caldwell claimed Rated R Superstar for $50,000 in January 2021 at Oaklawn. He won that day. For his new barn, Rated R Superstar has gone on to earn $899,257. Federico Villafranco has trained the horse for the bulk of the last two years, but his son Martin has Rated R Superstar at Oaklawn this meet with Federico Villafranco wintering at Sam Houston. Caldwell said the first thing Federico Villafranco did for Rated R Superstar was get the horse a goat, who is named Teddy. “He thought we needed a goat with him, and wherever Rated R Superstar goes, Teddy goes,” Caldwell said. “It’s definitely helped him. It’s his way of relaxing. When he goes back to the barn, he and his goat play games. They’re big buddies.” Isaac Castillo has the mount from post 6. ◗ Verifying, a half-brother to champion Midnight Bisou who ran second in last year’s Champagne, launches his 3-year-old season in Saturday’s fourth race. The first-level allowance at a mile will be Verifying’s first start since running a troubled sixth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. Martin Garcia has the mount on the son of Justify for trainer Brad Cox. The race also drew Coffee Caliente, who exits a Nov. 26 allowance at Churchill that produced the winners of both the Smarty Jones at Oaklawn and the Jerome at Aqueduct. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.