HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – The depth of the 13-horse field for the Grade 2, $1.25 million Rebel on Sunday at Oaklawn Park gives horsemen an opportunity to get a line on the quality of their Kentucky Derby prospects and for horseplayers to line their pockets. “It’s the strongest prep around the country so far,” said D. Wayne Lukas, who will saddle Innovator. “It’s a handicapper’s dream,” added trainer Ron Moquett, who starts Speed King. The Rebel is a 1 1/16-mile race that will award its first five finishers Kentucky Derby points on a scale of 50-25-15-10-5. It was originally carded for Saturday, but moved to Sunday due to a winter storm system. As of Friday there was one scratch from the 14 entries, Bullard. Speed King won last month’s Southwest Stakes over Sandman, who also returns in the Rebel. Sandman had an awkward start and spotted his rivals several lengths before putting in a determined bid to finish second. “He impressed me more in defeat than maybe if he had won with a perfect trip,” said trainer Mark Casse. “A lot of people came to me and said, ‘Oh, you must be disappointed.’ You know, of course you want to win million-dollar races, but there were so many positives that came out of it that to me outweighed the negative. :: KENTUCKY DERBY 2025: Point standings, prep schedule, news, and more “We’re happy. We’re in a good place. We’ve got a good post. Every race now from this point on is important.” Sandman will start from post 3 under Cristian Torres. “I don’t see us back real far,” Casse said. “The key with him is – and Cristian knows him well – you want to get him into a nice rhythm. Cristian’s obviously going to be able to save ground in the first turn, and probably in the second turn, it’s going to be being able to get out and get a good trip.” Speed King will start from post 11 after wiring the Southwest from an outside gate. He was making the third start of his career, which began with a maiden sprint win in November. “We’ve done everything at his speed,” Moquett said. “We knew athletically he could have run in July and won, but it wasn’t what his body was ready for. He’s a little further along mentally than people know because he’s lightly raced. But there’s no replacement for experience. “We do have maturity on our side. We’ve got physical development. We’ve got a lot of good stuff, but there’s no replacement for experience and we’re trying to get that now.” Moquett and jockey Rafael Bejarano both were hoping Speed King would sit off the pace in the Southwest, but he ended up on the lead when some horses had early trouble. “We didn’t get to learn what we wanted to,” Moquett said. “We wanted to be able to bring him a little off the pace. That’s the thing we’re trying to prep him for, what we think makes him more versatile, and he’s shown us in the morning that that’s a possibility.” Innovator was third by three-quarters of a length in the Lecomte while making his two-turn debut Jan. 18 at Fair Grounds. “He’s here in his home court,” said Lukas, who is based at Oaklawn. “It’s going to be very interesting to see how he runs. He’s a very talented horse, has great speed. I think we’re going to learn a little something about him.” :: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. Smoken Wicked enters off a pair of sprint-stakes wins. Another sprint to route prospect is Dreaminblue. Madaket Road could track the leaders when he starts from post 5 under Irad Ortiz Jr. He was third to champion Citizen Bull in the Robert B. Lewis on Feb. 1 at Santa Anita. “Last time he had a bad trip,” said trainer Bob Baffert, an eight-time winner of the Rebel. “He was inside there and I think he got a lot out of it. He came back and he worked really well and that’s why I decided to send him.” Madaket Road worked six furlongs in a bullet 1:12 on Feb. 16. Tiztastic can take advantage if the pace is honest. He won the $1 million Kentucky Downs Juvenile Mile on turf in September and in his most recent start was third in the Southwest. “I think he’s a versatile horse,” trainer Steve Asmussen said. “It’s nice to know that he handles the turf so well, but he has accumulated some Derby points in dirt races. “He’s a good horse. I’m anxious to get him going in farther races, but this is the next step.” Publisher was a troubled seventh in the Southwest. He was advancing along the rail when a rival came over on him and impeded his progress. “It’s impossible to know where he would have ended up,” Asmussen said. “His chances were eliminated inside the eighth pole.” Coal Battle will be looking for his fourth consecutive win in a two-turn stakes. He led throughout in the Smarty Jones and came from off the pace in the Springboard Mile. “I need some speed to be there so they can go out front and we can sit back and smile,” said trainer Lonnie Briley. :: Subscribe to the DRF Post Time Email Newsletter: Get the news you need to play today's races!  Pace would also serve the cause of Admiral Dennis, who is coming off an allowance win at Fair Grounds. “Even though he won last time, I thought he overcame not getting a setup,” said trainer Brad Cox. “He’s run in a couple of paceless races, so we’re hopeful, with as big a field as it is, that there should be some pace.” Hypnus won his debut in a maiden special weight route at Fair Grounds. “He’s probably the best bred horse in the race and he ran like it last time,” trainer Kenny McPeek said of the son of Into Mischief and the Grade 1 winner Dream Tree. “Now it’s a big step up, but he’s ready to do his thing. He reminds me of Harlan’s Holiday.” :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.