HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – At least 10 3-year-olds are confirmed for the Florida Derby next Saturday, with Greatest Honour sure to be a heavy favorite in the annual Gulfstream Park signature event.

It was last year that the Risen Star was lengthened a sixteenth of a mile to 1 1/8 miles, and the Louisiana Derby a sixteenth of a mile to 1 3/16 miles. Brad Cox admits his immediate reaction was thumb’s down.

“I thought it was very odd, different,” the trainer recalled this week.

Then he won the Risen Star with Mr. Monomoy. And he won the Louisiana Derby with Wells Bayou. The idea is growing on him. Give it two thumbs up. Way up.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – The Grade 1, $1 million Arkansas Derby next month at Oaklawn Park has picked up a trio of new probables in Super Stock, Caddo River, and Keepmeinmind.

The horses finished a respective fourth through sixth in the Rebel Stakes last Saturday at Oaklawn. The 1 1/16-mile Rebel serves as the final stepping-stone to the Arkansas Derby. The 1 1/8-mile fixture is set for April 10.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – For just the third time at the championship meet, which began Dec. 2, ontrack spectators will be permitted when the Florida Derby is run March 27. Tickets are on sale through the track website on a limited basis, just as they were for the Jan. 23 Pegasus and Feb. 27 Fountain of Youth. Strict pandemic-related protocols apply.

WHO’S HOT

Concert Tour, the co-fifth choice last week for the May 1 Kentucky Derby on the line of Daily Racing Form’s Marty McGee, had his price nearly halved, from 15-1 to 8-1, after his runaway victory in the Rebel Stakes last Saturday at Oaklawn. The lone newcomer to this week’s list is Rebel runner-up Hozier, who becomes the fifth Bob Baffert trainee in the top 20, joining stablemates Concert Tour, race favorite Life Is Good, Medina Spirit, and Spielberg. He is a 30-1 on McGee’s line.

Hot Rod Charlie

Oxbow–Indian Miss, by Indian Charlie

Bred in Kentucky by Edward A. Cox Jr. ($17,000 Fasig-Tipton February short yearling purchase by Erickson Equine; $110,000 Fasig-Tipton October yearling purchase by Dennis O’Neill)

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Joel Rosario is a man in demand.

Last Saturday, Rosario was at Oaklawn Park, after being at Santa Anita the previous Saturday, after being at Oaklawn the Saturday prior. He’ll head to Fair Grounds this Saturday before going to Dubai the final Saturday of the month, then return to the United States, where he’ll be at either Keeneland or Santa Anita the first Saturday in April. It’s a dizzying schedule, but that’s the demand placed on a top jockey this time of year, as the Kentucky Derby draws closer.

Grade 2, $1 million Rebel Stakes, 1 1/16 miles, Oaklawn Park, March 13, 2021
(50 Derby qualifying points for first, 20 for second, 10 for third, 5 for fourth)
Winner: Concert Tour, by Street Sense
Trainer: Bob Baffert
Jockey: Joel Rosario
Owner: Gary and Mary West
Beyer Speed Figure: 94

NEW ORLEANS – The best-looking horse seen working Monday at Fair Grounds was, appropriately, the highest-profile horse seen working during a quiet training session in balmy New Orleans.

Midnight Bourbon, trying to punch his ticket to the Kentucky Derby when he starts Saturday in the $1 million Louisiana Derby, breezed an easy half-mile in 49.20 seconds. The colt looked good when he won the Lecomte Stakes in January and looks even better now.

Dream Shake will have a California-based campaign in advance of a potential start in the Kentucky Derby on May 1 at Churchill Downs.

Third in the Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes at 1 1/16 miles on March 6, Dream Shake will start in the Grade 1 Runhappy Santa Anita Derby on April 3, trainer Peter Eurton confirmed Friday.