GII Rebel Stakes

'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard', Further Ado (Gun Runner) was tabbed by track oddsmaker Nick Tammaro as the 8-5 morning line favorite in a field of nine 3-year-olds for Saturday's 102nd running of the $1.25 million GI Toyota Blue Grass Stakes, Keeneland said via a press release on Tuesday. Contested at 1 1/8 miles on the main track, the Blue Grass offers 200 qualifying points for the GI Kentucky Derby. The winner receives 100 points with a sliding scale of 50-25-15-10 points to the second- through fifth-place finishers. The...

Looking every bit the 3-2 morning-line favorite for the GI Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park on Saturday, Renegade (Into Mischief) strode out of paddock schooling with top marks shortly before noon on Thursday. The colt had that, 'Take the test, don't let the test take you' sort of look. Renegade's trainer Todd Pletcher has won the Hot Springs track's signature race five times, but it hasn't been since 2018 when Magnum Moon (Malibu Moon) took the prize. Of course, that hero was campaigned by Robert and Lawana Low, who happen...

HOT SPRINGS, Ark.--If you are looking for the best seat in the house for the GI Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park this weekend, then chances are brothers Luke and Cole Jones piloting their drones have their gimbals locked on shooting the perfect A-roll. As long as the weather holds off, the Jones boys go vertical for every race during Oaklawn's meet, which is all part of the larger show in Hot Springs. Tracks have deployed this aerial technology for a couple of years now, but it's primarily been restricted to...

HOT SPRINGS, Ark.--A strong tradition for any Kentucky Derby hopeful along the campaign trail to May is passing the two turn test. With distance in mind, owners and trainers are looking for their nominees to stretch their legs, embrace the debate that comes in the form of traffic and find ways to grind out a hard-earned victory. At Oaklawn Park in the GII Rebel Stakes on Sunday, WinStar, First Go Racing and CHC Inc. owned colt Class President (Uncle Mo--Top Quality, by Quality Road) proved best at the wire as...

Only Todd Pletcher could lose the prohibitive early favorite for the GI Kentucky Derby and the 2-year-old champion in Ted Noffey (Into Mischief) and still be stocked with talented horses that are on the road to the first leg of the Triple Crown. Pletcher has GIII Holy Bull Stakes winner Nearly, Sam F. Davis Stakes winner Renegade (Into Mischief) and recent allowance winner Jackson Hole (Nyquist), who will be among the favorites for Saturday's GII Fountain of Youth Stakes at Gulfstream Park. To discuss his plethora of talented colts, their...

Dual Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse's two projected starters for the GII Rebel Stakes for 3-year-olds had their final workouts for the Mar. 1 race on a chilly Friday morning at Oaklawn, the track said in a press release on Friday. With Kylee Jordan up, Strategic Risk (Noble Bird) breezed five furlongs in 1:00 just after the track opened for training. Following a surface renovation break roughly two hours later, Silent Tactic (Tacitus) covered a half-mile in :47.40 under two-time Oaklawn riding champion Cristian Torres. The track was fast....

GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity runner-up Blackout Time (Not This Time) is on track to kick off his 3-year-old season in the GII Rebel Stakes Mar. 1 at Oaklawn Park, according to co-owner Lance Gasaway Saturday morning. Unraced since that second-place finish behind juvenile champion MGISW Ted Noffey (Into Mischief) at Keeneland, he had been entered in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile but was scratched by the regulatory vet because of an alleged soundness issue. Blackout Time returned to the worktab Jan. 23 at Fair Grounds and after a couple works...

Lonnie Briley's first starter at Churchill Downs came three years ago in the Kentucky Juvenile Stakes on the Thursday of Derby week. Although his trainee Cool Spirit (Mor Spirit) broke a step slow and finished last, the experience left Briley with lasting memories of Louisville. "I tell you, when the horses took off running, it was like there was an airplane taking off," Briley recalled with a soft-spoken Cajun drawl. "It was like a big roar, like the bleachers could come off the ground. It was the first time I've...

Watch out for the "Little Guy." Sold for just $70,000 at a yearling sale in Texas, owned by a grocery store owner from Alabama who has had just a few horses and trained by a veteran who had never won a graded stakes race before last weekend, Coal Battle (Coal Front) isn't exactly your typical GI Kentucky Derby horse. But the son Coal Front did it again last week, winning the GII Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn. Having also won the Smarty Jones Stakes, he is obviously for real. To talk...

Racing at Oaklawn Park has been cancelled for Saturday, it was announced Friday evening. The GII Rebel Stakes card remains on schedule for Sunday with first post at 12:00 p.m., gates and infield open at 10:30 a.m. The Monday card will also run as scheduled, first post 12:30 p.m., gates open at 11:00 a.m. There was a winter storm in the Hot Springs area earlier this week.