Arkansas Derby
  • Stakes: Grade II for 3-year-old thoroughbreds and fillies
  • Distance: 1 1/8 miles
  • Track: Dirt
  • Purse: $1,000,000

The Racing Festival of the South culminates with the annual Arkansas Derby race. Horse racing fans are eager to see if the next Oaklawn Park champ will finally bring home the Triple Crown trophy.

The Arkansas Derby is the second leg of the Big 3 Pick 3, a $1 minimum national wager where horse bettors will try to pick the winner of three important prep races for three-year-olds planning on running in the Kentucky Derby and the prestigious Triple Crown.

Two favorite horses in recent years, Smarty Jones and Afleet Alex, both captured the Arkansas Derby and finished their careers as top three-year-olds.

The Arkansas Derby has really gained in stature because of this, keeping its reputation as a vital race for any Kentucky Derby and Triple Crown hopeful.

The race is being held at Oaklawn Park, which was incorporated in 1904 and one of the select few that features the finest in live thoroughbred horse racing in America.


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Horse Racing News
Gayego joins Preakness lineup
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Gayego, who finished 17th in the Derby on May 3, was added to the Preakness field Tuesday. He will be the only one of the 19 horses beaten by Big Brown in the Derby to seek a rematch Saturday at Pimlico Race Course.
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Playing the odds with Big Brown
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
A short price in the Preakness could be good news for Big Brown. Post-time favorites have captured 68 of 133 runnings of the middle jewel of Triple Crown, a race run in two divisions in 1918.
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Jockey Club creates safety committee to study equine health
Thursday, May 08, 2008
The Jockey Club has formed a committee to study equine health, including track safety and the rules of racing, five days after the death of the filly Eight Belles at the Kentucky Derby.
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