$2.25 Million In Purses, Post Positions Are Drawn For The Florida And Arkansas Derbies

Exactly five hundred-point win-and-you’re-in races remain on the Road to the Kentucky Derby, two of which beckon (no jokes here) on April 1, namely, the Florida and Arkansas derbies at Gulfstream and Oaklawn Park respectively, garlanded with their invitations to enter the big show at Churchill come May. Post positions for both high-stakes preps were drawn on 27 March, and the trainers and their athletes are girding for battle. The Florida Derby post time is 6:40 p.m. EDT in Hallandale, and the Arkansas Derby shoots off an hour later, at 7:40 EDT (6:40 p.m. CDT) in Hot Springs. Proof of the marketing care being given to and the success being had by Churchill’s staging of the Road to the Kentucky Derby, CNBC will broadcast from Hallandale; Fox Sports will be on duty in Hot Springs.

Of course, that’s not all: It looks from the standings as if there’s going to be a rather fuzzy, slightly forgiving 30-point cutoff this year, so that the place and show horses in those races — who stand to earn 50 and 30 points respectively — will at least put themselves in position give their connections the opportunity to wrestle with whether they should enter. And: There are a couple of “wild card” chances to eke out qualifying for an invite in the New Mexico’s Sunland Derby on Saturday, offering as it does 50 Derby points to the winner and 20 to the place horse, as well as a chance for a 30-point win for British runners at Chelmsford City on Saturday.

In a word, spring has sprung for the Derby Class of 2023.

Before we get into the particulars of the April 1 and April 8 hundred-point battles, herewith, the post position draws for the Florida and Arkansas derbies.

Florida Derby: Post position, Horse, Trainer, Jockey, Morning Line

1. Bourbon Bash, D. Wayne Lukas, Reylu Gutierrez, 15-1

2. Interlock Empire, Kenny McPeek, David Cabrera, 20-1

3. Harlocap, Steve Asmussen, Ricardo Santana Jr., 15-1

4. Two Eagles River, Chris Hartman, Nik Juarez, 10-1

5. Airtime, Robertino Diodoro, Cristian Torres, 15-1

6. Angel of Empire, Brad Cox, Flavien Prat, 9-2

7. Rocket Can, Bill Mott, Junior Alvarado, 4-1

8. Reincarnate, Tim Yakteen, John Velazquez, 5-2

9. King Russell, Ron Moquett, Rafael Bejarano, 30-1

10. Red Route One, Steve Asmussen, Tyler Gaffalione, 3-1

11. Kolomio, Keith Desormeaux, James Graham, 30-1

Notable in these really entertaining fields are the trainers with more than one horse, most notably, the irrepressible Barbadian trainer, Saffie Joseph Jr., with no less than four runners from his stable in the Hots Springs run, Steve Asmussen, with two horses at Gulfstream, trainers William Mott and Tim Yakteen each with one in Florida and one in Arkansas. In a word, the horsemen are gunning for the brass ring — an excellent index for the health of the sport. As notable, the Derby-winning Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher has only one running this weekend, famous for running more than one horse at Churchill in May, has just one horse running this weekend, but that is the formidable Forte, in Hot Springs. As ever, any horse trained by Pletcher in any Kentucky Derby prep is by definition a horse to watch, and Forte certainly will fit that bill on Saturday.

(Arkansas Derby: Post Position, Horse, Trainer, Jockey, Morning Line)

1. Jungfrau, Bill Mott, Paco Lopez, 20-1

2. West Coast Cowboy, Saffie Joseph Jr., Sonny Leon, 20-1

3. Shaq Diesel, Renaldo Richards, Miguel Vasquez, 30-1

4. Mage, Gustavo Delgado, Luis Saez, 10-1

5. Mr. Peeks, Saffie Joseph Jr., Edwin Gonzalez, 30-1

6. Nautical Star, Saffie Joseph Jr., Leonel Reyes, 30-1

7. Il Miracolo, Antonio Sano, Jesus Rios, 30-1

8. Mr. Ripple, Saffie Joseph Jr., Edgard Zayas, 30-1

9. Cyclone Mischief, Dale Romans, Javier Castellano, 8-1

10. Fort Bragg, Tim Yakteen, Joel Rosario, 5-1

11. Forte, Todd Pletcher, Irad Ortiz Jr., 4-5

12. Dubyuhnell, Danny Gargan, Jose Ortiz, 6-1