2025 Arkansas Derby Betting Odds and Contenders Preview

The Oaklawn series of Road to the Kentucky Derby preps draws to a close on Saturday, March 29, with the Grade 1, $1.5 million Arkansas Derby. With one of the biggest purses of the year in the whole three-year-old division, as well as 100-50-25-15-10 Road to the Kentucky Derby points available for the top five finishers, this 1 ⅛-mile dirt race perennially has an impact on the Run for the Roses. In fact, 2024 Kentucky Derby Mystik Dan came out of a third-place finish in this very race!

The 2025 edition of the race drew a field of nine, including Rebel (G2) winner Coal Battle, Southwest (G3) winner Speed King, and up-and-coming Bob Baffert trainee Cornucopian. The top two horses in the race earn enough points to virtually guarantee a spot in the Kentucky Derby, and others may end up at Churchill Downs if they have another good prep effort or two.

The Arkansas Derby is the fourth and final leg of the Kentucky Derby prep series in Hot Springs. They started with the Smarty Jones on January 4, and continued with the Southwest on January 25 and the Rebel on February 23. Three horses have gone on to win the Kentucky Derby after winning the Arkansas Derby: Sunny’s Halo (1983), Smarty Jones (2004), and Triple Crown winner American Pharoah (2015).

Arkansas Derby 2025 Information

• Race Date: Saturday, March 29, 2025
• Track: Oaklawn
• Post Time: 6:48 p.m. Central Standard Time
• Distance: 1 1/8 miles
• Age/Sex: three-year-olds
• Where to Watch: FanDuel TV, CNBC, Peacock
• Where to Bet: FanDuel Racing

Arkansas Derby Odds

This is the field for the 2025 Arkansas Derby, including post positions, trainers, jockeys, and morning-line odds for each horse.

Arkansas Derby Prep Results

Every entrant in the Arkansas Derby most recently ran at Oaklawn. Over half of the field, five of the nine runners, come into the Arkansas Derby out of the local prep, the Rebel Stakes. Coal Battle, the winner, leads this group. Though second-place Madaket Road heads off to Gulfstream for the Florida Derby instead, others from the Rebel who do stay in Hot Springs include third-place Sandman, fourth-place Publisher, eighth-place Brereton’s Baytown, and tenth-place Speed King.

One other comes out of a stakes race, in fact another Kentucky Derby points race at Oaklawn. Monet’s Magic has freshened since running fifth behind Speed King in the Southwest.

The other three runners come out of non-stakes races in Hot Springs. Bestfriend Rocket and First Division ran 1-2 in a 1 1/16-mile allowance race on February 23; Bestfriend Rocket won it in stalking fashion, holding off a late run from slow-starting First Division. Cornucopian, the morning-line favorite, is also the only horse who hasn’t faced winners yet: his only start was a gate-to-wire victory in a maiden special weight sprint at Oaklawn on February 23.

Arkansas Derby Contenders

These are the contenders in the 2025 Arkansas Derby, organized by post position:

1. Brereton’s Baytown: With 10 starts, he is the most experienced horse in the field. However, he has a lot of class to prove: his only wins came in a maiden race at Charles Town and a claimer at Laurel. He was never a factor in the Rebel, his only try on the Kentucky Derby trail; he trailed near the rear of the field and clunked past a few late to run eighth, but was still double-digit lengths behind Coal Battle.
2. First Division: He graduated on debut in an optional-claiming maiden race; to his credit, he was protected that day due to his modest $15,000 sale price at auction, which was well under the $75,000 auction condition. Since then, he hasn’t won in conventional allowance company, though both of his starts have been good: he rallied for third two starts back, and second last out. He probably needs a pace collapse to be a win candidate, something he is unlikely to get in this. But, if he takes a step forward, perhaps he can round out a trifecta or a superfecta at a price, as he has made a late run in every start so far.
3. Publisher: This Steve Asmussen trainee is still a maiden; the closest he has come to a score was a second-place finish in a muddy maiden special weight at Oaklawn in December. However, he ran credibly in both the Southwest and the Rebel, especially given the trouble he had in both. It’s also worth noting that Steve Asmussen is catching a heater with big races: last week he upset the Louisiana Derby (G2) with Tiztastic, and won both the Essex (G3) with Red Route One and the Whitmore (G3) with Booth at Oaklawn last week.
4. Bestfriend Rocket: He steps up into stakes company for the first time in the Arkansas Derby, but has been in good recent form, winning three of his last four. Though this son of Curlin found his footing on the mid-Atlantic circuit with Brittany Russell, he proved his mettle at Oaklawn last out in an allowance, outslugging First Division to win on March 2. He will have to step forward in this, but between his tactical speed, his wet-track form, and his trainer D. Wayne Lukas’ ability to pull rabbits out of hats (and the fact that Lukas is running hot at Oaklawn this season), there’s appeal.
5. Speed King: After four starts, it looks like Speed King is a speed horse after all. He has three excellent outings, including a second in the Springboard Mile and a win in the Southwest, when he has gotten the lead. He didn’t get the lead in the Rebel, and he came up totally empty. There aren’t a lot of speed horses … though his hope is that Cornucopian somehow botches the break, because if that one runs back to his debut maiden win, Speed King probably does not make the top.
6. Sandman: He has shown a lot of talent, and even the ability to stay interested if he doesn’t break the best. However, he has often left himself with too much to do, and had to settle for underneath shares of the points in all four Kentucky Derby preps he has run in. It’s also a question of how much pace he will actually get in this race, without a whole lot of front-end gas other than Cornucopian and Speed King. (Basically, he is hoping Bestfriend Rocket really pushes the issue with them.) All in all, he is a solid choice underneath but will be an underlay to win.
7. Monet’s Magic: It took him five tries to get off the mark, but he graduated at Churchill Downs three back and followed up with a score in the Oaklawn mud two back. The ability to handle mud is a plus, with a wet forecast for Saturday, though there are questions. He split the field in the Southwest; though he had some trouble on the far turn, giving him some excuse, he still has significant improvement to find first off a freshening in order to be a real threat here. The fact that a sharp early pace is unlikely also weighs against him.
8. Coal Battle: Coal Battle has been a great surprise on the Derby trail: he started his career in a washed-off sprint at Evangeline, but has gone on to win four straight stakes races, including both the Smarty Jones and the Rebel at Oaklawn. He can win on the pace or from off of it; with the likes of Cornucopian and Speed King here, expect him to tap into that off-pace style. His consistency, versatility, experience, and proven ability on wet tracks make him a serious contender.
9. Cornucopian: The morning-line favorite, he was a buzz horse before he ever loaded in the starting gate on race day. Bet down to 7-10 odds for his debut February 23, this Bob Baffert trainee came out well, set the pace, and cleared off to win by 5 ¾ lengths in a maiden sprint at Oaklawn about a month ago. If he shows the same kind of speed again, he is dangerous, as there may not be anyone fast enough to keep him honest early, and this half-sibling to Guarana and Beatbox should be able to handle the stretch out to two turns.

Arkansas Derby Past Winners Past Performances

Among the 11 Arkansas Derby winners in the last 10 years (there were two divisions in 2020), the Rebel has been the most important prep race. Five of those 11 winners came straight out of the Rebel. Magnum Moon (2018), Omaha Beach (2019), and Nadal (2020) won it, while Creator (2016) was third and Super Stock (2021) was fourth.

Two others came out of points races at other tracks. Classic Empire (2017) was second in the Holy Bull (G2), while Angel of Empire (2023) shipped to Arkansas out of a victory in the Risen Star (G2). One came out of a stakes race that did not offer points: Muth (2024) won the seven-furlong San Vicente (G2) at Santa Anita in January, then resurfaced in the Arkansas Derby.

The other three recent winners came out of allowance races. Cyberknife (2022) came out of an allowance win at Fair Grounds, and Danza (2014) was third in an allowance at Gulfstream, though both had previous graded experience. Charlatan (2020), who came out of a Santa Anita allowance win, was the only winner in the last ten years who made his graded debut in the Arkansas Derby.

Arkansas Derby Undercard

The Arkansas Derby is the 13th of 14 races on Saturday’s massive Oaklawn racing program. The card features five other stakes races, including a 100-point Road to the Kentucky Oaks prep, the $750,000 Fantasy (G3). Other stakes on the program include the $500,000 Oaklawn Mile (G3) for older dirt milers, the $250,000 Matron for older female dirt sprinters, and the $145,000 American Pharoah Overnight Stakes for older two-turn dirt horses.

With six- and seven-figure purses all day long, not just in Arkansas but also in major races like the Florida Derby (G1), Saturday is one of the biggest racing days of the season. Watch all day at FanDuel TV, and get your bets down online through FanDuel!

Oaklawn Park History

Back in 1905, the Hot Springs Mayor declared a half-day holiday for the opening of Oaklawn Park, with over 3,000 people attending the track on its first day of horse racing. The holiday heralded the beginning of a tradition that has lasted for over a century!

Due to political issues, no racing took place at Oaklawn Park between 1907 and 1916, but after a sustained period of action, the now-famous Arkansas Derby was inaugurated in 1936 with a purse of $5,000 offered to entrants.

By 1952, Oaklawn Park could boast daily attendances of almost 8,000 people and an average daily handle of well over $400,000, figures which rose by the turn of the decade to 10,000 and $500,000, respectively, with the Arkansas Derby purse increasing to $50,000 by 1965.

The track continued to go from strength to strength, and during a 50-day meeting in 1970, an average of 11,000 people were attending daily, with over $43,000,000 wagered over the course of the meet.

In the mid-70s, Oaklawn gave birth to the Racing Festival of the South, with pari-mutuel wagering amounting to a cool $80,000,000 that season, and by the 80s, over a quarter of a million people were attending the festival each year. By then, the purse for the Arkansas Derby was up at $500,000, and a new single-day attendance record was set with 71,000 showing up to see Rampage win the big race in 1986.

Ten years later, Arkansas Derby day saw a total handle of over $10.5 million, and by the turn of the millennium, Oaklawn was still seeing increases in attendance and wagering, meaning the track stands as one of the most thriving horse racing scenes in the country at present.

Arkansas Derby FAQ

Q: When is the Arkansas Derby?

A: The 2025 Arkansas Derby will be run Saturday, March 29 at 6:48 p.m. Central Daylight Time. It is the 12th of 13 races on the day.

Q: Where is the Arkansas Derby?

A: It takes place at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Arkansas

Q: Which trainer has the most wins in the Arkansas Derby?

A: Todd Pletcher and Bob Baffert are the joint leaders with five Arkansas Derby wins apiece. Pletcher does not have a runner in 2025, though Baffert can take the lead for himself if morning-line favorite Cornucopian obliges.

Q: Who is the favorite for the 2025 Arkansas Derby?

A: Off of a very fast local maiden win, Cornucopian is the favorite for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert. Given that victory, his trainer’s profile, and his sharp early speed, Cornucopian will probably hold as the favorite.

Q: Who is the best Arkansas Derby jockey?

A: Mike Smith and Pat Day lead all riders with three wins each. Day is retired, and Smith does not have a call in the 2025 edition. Rafael Bejarano has two wins with Papa Clem (2009) and Overanalyze (2013), and can tie Smith and Day if he wins in 2025 with Speed King.

Q: Who won the 2024 Arkansas Derby?

A: Muth won the 2024 Arkansas Derby for trainer Bob Baffert and jockey Juan Hernandez. Hernandez does not have a call in the 2025 edition, but Baffert sends out morning-line favorite Cornucopian with jockey John Velazquez.

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