- Arkansas Derby
Horseraces infobox
class = Grade II
horse race = Arkansas Derby
caption =
location =Oaklawn Park Race Track Hot Springs, Arkansas , USA
inaugurated = 1936
race type = Thoroughbred
website = [http://www.oaklawn.com/ Oaklawn Jockey Club, Inc.]
distance = 1⅛ miles (9 furlongs)
track = Dirt, Right-handed
qualification = Three-year-olds
weight = Colt/Gelding : 126 lbs (57.2 kg)Filly : 121 lbs. (54.9 kg)
purse = US$1,000,000
bonuses = The Arkansas Derby is an AmericanThoroughbred horse race held in April atOaklawn Park inHot Springs, Arkansas .The Arkansas Derby is open to three-year-olds willing to race one and one-eighth miles (9
furlong s) on the dirt. A Grade II stakes race, it offers a purse of $1,000,000.The inaugural Arkansas Derby in 1936 offered a total purse of $5,000. The first winner was Holl Image, owned and trained by Jack Carter.
Past winners have gone on to win
American Classic Races such as 1980 winnerTemperence Hill and 1998'sVictory Gallop who both went on to capture theBelmont Stakes , plusSunny's Halo won the 1983Kentucky Derby as didSmarty Jones in 2004, andElocutionist (1976),Tank's Prospect (1985), and Pine Bluff (1992) all won thePreakness Stakes . The 1994 winner, Concern, won that year'sBreeders' Cup Classic .In 2004,
Oaklawn Park offered a $5 million bonus to any horse that could sweep the Oaklawn three-year-old graded stakes schedule:Rebel Stakes and the Arkansas Derby, and then take theKentucky Derby . This helped increased particiaption from the top three-year-olds in the country to the point where the winners of four of the last nine Triple Crown races won the Arkansas Derby.Smarty Jones captured this feat the same year it was introduced.The race was run in two divisions in 1960.
Records
Speed record:
* 1:46.80 - Althea (1984)Most wins by a
jockey :
* 3 -Pat Day (1986, 1987, 1997)Most wins by a trainer:
* Eleven trainers have won this race twice.Most wins by an owner:
* 3 -Loblolly Stable (1980, 1987, 1992)Winners of the Arkansas Derby
+ Valhol finished first in 1999 but was relegated to last place following a Stewards' Inquiry.
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
