Arkansas Derby

Oaklawn Park • Hot Springs, AR, USA 100-50-25-15-10
March 28, 2026

When is the Arkansas Derby?

The $1.5 million Arkansas Derby (G1) at Oaklawn Park serves as a critical Kentucky Derby qualifier, offering 100 points to the winner. Renegade, trained by Todd Pletcher, enters as the 3-2 favorite following a win in the Sam F. Davis. As the only horse in the field with experience at the 1 1/8-mile distance, Renegade is the pick for jockey Irad Ortiz Jr., who notably passed up a mount in the Florida Derby to stay aboard.

Strong challengers include Silent Tactic, the consistent Mark Casse trainee who narrowly missed in the Rebel (G2), and Bob Baffert’s Litmus Test, who looks for a rebound with a gear change (blinkers off). Longshots to watch include the lightly raced Taptastic, trained by Steve Asmussen, and Blackout Time, who aims to improve in his second start off a layoff.

Post time is Saturday at 7:48 p.m. ET.


Arkansas Derby Race History 

Most Kentucky Derby prep races exist primarily to serve as steppingstones toward the Run for the Roses. The historic Arkansas Derby (G1) technically serves the same purpose, but the 1 1⁄8-mile race is also an important race in its own right, cranking out elite racehorses with stunning regularity.

Held at Oaklawn Park, the Arkansas Derby received its inaugural running in 1936, 100 years after Arkansas achieved statehood. The “Arkansas Centennial Derby” awarded a purse of just $4,110 to the victorious Holl Image, who would race 155 times over the course of eight seasons.

From these humble beginnings, the Arkansas Derby underwent a slow ascent. Although the race achieved Grade 1 status for the first time in 1981, it didn’t produce a Kentucky Derby (G1) winner until 1983, when Sunny’s Halo managed to sweep both races during a productive spring campaign. The following year, the filly Althea scored a memorable victory, beating males in the still-standing stakes-record time of 1:46.80.

Over the next two decades, Tank’s Prospect (1985), Pine Bluff (1992), and Victory Gallop (1998) all parlayed Arkansas Derby victories into career-defining triumphs in Triple Crown races, while Arkansas Derby runners-up Lil E. Tee (1992) and Grindstone (1996) went on to win the Kentucky Derby. But it was Smarty Jones (2004) who propelled Oaklawn’s signature race into a new era. After cruising to victory in the first Arkansas Derby worth $1 million, Smarty Jones added wins in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness (G1) to his championship resume.

Since then, the rise of the Arkansas Derby has been swift and steady. Case in point? The first two decades of the 2000s saw the Arkansas Derby produce champions and/or classic winners Afleet Alex (2005), Lawyer Ron (2006), Curlin (2007), Summer Bird (2009), Super Saver (2010), Oxbow (2013), American Pharoah (2015), Creator (2016), Whitmore (2016), Classic Empire (2017), Country House (2019), and Improbable (2019).

Thanks to this eye-catching record of productivity, the Arkansas Derby understandably ranks as a top-tier Kentucky Derby prep race awarding qualification points on a 100-50-25-15-10 basis to the top four finishers. Between 1980 and 2023, a span of 44 years, the Arkansas Derby produced 116 Kentucky Derby starters, averaging nearly three per year.

With its Grade 1 status and seven-figure purse, you can bet the Arkansas Derby will remain a key Kentucky Derby prep race for years to come.

By J. Keeler Johnson/TwinSpires.com

Results

Win

Place

Show

6

Renegade100

$4

$2.60

$2.20

2

Silent Tactic50

$2.60

5

Taptastic25

$3.80

4

Bricklin15

3

Blackout Time10

Payouts

Exacta

6.60

6/2

Trifecta

27.95

6/2/5

Superfecta

47.19

6/2/5/4

Double

45.80

3/6

Pick-3

118.00

67/3/67

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Entries

Jockey

Owner

Trainer

Current odds

Wagers

1

Redland Rebels

Asmussen, Keith J.

Calypso Racing Stables 2022, LLC

Biancone, Patrick L.

15/1

2

Silent Tactic

Torres, Cristian A.

John C. Oxley

Casse, Mark E.

5/2

3

Blackout Time

Hernandez Jr., Brian Joseph

BR Thoroughbreds, Inc., Gasaway, Lance and Magdalena Racing

McPeek, Kenneth G.

6/1

4

Bricklin

Torres, Jaime A.

Imagine Racing

Brisset, Rodolphe

20/1

5

Taptastic

Asmussen, Erik

Winchell Thoroughbreds LLC and Stonestreet Stables LLC

Asmussen, Steven M.

20/1

6

Renegade

Ortiz Jr., Irad

Low, Robert, Low, Lawana L. and Repole Stable

Pletcher, Todd A.

3/2

7

Napoleon Solo

Carmouche, Kendrick

Gold Square LLC

Summers, Chad

6/1

8

Exosome

Beschizza, Adam

NBS Stable

Danner, Kelsey

20/1

9

Litmus Test

Arrieta, Francisco

SF Racing LLC, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables LLC, Stonestreet Stables LLC, Bashor, Dianne, Determined Stables, Golconda Stable, Waves Edge Capital LLC and Donovan, Catherine

Baffert, Bob

5/1

Road to the Kentucky Derby

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April 11, 2026

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Points: 20-10-6-4-2

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