Arkansas Derby 2016: TV Schedule, Post Positions, Odds, Contenders and More
The Arkansas Derby from Oaklawn Park on Saturday will be giving out some big Kentucky Derby points for its winner and runner-up.
A trip to Churchill Downs will be all but guaranteed for the horses that finish in those two spots, as points are rewarded on a 100-40-20-10 scale, according to Jonathan Lintner of the Courier-Journal.
Fans who want to watch the 1 ⅛-mile race can find it on TVG, as we take a look at post positions and odds, per Oddschecker.com:
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| 1 | Discreetness | 33-1 |
| 2 | Cutacorner | 50-1 |
| 3 | Creator | 9-1 |
| 4 | Suddenbreakingnews | 11-2 |
| 5 | American Pioneer | 9-1 |
| 6 | Unbridled Outlaw | 20-1 |
| 7 | Dazzling Gem | 11-1 |
| 8 | Whitmore | 9-2 |
| 9 | Luna de Loco | 33-1 |
| 10 | Cupid | 7-4 |
| 11 | Gray Sky | 25-1 |
| 12 | Gettysburg | 10-1 |
Contenders
It looks like the Arkansas Derby will be a two-horse race between Cupid and Whitmore.
Whitmore needs the points a bit more than Cupid—the latter is in 11th in the points standings, compared to the former's 23rd-place standing.
Cupid, who is trained by American Pharoah trainer Bob Baffert, will look to win a second straight race at Oaklawn after winning the Grade II Rebel Stakes on March 19.
It just so happens that Cupid's Rebel Stakes win came at the expense of Whitmore, who saw his final-stretch surge staved off by the Baffert-trained horse:
If Cupid is able to pull off the sweep at Oaklawn, it will be a great omen. Last year, American Pharoah won both the Rebel Stakes and Arkansas Derby before going on his historic Triple Crown run.
There's no love lost between the two horses' trainers in Baffert and Ron Moquett, who spoke with a tinge of sarcasm while dealing with food poisoning after the Rebel Stakes, per Lintner:
"I'm sick of Baffert. As bad as I felt all day and night, I'm more sick of Bob Baffert. That horse was able to get his second quarter in 24 seconds. These caliber of horses don't come back from that. When you're a $900,000 Tapit, bred to be what he is, they don't back up. You give them a 24-second quarter ... nobody went with him. I thought somebody would go with him.
"
No matter his feelings toward Baffert, it won't translate to Whitmore on the track, who will need a strong showing if he wants to clinch his spot at the Kentucky Derby.
Picking up a win over Cupid could also send a message to the horse racing world that people should take Moquett and Whitmore a bit more seriously heading into May.
Stats courtesy of Equibase.com.
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