Arkansas Derby 2019: TV Schedule, Post Positions, Odds, Contenders and More

The preparation phase for this year's Triple Crown is underway, and the 2019 Arkansas Derby on Saturday promises to play a big role in determining which horses are worth keeping an eye on.

Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Arkansas, will play host to the 83rd edition of the race, which features a $1 million (£763,000) prize purse for Grade 1 honours.

Long Range Toddy is a contender for the win after taking first at the Rebel Stakes in March. His trainer, Steve Asmussen, has won the Arkansas Derby three times, most recently with 2016 Belmont Stakes winner Creator in that same year.

However, Wednesday's post position draw revealed the horse would start on the outside in 11th, which is far from ideal.

Omaha Beach was drawn in post No. 3, and the contenders could hardly believe their misfortune as favourite Improbable was placed next to the rail, per horse racing analyst Nancy Holthus:

Improbable is part of the WinStar Farm stable that also produced 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify, and the owners are hoping to become the first to have successive triumphs.

Arkansas Derby

Post Time: 7:18 p.m. EDT 

Purse: $1 million

Grade: 1

Distance: 1 ⅛ miles

TV: TVG

Post Positions, Odds

1. Improbable, 8-5

2. Six Shooter, 30-1

3. Omaha Beach, 2-1

4. Tikhvin Flew, 30-1

5. Laughing Fox, 20-1

6. Gray Attempt, 8-1

7. Galilean, 10-1

8. Country House, 12-1

9. One Flew South, 50-1

10. Jersey Agenda, 30-1

11. Long Range Toddy, 5-1

Via HorseRacingNation.com.

Preview, Contenders

The Arkansas Derby is a good indicator of which horses are worthy of making a challenge in the three biggest races of the American calendar.

The three biggest bets in the field this time around will be favourite Improbable, Omaha Beach and Long Range Toddy, though not necessarily in that order.

Trainer Bob Baffert has won the Arkansas Derby on two occasions (2012, 2015), and it was here that American Pharoah started a successful prep before winning the Triple Crown four years ago.

He returns to Oaklawn Park with another big favourite in Improbable this time and is backing the Arkansas Derby pick to bloom, per horse-racing writer Tim Wilkin:

However, Long Range Toddy beat Improbable in the first division of the Rebel Stakes on March 16 and has to be watched, even on the outside.

Both horses are already being talked about as early Kentucky Derby contenders, per Odds Shark:

Long Range Toddy has never finished outside the podium places and has won three of his five career races, though the Rebel Stakes was his first at Grade 2.

Omaha Beach won in the other division of the Rebel Stakes and has also never finished outside the top three, gathering his own following among three-year-olds worth watching.

Horse scout Larry Zap posted footage of the colt exercising well and hailed him as a pick for the Kentucky:

Asmussen has three other horses in the Arkansas Derby—Jersey Agenda, Laughing Fox and Tikhvin Flew—and is the only trainer with more than one entry.