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Arkansas Derby 2021: TV Schedule, Post Positions, Odds, Contenders and More
April 9, 2021
Concert Tour has one final stakes race to impress before the Kentucky Derby.
The Bob Baffert-trained horse is the favorite to capture Saturday's Arkansas Derby, which is the final major race before the Triple Crown quest begins May 1. Concert Tour is one of two Baffert horses in the six-strong field. The other one is Hozier, who is the second favorite on the starting grid.
Concert Tour and Hozier have an opportunity to shine one week after Essential Quality, another potential Kentucky Derby favorite, triumphed at the Blue Grass Stakes.
Arkansas Derby Information
Date: Saturday, April 10
TV: NBCSN (7 p.m. ET)
Post Positions and Odds
1. Super Stock (6-1)
2. Caddo River (7-2)
3. Hozier (3-1)
4. Get Her Number (6-1)
5. Concert Tour (Even)
6. Last Samurai (15-1)
Odds via America's Best Racing.
Contenders
Concert Tour
The expectation for the Arkansas Derby is that Concert Tour will finish first and cement his status as a Kentucky Derby favorite.
Saturday's even-money favorite enters on a three-race winning streak that began in January.
Concert Tour comes from the blood line of Street Sense, who captured the 2007 Kentucky Derby. Baffert noted that his horse has displayed the pedigree during his run, per Daily Racing Forum's Mary Rampellini.
"I think he's running to his pedigree," Baffert said. "He's got a great pedigree—and athleticism. He's always shown from Day 1 that he was pretty special. The good ones tip their hand."
Baffert has seen two of his horses win at Oaklawn Park since 2015. One was American Pharoah, who won the Triple Crown, and the other was Nadal, who was expected to be a Triple Crown contender last year before he suffered an injury.
Winning the Arkansas Derby does not mean Concert Tour will breeze to a victory at Churchill Downs. American Pharoah in 2015 was the last thoroughbred to win the Arkansas and Kentucky Derbies. Creator won the Arkansas Derby and Belmont Stakes in 2016.
Since Concert Tour is considered the favorite, anything other than a win would be viewed as a disappointment, and it may bring up some questions about his ability to challenge for the Kentucky Derby in a much larger field.
Hozier
Hozier could be the best of the rest in the field Saturday.
The other horse trained by Baffert took second behind the Arkansas Derby favorite at the Rebel Stakes in March.
In that race, Hozier recovered from a slow start to land in second and earn some momentum heading into Arkansas and Kentucky.
Hozier might be the top contender to Concert Tour, but that is not saying much given the gap in quality we have seen between Concert Tour and other horses contending for Kentucky Derby positions.
If anything, Hozier could push Concert Tour at the start and hold on for a top-three position. Such a finish feels mandatory for a horse of his caliber in the last race before he heads to Churchill Downs.