HOT SPRINGS — The name is obviously special to Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert.
Whether his lightly raced colt is special enough to overcome several hurdles remains to be seen.
Bodemeister could answer those questions in today’s $1 million Grade I Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park, a 1 1/8-mile race that is the centerpiece of the track’s closing-day program.
Probable post time for the Arkansas Derby, the 11th of 12 live races, is 5:45 p.m. Gates open at 10 a.m, and racing begins at noon.
The infield is scheduled to be open as temperatures are expected to reach 80 degrees under partly cloudy skies.
The Arkansas Derby will be telecast live by CNBC. HRTV will also provide live on-site coverage.
In addition to the Arkansas Derby, today’s card includes the $400,000 Grade II Oaklawn Handicap, the $250,000 Grade III Count Fleet Sprint Handicap and the $100,000 Northern Spur Stakes.
Total purse distribution of more than $2 million today is a one-day Oaklawn record.
A field of 11 is entered in the 76th Arkansas Derby, one of the country’s most important Kentucky Derby prep races.
For several horses, notably Bodemeister, the Arkansas Derby is likely an all-ornothing proposition on the road to Churchill Downs.
Named after Baffert’s 7-year-old son Bode, Bodemeister will likely have to win the Arkansas Derby — first place is $600,000 — to run in the Kentucky Derby on May 5.
“My son likes the name, but that’s not important,” said Baffert, who trains Bodemeister for Ahmed Zayat. “What’s important is getting to the big one with him.”
Although Bodemeister is still eligible for a first-level allowance race, Oaklawn linemaker Russ Ramstad installed him as the 9-5 program favorite over, among others, Secret Circle, Baffert’s twotime graded stakes winner in Hot Springs.
Ramstad said his opinion on how the public will wager was based on Bodemeister being the 2-1 favorite against Creative Cause, who as the 4-5 favorite was beaten a nose in last Saturday’s $750,000 Grade I Santa Anita Derby at Santa Anita in suburban Los Angeles.
Bodemeister and Secret Circle were flown from Baffert’s Southern California base to Hot Springs on Tuesday. But the buzz followed Bodemeister, who will be making just his fourth career start today.
“They all keep telling me, he’s the one,” Oaklawn racing secretary Pat Pope said. “We’ll see.”
After Bodemeister recorded a 6-furlong bullet workout (1:10.40) on April 2 at Santa Anita, HRTV analyst Jeff Siegel also gave the son of Empire Maker a strong endorsement through a message on Twitter.
“… easy early, powerful late,” Siegel wrote after the work. “Needs graded cash, no issue if he wins Ark. Derby — and he will.”
Siegel said Friday morning he still has confidence in Bodemeister but called the Arkansas Derby a “tough race” and said tracks simply don’t give away $1 million.
Siegel also noted Bodemeister was originally being pointed for the Santa Anita Derby, is breaking from post 11, is switching from jockey Rafael Bejarano to Mike Smith, and will be racing without blinkers for the first time.
“So there’s a lot of different things at work here,” said Siegel, part of HRTV’s live on-site coverage team. “Then there’s the shipping. We don’t know how he’ll take to this track, so it’s no slam-dunk. What makes it intriguing for Bodemeister is I know they have hopes and dreams of the Kentucky Derby, but he has no margin for error here. It’s either win or go home.”
That’s because Bodemeister has only $60,000 in graded stakes earnings.
If more than 20 horses enter the Kentucky Derby, starting preference is given to horses with the highest earnings in graded stakes races.
Even a $200,000 secondplace check, Siegel said, leaves the blaze-faced Bodemeister in a tenuous position.
“The pressure’s on,” Siegel said. “It’s more than a prep. It’s a playoff game for him.”
Sports, Pages 17 on 04/14/2012