HOT SPRINGS -- Only the rarest of post-position draws get special attention. Except for one minor adjustment, the draw for the Grade II $900,000 Rebel Stakes was conducted the same as the $12,500 claiming race on Saturday's racing card at Oaklawn Park.
A handful of women and two dozen middle-aged men sat at tables in Oaklawn's racing office at lunchtime Wednesday. They were there to file paperwork, gather data, vent complaints, discuss their NCAA Tournament brackets and, for a few, find where their or their connections' entrants would line up for this weekend's Rebel, a race of major significance on the Road to the Kentucky Derby. It is surpassed at Oaklawn only by the Arkansas Derby, scheduled for April 15.
Two trainers with probable Rebel starters appeared. Of those, only Randy Morse remained for the draw. He said he was relatively indifferent which post was assigned his trainee, Silver Dust, who finished fourth in Oaklawn's Southwest Stakes on Feb. 20.
As is typical, director of horsemen's relations Debra Lokanc drew post-position numbers from an opaque plastic bottle to match with horse names drawn by stakes coordinator Lenny Rera in the double-blind draw. For the Rebel, director of operations Jason Milligan was summoned to shake the bottle used earlier by Lokanc.
With the draw, Morse learned Silver Dust would start from the eighth gate in the 11-horse field.
"That's fine," Morse said. "He likes to come from back anyway, so it doesn't really matter."
Trainer John Sherriffs traveled from his base in California with Royal Mo, a son of Uncle Mo and winner of Santa Anita Park's Grade III Robert B. Lewis Stakes on Feb. 4.
Sherriffs trained Giacomo to victory in the 2007 Kentucky Derby, but he is best known for the performances of Hall of Famer Zenyatta, who won the Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic in 2008 and Classic in 2009, and won Oaklawn's Apple Blossom Handicap in 2008 and 2010.
Two hours before the draw, Sherriffs stood in a hallway near the racing office and said he usually had just two hopes from post draws.
"The draw is always somewhat important," Sherriffs said. "Generally speaking, you want a horse inside of you and you want a horse outside of you, which helps the horse go straight. It's not a big deal. I mean, it's always nice to have a horse in the middle. Then the horse has enough time to settle, to get his feet planted before they spring the latch."
Sherriffs got his wish, though barely. Royal Mo will start from the 10th post position, just inside of Lookin At Lee, a Steve Asmussen trainee who finished 11 lengths back in third in the Southwest.
At a glance
REBEL STAKES POST POSITIONS
A look at the field for Saturday’s $900,000 Grade II Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs:
PP HORSE JOCKEY
1 Silver Bullion R. Vazquez
2 Uncontested C. Hill
3 Sonneteer R. Eramia
4 Petrov J. Ortiz
5 Untrapped I. Ortiz, Jr.
6 Malagacy J. Castellano
7 American Anthem M. Smith
8 Silver Dust C. Lanerie
9 Appalachian Gem G. Stevens
10 Royal Mo V. Espinoza
11 Lookin At Lee R. Santana, Jr.
Sports on 03/16/2017