HOT SPRINGS -- There is seldom a consensus among horsemen, but an exception comes today at Oaklawn Park.
Two former racetrack associates, currently aligned with different camps, sound united in their opinions concerning the quality of the $900,000 Grade II Rebel Stakes, Oaklawn's third of four races on the Road to the Kentucky Derby.
Of the 11 horses entered, six are trained by five men -- Bob Baffert, D. Wayne Lukas, Todd Pletcher, Jack Van Berg and Steve Asmussen -- already inducted into the National Racing Hall of Fame.
Two of the entrants will be ridden by jockeys in the Hall of Fame, Mike Smith and Gary Stevens, and a third is ridden by Victor Espinoza, the man who rode American Pharoah to the Triple Crown in 2015, ending a 37-year drought.
Two other jockeys -- Jose Ortiz Jr. and Javier Castellano -- rank second and third nationally in money earnings this year, behind none other than Smith.
Leave it to locally based trainer Ron Moquett to put the collection of racing stars and horse talent assembled into perspective.
"I like my horse, and I think if we get a good trip, we'll win," said Moquett, who has 9-2 co-third choice Petrov. "But, having said that, you bring in Bob Baffert with a Bodemeister colt, and he's in everybody's Top Three in the country.
"You got Todd Pletcher coming in from Florida with a Super Saver type and John Shirreffs coming with a graded stakes winner.
"Then you got Uncontested, who set the Smarty Jones Stakes record. I mean, you got Untrapped. If he was at the Fair Grounds, he'd be the second choice in the Louisiana Derby, and he's fifth on the morning line here. So tell me, where's the talent?"
Little Rock's Harry Rosenblum, a former client of Moquett, is the co-owner of Smarty Jones Stakes winner Uncontested, who faded to finish sixth in the Feb. 20 Southwest.
Moquett and Rosenblum were mutually connected to Kentucky Derby horses in each of the past two seasons. Though they are no longer affiliated, except for their co-ownership with Bob LaPenta of the sprinter Whitmore, it is difficult to distinguish between their estimates of the Rebel's potential.
"It's an extremely tough race," Rosenblum said of the Rebel. "This is the toughest Derby prep so far."
The race, at 1 mile and 1/16th and set for a 6:06 p.m. post time, hands out the most purse money of any 3-year-old race to this point in the spring and 85 Derby points, with 50 granted the winner, or enough to nearly ensure a spot in the Kentucky Derby.
Horses with 32 or more points have qualified for each Kentucky Derby since the points system replaced stakes earnings as the Road to the Derby standard before the 2013 race.
Seven of the 11 entrants appear on the Derby points list and three have 11 or more points, led by Asmussen trainee Untrapped with 24, which is enough to have earned entry into each Kentucky Derby from 2013-2015.
Baffert, trainer of 2-1 morning-line favorite American Anthem and a four-time Kentucky Derby winner, has won 6 of the past 7 Rebels and 3 in a row.
American Anthem is a son of 2011 Arkansas Derby winner Bodemeister and a maternal grandson of A.P. Indy.
Smith, the southern California-based Hall of Famer, was boarding a plane in Los Angeles to begin his trip to Arkansas on Friday when asked about American Anthem.
"He doesn't send a horse just to run," Smith said of Baffert. "He sends them to run well. I'm very blessed to be riding this horse for him."
Pletcher trainee Malagacy enters the Rebel with the field's fastest Beyer and Brisnet speed figures, but his third career start will be his first around two turns and in a race longer than 6½ furlongs.
Shirreffs, who trained Zenyatta to 19 consecutive victories before she lost her finale, brings Royal Mo, the front-running winner of Santa Anita's Grade III Robert B. Lewis Stakes on Feb. 4.
Whereas the Rebel will draw the most national and international attention of Oaklawn's 11 scheduled races, there are two other stakes on the card: the $350,000 Grade II Azeri Stakes for fillies and mares 4-years-old and up going 1 mile and 1/16th, and the $250,000 Essex Handicap for older horses, also at 1 mile and 1/16th.
"The entire card will knock your socks off," Oaklawn General Manager Eric Jackson said last weekend. "It's just going to be terrific, unbelievable."
The Azeri has a scheduled post of 4:21 p.m., followed by the Essex at 4:57. The Rebel is set for 6:06.
Weather permitting, and clearing skies with temperatures forecast to reach the mid 70s, the infield will be open for the first time this season.
American Anthem enters the Rebel with two career starts, the last a head defeat to Gormley in the Santa Anita's Sham Stakes on Jan. 7.
Smith, who road Giacomo to victory in the 2005 Kentucky Derby and has ridden 25 Breeders' Cup winners, was aboard American Anthem's first attempt around two turns in the Sham, a race concluded by a prolonged stretch duel with Gormley.
"He was very impressive even in defeat," Smith said. "I think he has a lot of room to grow. He seems to have taken a lot out of that race. I'm excited to see what this race brings."
Sports on 03/18/2017