DAY 45 of 57
THURSDAY'S ESTIMATED ATTENDANCE 7,000
THURSDAY'S ON-TRACK HANDLE $408,414
THURSDAY'S OFF-TRACK HANDLE $2,075,531
THURSDAY'S TOTAL HANDLE $2,483,945
TODAY'S SIMULCAST SCHEDULE Tampa Bay, 11:25 a.m.; Keeneland, 12:05 p.m.; Laurel Park, 12:10 p.m.; Gulfstream Park, 12:15 p.m.; Aqueduct, 12:30 p.m.; Golden Gate, 2:45 p.m.; Santa Anita, 3 p.m.; Hawthorne, 3:10 p.m.; Penn National, 5:05 p.m.; Evangeline, 5:50 p.m.; Charles Town, 6 p.m.; Daytona Beach (greyhounds), 6:25 p.m.; Derby Lane (greyhounds), 6:30 p.m.
THURSDAY'S STAR
David Cohen won two races Thursday, padding his lead over Ricardo Santana Jr. in the jockey standings.
Cohen rode Big Trip ($3.20, $2.60, $2.40) to victory in the first race, covering 6 furlongs in 1 minute, 10.9 seconds, then rode Essie's Reward ($4.00, $3.20, $2.40) in the fourth race, winning with a time of 1:11.9. He also finished second in two races, riding E Rated ($4.40, $3.00) in the third race and Guska Mon Shoes ($3.00, $2.80) in the eighth.
Cohen now holds a five victory lead (56-51) over Santana in the jockey standings, with Ramon Vazquez a distant third with 34 victories. Santana did not win any races Thursday, but finished second three times. He rode Sutton Impact ($4.40, $3.20) in the second race, Forze Mau ($3.40, $2.80) in the fifth and Defender ($7.80, $5.40) in the seventh race.
GRAY HORSE IS KEY
In a telephone interview following Wednesday's draw for Saturday's Grade I $1 million Arkansas Derby, Bob Baffert touched on his post position -- he wasn't thrilled with the rail for 8-5 program favorite Improbable -- then asked about the "gray horse."
The gray horse would be Gray Attempt, who may be the controlling speed in Saturday's 1 1/8-mile race for owner Dwight Pruett of Texarkana and trainer Jinks Fires of Hot Springs.
Gray Attempt has led at every point of call in his four career victories, including the $150,000 Smarty Jones Stakes on Jan. 25 -- his two-turn debut -- and the $125,000 Gazebo Stakes on March 23.
"I don't know if we'll be on the lead," Fires said. "I've not got a chance to see everybody that's in there and look at my options. We'll try to figure that out. I don't think he has to be on the lead, but he might."
Gray Attempt is scheduled to break from post 6 under Stewart Elliott, who will ride the son of Graydar for the first time Saturday. Elliott won the 2004 Arkansas Derby aboard Smarty Jones.
"We think it's good," Fires said of Gray Attempt's draw. "We were pleased with the post. Of course, I preferred 3, 4, or 5, but 6 is OK."
Gray Attempt is 8-1 on the morning line for the Arkansas Derby, which Fires won in 2011 with Archarcharch.
SCHOOL DAYS
Improbable, the 8-5 program favorite for Satuday's Arkansas Derby, schooled in the gate under the watchful eye of Jimmy Barnes, Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert's traveling assistant, following the first renovation break Thursday morning.
The Southern California-based Improbable returns to Oaklawn after suffering his first career loss in his three-year-old debut, the first division of the $750,000 Rebel Stakes on March 16. Improbable was caught late on the outside by Long Range Toddy and was beaten by a neck in the 1 1/16-mile race.
Improbable was flown to Arkansas on Tuesday.
"I was looking to see if I noticed anything this morning that was a little different than tht last time I was here," Barnes said. "He was maybe a little more relaxed than last time. Very good on the track. We do have a special time to train, so it's quiet out there, which really helped the horsemen."
Improbable is the seventh Arkansas Derby program favorite for Baffert in the past nine years. He won the race in 2012 with Bodemeister and again in 2015 with Triple Crown winner American Pharoah.
Information for this report was provided by the Oaklawn media department
Sports on 04/12/2019