Arkansas Derby Picks — Betting Preview and Predictions (Mar 29)

One of the most important races on the Road to the Kentucky Derby is set for Saturday, March 29, 2025, as the G1 Arkansas Derby will be staged at Oaklawn Park.

Three previous winners have later won the opening leg of the Triple Crown, with the most recent coming in the form of American Pharoah in 2015.

Odds

Arkansas Derby Recent Winners

Arkansas Derby: Event Information

Event Preview

Important action on the Road to the Kentucky Derby is set for this weekend, as the Arkansas Derby will be held at Oaklawn Park. The field will compete over 1 1/8 miles, with the winner assuring their spots in the gates at Churchill Downs at the start of May.

Bob Baffert has an excellent record in the Arkansas Derby, meaning that there will be considerable market interest in Cornucopian.

The three-year-old is sired by Into Mischief, and was an eye-catching winner on debut last month when beating Zero Sugar to reach a speed figure of 101. This marks a considerable step up in opposition, as well as a first attempt over 1 1/8 miles.

However, the Baffert runner will have considerable questions to answer due to his lack of experience on the track. Therefore, the Rebel Stakes could provide the main clues for the Arkansas Derby. Things didn’t go right for Speed King in that race, as he finished tenth, leaving him with form to find on Brereton’s Baytown, Publisher, and Sandman, who all finished ahead of him.

The latter of those for trainer Mark Casse could be a standout selection in exotics this weekend. The three-year-old posted a speed figure of 111 when winning over a mile at Oaklawn in December, before finishing second to Speed King in the G3 Southwest. However, his third last time out was a considerably better performance over 1 1/16 miles.

Arkansas Derby Picks

The Rebel Stakes could provide the most important form line this weekend, meaning that Coal Battle could be the value play for trainer Lonnie Briley.

The three-year-old produced a career-best effort to win the Grade Two, taking his record in stakes races to 4-5.

There could yet be more improvement to come, and he clearly holds the edge on a number of the rivals that he will come up against on Saturday.