The Arkansas Derby is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held annually in April at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Arkansas. It is currently a Grade I race run over a distance of 1 1/8 miles (9 furlongs) on dirt. In 2004, to celebrate its 100th anniversary, Oaklawn Park offered a $5 million bonus to any horse that could sweep its three-year-old graded stakes, the Rebel Stakes and the Arkansas Derby, and then take the

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby is a horse race held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, almost always on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The competition is a Grade I stakes race for three-yea ...

Smarty Jones Smarty Jones (February 28, 2001) is a champion Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 2004 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes and came second in the Belmont Stakes. Background Born at Fairthorne Farm in Chester County, Pennsylvania, the horse was ...

's collected the bonus. The exposure from Smarty Jones subsequent run at the Triple Crown helped increase participation from the top three-year-olds in the country to the point where the

American Graded Stakes Committee {{short description, Organization for Thoroughbred racehorse owners and breeders The American Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association (TOBA) based in Lexington, Kentucky is a trade organization for Thoroughbred racehorse owners and breeders. ...

made the Arkansas Derby a Grade I race in 2010. Past winners of the race have gone on to win legs of horse racing's Grand Slam. Sunny's Halo won the 1983

, as did

in 2004 and American Pharoah in 2015.

Elocutionist Elocution is the study of formal speaking in pronunciation, grammar, style, and tone as well as the idea and practice of effective speech and its forms. It stems from the idea that while communication is symbolic, sounds are final and compelli ...

(1976),

Tank's Prospect Tank's Prospect (May 2, 1982 – March 2, 1995) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the second leg of the U.S. Triple Crown series, the Preakness Stakes. Background Bred by Edward A. Seltzer, he was purchased for $62 ...

(1985), Pine Bluff (1992),

(2004),

Afleet Alex Afleet Alex (born May 9, 2002 in Florida) is an American thoroughbred race horse who, in 2005, won two of America's classic races, the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes. He is owned by the Cash Is King Stable partnership, was trained by ...

(2005), Curlin (2007), and American Pharoah (2015) all won the

Preakness Stakes The Preakness Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race held on Armed Forces Day which is also the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Graded stakes race, Grade I race run over a distance of ...

. 1980 winner

Temperence Hill Temperence Hill (March 1977 – June 2003) was a Champion American Thoroughbred racehorse. Background Temperence Hill was a bay horse bred in Kentucky by Dr. Albert F. Polk, Jr.'s Oriskany Farm. He was sired by Stop The Music out of the Etonian ...

, 1998's

Victory Gallop Victory Gallop (foaled May 30, 1995, in Ontario, Canada) is a Canada, Canadian-bred Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 1998 Belmont Stakes to deny Real Quiet the United States Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, Triple Crown, and was the 1999 Ec ...

, 2005's

, and 2015's American Pharoah all went on to capture the

Belmont Stakes The Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds run at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is run over 1.5 miles (2,400 m). Colts and geldings carry a weight of ; fillies carry . The race, nickname ...

, as did Creator in 2016. The 1994 winner, Concern, won that year's

Breeders' Cup Classic The Breeders' Cup Classic is a Grade I Weight for Age thoroughbred horse race for 3-year-olds and older run at a distance of on dirt. It is held annually at a different racetrack as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships in late October ...

. The most celebrated Arkansas Derby champion is American Pharoah, who became the 12th Triple Crown winner and the first Triple Crown winner in 37 years. He is the first Arkansas Derby champion to win the Triple Crown. Like Smarty Jones, he too swept the Rebel and Arkansas Derby before winning the Kentucky Derby. The 2021 Arkansas Derby champion is

Super Stock Super may refer to: Computing * SUPER (computer program), or Simplified Universal Player Encoder & Renderer, a video converter / player * Super (computer science), a keyword in object-oriented programming languages * Super key (keyboard butt ...

. Prior to American Pharoah's 2015 Triple Crown, Curlin had been the most decorated Arkansas Derby Winner, after winning races that included the 2007 Preakness Stakes, the 2007

, and the 2008 Dubai World Cup. For his efforts, Curlin won the Eclipse Award in both 2007 and 2008 for American Horse of the Year, the highest honor given in American thoroughbred horse racing. Curlin was later admitted to thoroughbred racing's

National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American thoroughbred horse racing, Thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and Horse trainer, trainers. In 1955, the museum ...

. The inaugural Arkansas Derby in 1936 offered a total purse of $5,000. The first winner was Holl Image, who was owned and trained by Jack Carter. The race was run in two divisions in 1960, and again in 2020. The 2020 race was moved to May because of the coronavirus pandemic, as the Kentucky Derby had been moved to September. Both races will pay identical points towards Kentucky Derby eligibility.

Records

Speed record: * 1:46.80 – Althea (1984) Most wins by a

jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used to describe the individual ...

: * 3 – Pat Day (1986, 1987, 1997) Most wins by a trainer: * 5 –

Todd Pletcher Todd Pletcher (born June 26, 1967 in Dallas, Texas) is an American thoroughbred horse trainer. He won the Eclipse Award seven times as Trainer of the Year, four of these in consecutive years. His horses Super Saver (2010) and Always Dreaming ( ...

(2000, 2001, 2013, 2014, 2018) Most wins by an owner: * 3 –

Loblolly Stable Loblolly Stable was a Thoroughbred horse breeding and racing stable in Lake Hamilton, Arkansas owned by businessman John Ed Anthony and his former wife Mary Lynn. The stable's first top runner was Cox's Ridge who won important races in 1977 and ...

(1980, 1987, 1992)

Winners of the Arkansas Derby since 1936

¹Charlatan was originally disqualified from his win due to a medication violation. The disqualification was later overturned on appeal. ² In 1999, Valhol originally finished first but was relegated to last place following a Stewards' Inquiry.

References

{{reflist

External links

Ten Things You Should Know About the Arkansas Derby at Hello Race Fans!
Horse races in Arkansas Oaklawn Park Flat horse races for three-year-olds Triple Crown Prep Races Grade 1 stakes races in the United States Graded stakes races in the United States Recurring sporting events established in 1936 1936 establishments in Arkansas

Records

Winners of the Arkansas Derby since 1936

See also

References

External links