The Rebel Stakes is a

Grade II In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern I ...

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old horses at a distance of one and one-sixteenth miles on the dirt run annually in March, at

Oaklawn Park Race Track Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort, formerly Oaklawn Park Race Track, is an American thoroughbred racetrack and casino in Hot Springs, Arkansas. It is the home to "The Racing Festival of the South", a four-day series of races that concludes with the A ...

Hot Springs, Arkansas Hot Springs is a resort city in the state of Arkansas and the county seat of Garland County. The city is located in the Ouachita Mountains among the U.S. Interior Highlands, and is set among several natural hot springs for which the city is n ...

. The event currently offers a purse of $1,000,000

History

The inaugural running of the event was on 18 March 1961 as the Rebel Handicap over a distance of one mile and seventy yards and was won by Mrs. Vera E. Smith 's Bass Clef winning his fifth straight in a time on 1:42. Bass Clef had previously won the Louisiana Derby. Later in the spring Bass Clef would finish third to Carry Back in 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 ...

. The event immediately became a preparatory event for the

Arkansas Derby 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 200 ...

. The 1965 winner Swift Ruler completed the double. In 1984 the conditions of the event were changed from handicap to stakes allowance and the name of the event was modified to the Rebel Stakes. That same year the distance was increased to one and one-sixteenth miles. In 1990 the event was upgraded to Grade III but was downgraded to Listed for the 2003 and 2004 runnings. The event was upgraded in 2008 to a Grade II by 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. ...

. Since 2013 the event has been part of the

Road to the Kentucky Derby The Road to the Kentucky Derby is a points system by which horses qualify for a position in the starting gate for the Kentucky Derby. It features dozens of stakes races for 2 and 3-year-old Thoroughbreds – the number and specific races have chang ...

. In 2019, the event was split into two separate divisions after Oaklawn president Louis Cella presented a sporting gesture after the

San Felipe Stakes The San Felipe Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. It is a Grade II event open to three-year-old horses. Normally held in early -March, it is raced at a distance of one and one-s ...

was abandoned in California. Road to Kentucky Derby qualification points for the first four finishers were adjusted. It currently offers a purse of $1,000,000 and is the second leg of the Oaklawn three-year-old stakes program, the first being the

Southwest Stakes The Southwest Stakes is a Grade III American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old horses at a distance of one and one-sixteenth miles on the dirt run annually in late January at Oaklawn Park Race Track in Hot Springs, Arkansas. The event c ...

and the third the

Records

Time record: * miles – 1:41.00 Vanlandingham (1984) *1 mile and 70 yards – 1:40.80 Betemight (1967) Margins: *7 lengths – Etony (1968), Manastash Ridge (1989) Most wins by an owner: * 5 -

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, 1984, 1987, 1992, 1993) 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 ...

: * 5 -

Mike E. Smith Michael Earl Smith (born August 10, 1965) is an American jockey who has been one of the leading riders in U.S. Thoroughbred racing since the early 1990s, was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 2003, and has won the m ...

(1986, 1993, 1999, 2014, 2019) Most wins by a trainer: * 8 - Bob Baffert (2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2020, 2021) Rebel Stakes –

double: * Swift Ruler (1965), Traffic Mark (1969), Promised City (1975), Temperence Hill (1980), Bold Ego (1981), Sunny's Halo (1983), Demons Begone (1987), Pine Bluff (1992), Victory Gallop (1998), Smarty Jones (2004), Lawyer Ron (2006), Curlin (2007), American Pharoah (2015), Omaha Beach (2019)

Winners

''Notes:''
§ Ran as an entry
ƒ Ran as the field entry
† Floral Shop was first past the post but was disqualified for interference and placed second. Spike Nail was declared the winner.

External sites

Oaklawn Park Media Guide 2021

References

{{reflist, 2 1961 establishments in Arkansas Horse races in Arkansas Oaklawn Park Flat horse races for three-year-olds Triple Crown Prep Races Graded stakes races in the United States Recurring sporting events established in 1961 Grade 2 stakes races in the United States

History

Records

Winners

See also

External sites

References