TWO NEW PLAYERS IN THE KENTUCKY DERBY MIX- BAFFERT HOT SHOTS BOTH BEATEN IN THE REBEL STAKES

The Kentucky Derby picture got even more confusing this weekend when the two divisions of the Rebel Stakes in Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Arkansas, saw both favorites get beat. The first division was won by the 8-1 long shot LONG RANGE TODDY who is trained by Steve Asmussen. This was a race that was supposed to be taken easily by Bob Baffert’s Improbable, and he took the lead about two furlongs out after racing wide most of the race. This must have cost him badly as he weakened in the final furlong to let the winner go by him and win by a neck.
The winner of the second division was OMAHA BEACH who is trained by Richard Mandella going off at 9-2 odds. He beat the classy Game Winner by just a nose after leading throughout the race. The winning rider was Mike Smith and he rode tough to beat Joel Rosario on the beaten favorite. After the race supporters of Game Winner were not deterred by the tough loss, and remain convinced that their horse is still the one to beat in early May.
However the big news of the week is that SANTA ANITA will resume racing on March 29th after some kind of agreement was put in place very quickly between the track and the Thoroughbred Owners of California and the horsemen. Basically Lasix dosage will be cut in half for race day medication, and Butazolidin can now only be given 48 hours before a race instead of 24. Also the whip has been banned except in the case of emergency, and the very cheap races have been eliminated completely. Getting back to Lasix, I was shocked but not overly surprised to find out that 96.4% of the horses that started in the USA last year were on the drug.