A History of Oaklawn’s Rebel Stakes

American Pharoah was already a dual grade 1 winner when he was forced to the sidelines towards the end of 2014, and finally made his 2015 bow in the Rebel Stakes (G2) at Oaklawn Park. The champion not only won by 6 ¼ lengths, but used it as a springboard to a sublime sophomore year that included wins in the Triple Crown and the Breeders’ Cup Classic.

But American Pharoah isn’t the only standout who has exited the Rebel Stakes. Bob Baffert, who is sending both Game Winner and Improbable from California to Arkansas for Saturday’s race, has the most wins by any trainer in the 1 1/16 mile contest. Since 2010, Baffert has won the race six times: 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, and 2016.

Besides American Pharoah, the best of those may have been Lookin At Lucky (2010). The 2009 Eclipse Champion Two Year Old Male went on to win the Preakness Stakes (G1) and the Haskell Invitational (G1) en route to a second Eclipse Award. Other Baffert winners include wickedly fast near-millionaire The Factor (2011), two-time Breeders’ Cup winner Secret Circle (2012), and Hoppertunity (2014), who earned over $4.7 million on the track.

Curlin made his stakes debut in the Rebel in 2007; it was only his second lifetime start and his first against winners. The brilliant colt, who went on to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer in 2014, won the Rebel by 5 ¼ lengths, and ultimately earned over $10.5 million. He is now a leading sire.

Smarty Jones is one of the more popular Rebel winners. The son of Elusive Quality had previously won the Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn a month prior to the Rebel, and later added the Arkansas Derby before winning the first two legs of the Triple Crown. He was second in the Belmont Stakes in what would be his final lifetime start.

Less known but perhaps just as good was Lawyer Ron (2006), who won four straight stakes races during his early sophomore campaign before finishing up the track in the Kentucky Derby. Lawyer Ron ultimately added the Woodward Stakes and Whitney Handicap, both grade 1 events at Saratoga, before his untimely death in 2009.

Victory Gallop (1998) won the Rebel in his three-year-old debut before adding the Arkansas Derby. He was second in both the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes before ending Real Quiet’s Triple Crown bid by a nose in the Belmont Stakes. Victory Gallop won both the Stephen Foster and the Whitney Handicap as a four-year-old, earning $3.5 million.

The 2019 Rebel could be split into two divisions this weekend if enough entries are submitted, moving it from one $1 million race to two $750,000 races. Baffert, Jerry Hollendorfer, and Richard Mandella are all expected to enter two horses each. As usual, Oaklawn will host a massive crowd and some of the finest sophomores in the land.