The second Saturday in March is highlighted by the running of the $1 million Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park in Arkansas. This is the first event in the final wave of Kentucky Derby prep races that will have a major impact on the actual 20-horse field for the annual ‘Run for the Roses’ at Churchill Downs on the first Saturday in May.

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The field for this Saturday’s main event at Oaklawn is as deep as it gets with horse racing’s top trainers touting their entries as legitimate Kentucky Derby contenders.

2021 Rebel Stakes- Oaklawn Park

When: Saturday, March 13th 2021

Post Time: 6:16 PM ET

The Rebel is a Grade 2 event that is set up as the lead-in stakes race for the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn on Saturday, April 10.

The field has been set with eight entries for this 1 1/16 mile-run on the dirt track at Oaklawn. The total prize purse for this year’s race will be $1 million with Kentucky Derby qualifying points awarded to the top four finishers.

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Famed trainer Bob Baffert is no stranger to winning horse racing biggest events. He will have two entries in this year’s Rebel Stakes highlighted by Concert Tour.

This three-year old Kentucky-bred colt has been opened as a 7-5 favorite on the early morning line. The son of Street Sense will break from the No. 7 post with jockey Joel Rosario on board.

He made a successful three-year old debut by winning the Grade 2 San Vicente Stakes at Santa Anita Park on Feb. 6. He covered the seven furlongs on dirt in 1:24.06.

Skipping his juvenile campaign, Concert Tour won his first competitive race on Jan. 15 at Santa Anita in a six-furlong Maiden Special Weight event.

The second-favorite to win the 2021 Rebel is Caddo River at 2-1 odds on the morning line. The son of Hard Spun should keep things interesting right across the finish line. He will break from the No.1 post with jockey Florent Geroux getting the call.

Trainer Brad Cox also likes his prize colt’s chances to win coming off a victory in the ungraded Smarty Jones Stakes at Oaklawn Park on Jan. 22. He completed this one-mile run on dirt in 1::38.19.

This three-year old Kentucky-bred colt will be competing in his first graded stakes event. As a two-year old, he finished first or second in a trio of MSW events.

While I am expecting a one-two finish by the top two favorites in this race, my “one to watch” on Saturday is trainer Robertino Diodoro’s Keepmeinmind at 6-1 odds on the morning line. He will break from the No. 6 post with David Cohen as his jockey.

This Kentucky-bred colt has been waiting to make his three-year old debut coming off a very impressive juvenile campaign. He was schedule to run in a few earlier preps, including the Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn, but ended up a late scratch.

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The son of Laoban proved that his third-place finish in the 2020 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile was no fluke by winning the Grade 2 Kentucky’s Jockey Club Stakes at Churchill Downs in late November. If he does find a way to get past the top-two favorites on Saturday, Keepmeinmind would climb near the top of the updated 2021 Kentucky Derby futures board.

A few of the other promising colts in Saturday’s field include Super Stock at 8-1 and Get Her Number at 12-1 odds.

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