Arkansas Derby

The Arkansas Derby is an American Thoroughbred horse race held in April at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Arkansas.

The Arkansas Derby is open to three-year-olds willing to race one and one-eighth miles (9 furlongs) on the dirt. A Grade II stakes race, it offers a purse of $1,000,000.

The inaugural Arkansas Derby in 1936 offered a total purse of $5,000. The first winner was Holl Image, owned and trained by Jack Carter.

Past winners have gone on to win American Classic Races such as 1980 winner Temperence Hill and 1998's Victory Gallop who both went on to capture the Belmont Stakes, plus Sunny's Halo won the 1983 Kentucky Derby, and Elocutionist (1976), Tank's Prospect (1985), and Pine Bluff (1992) all won the Preakness Stakes. The 1994 winner, Concern, won that year's Breeders' Cup Classic. The 2004 winner, Smarty Jones also won the 2004 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes.

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