HOT SPRINGS, Ark. -- Isabull ran third in the Rebel Stakes last month and hasn't won a race since September.
That didn't stop trainer Steve Hobby from entering the colt in the Arkansas Derby.
"It's a wide-open race," Hobby said this week. "We might as well take a chance at it, too. That's why there's 14 horses."
In years past, the Arkansas Derby has been a proving ground for some of the world's finest 3-year-olds. Smarty Jones, Afleet Alex, Lawyer Ron and Curlin all won it, cementing the race's status as one of the top Kentucky Derby preps.
This year, however, the morning-line choice is Gayego at 5-2 -- a nice horse, but nobody's idea of a Kentucky Derby favorite.
The $1 million Arkansas Derby on Saturday is the last of Oaklawn Park's three big Kentucky Derby preps. Denis of Cork won the Southwest in February, and Sierra Sunset won the Rebel. Denis of Cork was shipped out of Arkansas and ran in the Illinois Derby last weekend, and Sierra Sunset injured an ankle and is off the Kentucky Derby trail.
The top 3-year-old from this year's Oaklawn meet might be the filly Eight Belles. She has won four straight races, but ran in the Fantasy Stakes last weekend instead of the Arkansas Derby.
Curlin won the 1 1-8-mile Arkansas Derby by a record 10½ lengths in 2007. This year's race figures to be more competitive -- a full field of 14 entered.
Last year, nine horses ran in the Arkansas Derby -- eight if you throw out Olympic Chief, who had never raced before and finished last, 55 1/4 lengths behind the winner.
This year's longest shots are Isabull and Tres Borrachos, both at 20-1. Those horses have both won before, so this might really be anybody's race.
Z Fortune is the second choice at 9-2, followed by King's Silver Son and Liberty Bull at 6-1.
Liberty Bull beat Isabull by a neck to win the Smarty Jones at Oaklawn back in January. He also won the WinStar Derby last month in New Mexico. In between, he was third in the Southwest, a couple of lengths ahead of seventh-place Isabull.
"We were close both times with him," Hobby said. "That's another thing. We figure he's probably going to be one of the favorites in here, and we don't feel like we're that far off of him."
Gayego's last win was in January in the 6½-furlong San Pedro. He finished second in the 1 1-16-mile San Felipe on March 15. The colt is ridden by Mike Smith and trained by Paulo Lobo.
Gayego's last three races were on Santa Anita's synthetic surface, so he might have to adjust to Oaklawn's dirt track.
"Let's see on Saturday," Lobo said. "He needs to answer all the questions."
Z Fortune is trained by Steve Asmussen, who also trains Curlin. Z Fortune won his first three career starts, including the Lecomte. He then finished second in the Risen Star and a disappointing fifth in the Rebel.
Asmussen said he hasn't been able to pinpoint what specifically went wrong in the Rebel. He kept Z Fortune at Oaklawn, trying to allow the horse to settle in.
"Trying to keep things the same and just evaluate him," Asmussen said.
Asmussen, who also trains Kentucky Derby hopeful Pyro, has three horses in the Arkansas Derby: Z Fortune, King's Silver Son and Ablaze With Spirit.
"I think that the 3-year-old picture is pretty wide open," Asmussen said. "The Arkansas Derby, being a million-dollar race, it's quite an incentive. ... I'm as guilty as anybody around."
No reason to feel guilty. In this race, every horse has a chance.
"If he can do well here, the sky's the limit from there," Hobby said of Isabull. "It's very exciting."