Best Actor Commands Attention in Oklahoma Derby

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Best Actor Commands Attention in Oklahoma Derby
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Photo: Nikki Sherman/EQUI-PHOTO
Best Actor wins the Smarty Jones Stakes at Parx Racing

Best Actor  commanded center stage at Parx Racing when he won the Smarty Jones Stakes (G3) last month, but rather than return for the $1 million Pennsylvania Derby (G1) there Sept. 24, trainer Brad Cox is sending the Kentucky-stabled colt to the Midwest for an alternative appearance.

The Gary and Mary West-owned 3-year-old runs Sept. 25 in the $400,000 Oklahoma Derby (G3), one of eight stakes on a 12-race program at Remington Park. Cox pursues his fourth consecutive win in the 1 1/8-mile race after having captured it with Owendale  (2019), Shared Sense  (2020), and Warrant  (2021). 

Though Best Actor was sharp in the Smarty Jones, drawing off by 5 3/4 lengths, his race record would appear to make him a better fit for the Oklahoma Derby than the more-demanding Pennsylvania Derby, which drew grade 1 winners Zandon , Taiba , and Cyberknife  .

Cox runs Cyberknife in the Pennsylvania Derby and also multiple graded stakes winner Tawny Port .

Video: Smarty Jones S. (G3)



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The Oklahoma Derby still has a grade 1 winner in Lucky Seven Stable's Rattle N Roll , though his top-level win was accomplished last year at 2 when he captured the Claiborne Breeders' Futurity (G1) at Keeneland. He is 2-for-8 as a 3-year-old for trainer Kenny McPeek, taking the ungraded American Derby and St. Louis Derby Presented by FanDuel Sportsbook in two of his last three starts.

Best Actor, a son of Flatter  , is the 9-5 morning-line favorite for the Oklahoma Derby. He is 3-for-4, with his only defeat being a second-place finish in the Indiana Derby (G3) this summer.

Florent Geroux rides.

Rattle N Roll, a son of Connect   who leads all Oklahoma Derby starters with earnings of $758,105, is the second favorite at 5-2 odds under regular rider Brian Hernandez Jr.

Other Oklahoma Derby contenders include Steal Sunshine  and King Ottoman .

The Oklahoma Derby is the 11th of 12 races Sunday at Remington Park with a scheduled post time of 8:14 p.m. CT. The $200,000 Remington Park Oaks (G3) is the other graded stakes race of the evening, the ninth race at 7:08 p.m.

The Cox-trained Juju's Map , a grade 1 winner owned by Albaugh Family Stables, seeks to regroup in the 1 1/16-mile Remington Park Oaks after two disappointing third-place finishes this summer in graded stakes. The Liam's Map   filly sheds blinkers after showing speed and fading in her last two starts.

Geroux is aboard the 1-2 morning-line favorite.

Her principal foe appears to be Louisiana-bred standout Free Like a Girl , a 5-1 shot who has picked up a pair of graded placings. Chasey DeVille Pomier, one of her co-owners, trains the daughter of El Deal  for a partnership that also includes Gerald Bruno Jr., Carl Deville, and Jerry Caroom.

Pedro Cotto Jr. rides the winner of eight of 16 starts.

Local stakes winner Hits Pricey Legacy  is the third choice at 6-1 odds for owner/trainer/breeder C.R. Trout of Edmond, Okla. 


Entries: Oklahoma Derby (G3)

Remington Park, Sunday, September 25, 2022, Race 11

  • Grade III
  • 1 1/8m
  • Dirt
  • $400,000
  • 3 yo
  • 8:14 PM (local)
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L
1 1Steal Sunshine (KY) Leonel Reyes 124 Bobby S. Dibona 6/1
2 2Red Knobs (KY)Keeneland Sales Graduate Jorge Carreno 124 Robertino Diodoro 12/1
3 3Flash of Genius (KY)Keeneland Sales Graduate Leandro D. Goncalves 124 Shawn H. Davis 15/1
4 4Best Actor (KY)Keeneland Sales Graduate Florent Geroux 124 Brad H. Cox 9/5
5 5Rattle N Roll (KY)Keeneland Sales Graduate Brian Joseph Hernandez, Jr. 124 Kenneth G. McPeek 5/2
6 6Big Chopper (LA) Lane J. Luzzi 124 Jayde J. Gelner 15/1
7 7King Ottoman (KY)Keeneland Sales Graduate Stewart Elliott 124 Steven M. Asmussen 5/1
8 8Great Escape (KY)Keeneland Sales Graduate Cristian A. Torres 124 Robertino Diodoro 8/1


Entries: Remington Park Oaks (G3)

Remington Park, Sunday, September 25, 2022, Race 9

  • Grade III
  • 1 1/16m
  • Dirt
  • $200,000
  • 3 yo Fillies
  • 7:08 PM (local)
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L
1 1Rollin Chrome (KY)Keeneland Sales Graduate Jansen Melancon 116 Alejandro Baldillez Jr. 20/1
2 2Cleopatras Charge (KY) Floyd Wethey Jr. 120 Scott E. Young 20/1
3 3Free Like a Girl (LA) Pedro L. Cotto, Jr. 120 Chasey Deville Pomier 5/1
4 4Hits Pricey Legacy (OK) Jose L. Alvarez 118 C. R. Trout 6/1
5 5Juju's Map (KY)Keeneland Sales Graduate Florent Geroux 120 Brad H. Cox 1/2
6 6Bionica (KY) Stewart Elliott 116 Steven M. Asmussen 12/1
7 7Hannah's Haven (KY)Keeneland Sales Graduate David Cabrera 116 Jayde J. Gelner 20/1
8 8My Friend Amy (KY)Keeneland Sales Graduate Lane J. Luzzi 116 Jayde J. Gelner 10/1