He aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! One of the crucial widespread racehorses in coaching is scheduled to make his 4-year-old debut Saturday at Oaklawn Park, Arkansas. sandmana Kentucky Derby favourite as a 3-year-old final yr and part-owned by social media content material creator and racing ambassador Griffin Johnson, will run within the fourth race at Oak Garden in opposition to a troublesome area. The beautiful grey or roan Tapit colt hasn’t fought since late August, however he is been coaching steadily for his return, and Johnson and the remainder of his homeowners, in addition to Corridor of Fame coach Mark Kass, have excessive hopes for him this yr.
Listed below are 5 issues Sandman ought to know as he prepares to renew his racing profession.
1. He is coming again to race at his favourite monitor. Sandman has began 4 instances at Oaklawn Park, ending within the high three every time. His document consists of two wins, one second place and one third place, highlighted by a two-and-a-half size victory in final spring’s Arkansas Derby, which earned him a ticket to the Kentucky Derby Introduced by Woodford Reserve at Churchill Downs.
2. He held his personal final yr in opposition to the most effective gamers of his technology. After profitable the Arkansas Derby, Sandman completed seventh out of 19 within the Kentucky Derby and completed third within the Preakness Stakes. The Derby was gained by Sovereignty, who was named each the 2025 Horse of the Yr and final month’s champion 3-year-old colt, and the Preakness was gained by Journalism, who was additionally a finalist for Horse of the Yr. The 2025 3-year-old group was the most effective this century, with Sandman only one spot beneath the entrance.
3. This yr he plans to begin racing in so-called “open firm.” Sandman is at the moment 4 years previous, so he might be competing in opposition to horses which might be 4 years previous and older, and will probably compete in opposition to 3-year-old horses that gained the Triple Crown collection later this yr. He returns within the so-called advantages choice declare race. This race is open to horses aged 4 and over, however sure circumstances should be met to be able to qualify. In Sandman’s case, he’s eligible as a result of he has not gained 4 races in his profession (three wins in 12 races, one second place and three thirds). He’ll compete in opposition to eight opponents, ranging in age from 4 to six, for $126,000 in prize cash. Earlier than the beginning of this race, two of his opponents are proposed to be “taken away” or bought for a worth of $100,000, however Sandman is unquestionably not on the market.
4. He might be reunited with one in every of his favourite jockeys. Jose Ortiz rode Sandman to final yr’s Arkansas Derby victory and has ridden the colt in six of 12 races total. Jockey Ortiz, at the moment the Fairgrounds’ main jockey, will cease driving on the New Orleans racetrack and head to Oak Garden Park on Saturday to select up Sandman’s mount.
5. He returns to compete with a area that features three different Kentucky Derby horses. Catching Freedom and Truck Phantom each ran within the 2024 Kentucky Derby, and King Russell ran within the 2023 Derby. Of those three horses, Catching Freedom had the most effective end within the Derby, the place the highest three horses had been separated by a nostril, and completed in fourth place. Sandman has 2 wins and 1 loss. morning line I am the favourite on this race, however it wasn’t straightforward.
Is that this your first time horse racing? Let me clarify…
Morning line: In horse racing, every racetrack hires an oddsmaker to estimate what assist a horse will obtain from bettors in a pari-mutuel win pool, which collects win bets from everybody betting on a specific race. These estimates are referred to as morning line odds and are normally introduced one to 2 days earlier than the race is run. Morning line odds are the start line when a race turns into out there for betting and can change as bettors start putting bets. Closing odds are decided by every horse’s proportion of the profitable pool and might differ considerably from every horse’s morning line odds by the point the race begins.
Followers have been following Griffin-Johnson’s account because the Sandman prepares for his return. The stallion’s coaching has been affected by the winter climate throughout the Southeast in current days, with Oaklawn having to postpone a number of playing cards final week. Nonetheless, taking a look at Mark Casse’s current coaching, he appears to be like wholesome and prepared, and if he runs nicely on Saturday, he’ll doubtless step as much as compete in stakes races once more. One factor is for certain: the return of this beloved racehorse will generate plenty of curiosity.
The Sandman race is scheduled for two:32 p.m. ET (1:32 p.m. CT, native time) and might be broadcast on each FS2 and FanDuel TV.
A word on Griffin Johnson’s 2026 Derby outlook: Ewing and Curtain Name, co-owned by Griffin by means of West Level Thoroughbreds and educated by Casse, impressed final yr with a win at Saratoga Race Course as a 2-year-old. After these wins, the horse was included within the early group of potential horses for this yr’s Kentucky Derby, which takes place on Could 2nd. Nonetheless, the horse has not run within the Marquee Stakes, which is held on the finish of the yr for the highest two-year-old horses, and has not entered the early Kentucky Derby prep races since he turned three years previous. On the constructive facet, each have returned to coaching, with Ewing logging a collection of stable exercises in current weeks at Oaklawn Park and Curtain Name recording his first exercise since final fall at Mark Kass’ coaching heart in Florida on Jan. 29. Even when they do not make it to the Kentucky Derby, the longer term appears to be like vibrant for each.
