Saturday’s 84th running of the $1.25 million, Grade 2 Oaklawn Handicap at Oaklawn Park has drawn an outstanding field of six, headlined by the return of Horse of the Year Sovereignty and 2025 Preakness Stakes winner Journalism who will meet for the third time following their respective first- and second-place finishes in the 2025 Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve and Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets. Meanwhile, White Abarrio, the veteran of the group at 7 years old, will make his 22nd graded/group stakes appearance. Four of the six entrants in this field have competed in the Kentucky Derby, and since 1991 there have been nine Oaklawn Handicap winners who previously started in the run for the roses.
Here’s a look at the field from the inside (rail) post position out:
White Abarrio drew post 1 for his 26th career start with regular rider Irad Ortiz Jr. making the trip to Arkansas to stay aboard. The 7-year-old son of Race Day has three Grade one wins at the 1 1/8-mile distance of the Oaklawn Handicap and will be making his first career start at Oaklawn. White Abarrio is coming off a nearly four-month layoff after a runner-up finish in the Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes for trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. Liberal Arts is making his return to racing for the first time since his win in the Knicks Go Stakes at Churchill Downs on May 3, 2025. Trained by Heather Irion, the 5-year-old son of Arrogate will have Reynier Arrieta aboard for the first time. Reigning Horse of the Year Sovereignty is back for the first time since his 10-length romp in the DraftKings Travers Stakes at the end of August for the Godolphin team of Bill Mott and Junior Alvarado. The Into Mischief colt ended his 3-year-old campaign with four straight graded stakes wins in the Kentucky Derby, Belmont Stakes, Jim Dandy Stakes Presented by Mohegan Sun and the Travers before being withdrawn from the Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic in November. Duke of Duval, the first of two entrants from Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen and the second son of Arrogate in the field, earned a career-best 102 Equibase Speed Figure last time out when finishing fifth in the Essex Handicap at Oaklawn at the end of March. Jockey Keith Asmussen, who has two wins aboard Duke of Duval, will be reunited with the horse for the first time since September. Last year’s Preakness Stakes winner Journalism will be making his 4-year-old debut for trainer Michael McCarthy with Jose Ortiz getting the mount. The Curlin colt is 2-for-2 at this 1 1/8-mile distance and has finished out of the top three only once in his 11 career starts, nine of which were at the graded stakes level. That off-the-board finish came in his final 2025 start when fourth in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. Publisher, the second entrant trained by Steve Asmussen, won his first career race in his 13th start, that coming in his 4-year-old debut in February. The son of American Pharoah has since won two more consecutive starts, including posting his first stakes win last time out in the American Pharoah Overnight Stakes at Oaklawn. Erik Asmussen, who has been aboard all of Publisher’s 2026 starts, will be back in the irons.
Analysis and Main Contenders:
While Sovereignty’s incredible talent and class is undeniable, it is the experience and age of White Abarrio that could be the biggest difference maker in this race. White Abarrio was purchased for $40,000 as a 2-year-old and now has $7,713,920 in career earnings, and this veteran is no stranger to competing on racing’s biggest stage; in fact, he leads this group with an average class rating of a 110. Since his debut 6 ¾ length win in September 2021, White Abarrio has time and time again proved himself as a true and tough competitor. At the age of 3, he won the Holy Bull Stakes and Curlin Florida Derby Presented by Hill ‘n’ Dale Farms at Xalapa. At 4, White Abarrio won the Whitney Stakes and Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic for trainer Rick Dutrow Jr. before returning to Saffie Joseph’s stable during his 5-year-old campaign. At 6, he returned as a Grade 1-level racehorse in the Pegasus World Cup and now at 7 he continues to give 100%, finishing second to stablemate Skippylongstocking in the Pegasus World Cup in his lone start in 2026 and earning his eighth consecutive triple-digit Equibase figure. The Pegasus World Cup carried a 111 class rating, six points higher than Saturday’s Oaklawn Handicap, and has already proven to be a productive race. Skippylongstocking came back to dominate the Essex Handicap in his next start while fifth-place finisher British Isles won the Santa Anita Handicap Presented by Yaamava’ Resort and Casino next out and fifth-place finisher Banishing won the Godolphin Mile Sponsored by Emaar at Meydan in his most recent start. White Abarrio has been working sharply since his runner-up finish in the Pegasus, including a bullet four furlongs in 47.03 on April 2 at Gulfstream Park. Apart from his three Grade one wins at this 1 1/8-mile distance, White Abarrio has a tactical running style and can win when setting the pace, pressing or rallying from mid-pack. Based on his experience, class, and grittiness along with him having one of the top jockeys in the nation aboard, White Abarrio stands out as a formidable contender and offers appeal at what could be a fair price in this accomplished field.
Sovereignty faces a tough task coming off a nearly eight-month layoff to compete in a Grade 1 stakes for older horses. This Into Mischief colt is certainly immensely talented, in every sense of the word both qualitatively and quantitatively, and has earned the right to be the 4-5 morning line favorite. Since earning his first win in his third career start by five lengths in the Street Sense Stakes, Sovereignty has won all but one race, those spread out in 2025 as part of a grueling 3-year-old campaign. Following a late rally in the short Gulfstream Park stretch to win the Coolmore Fountain of Youth Stakes, he finished second in the Florida Derby before winning the Kentucky Derby, Belmont Stakes, Jim Dandy the Travers Stakes. That 10-length Travers romp at Saratoga was his most recent start and came on Aug. 23 of last year. Since the Florida Derby, Sovereignty has improved his Equibase Speed Figures in every start, including a 115 in the Jim Dandy and a career-best 116 in the Travers. That 116 is the highest last-out Equibase figure of any horse in this field and historically horses in graded stakes on the dirt with this attribute are winning at 32% and finishing 61% in the top three from 298 starts over the past year. Sovereignty also ranks first in late pace rating of 117.5 for his unbelievable ability to rally and inhale his competitors down the stretch. Horses with the highest late pace rating and highest last-out Equibase figure win at a tremendous 31% in all stakes races over the past year from 592 total starts. The layoff is a concern, especially considering he was scratched from the Breeders’ Cup Classic and the fact that horses in dirt route graded stakes races win at just 15% over the past year coming off a 90 or more-day layoff. On the other hand, Sovereignty has been training forwardly all winter at Payson Park, including posting three bullet works in his last five breezes. Another meaningful positive for Sovereignty is his connections. Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott wins at 47% in graded stakes races with horses owned by Godolphin over the past three years (17 wins from 36 starts). While he does not have a lot of starts at Oaklawn, Mott is also incredibly effective in all races at this track, winning at 42% from 12 starts over the past three years. Sovereignty fits the bill in almost every category and certainly has the ability and talent to repeat his efforts from last season. Regardless of odds, Sovereignty should be on every ticket.
Much like Sham to Secretariat in 1973, Journalism ran in the shadow of Sovereignty throughout last year’s Triple Crown. Like Sham, Journalism also won Santa Anita Derby before running second in the Kentucky Derby; however Journalism proved victorious in the Preakness without the presence of Sovereignty. Journalism met up again with Sovereignty in the Belmont Stakes and again finished second, three lengths behind his rival. Following the Triple Crown, Journalism found the winner’s circle about a month later with a half-length win in the NYRA Bets Haskell Stakes before posting a runner-up finish in the Pacific Classic Stakes and then a fourth in his most recent start, the Breeders’ Cup Classic. Despite not winning his last two starts, Journalism has continued a steady increasing pattern of Equibase Speed Figures, earning a 101 in the Belmont, 107 in the Haskell, 108 in the Pacific Classic and a career-best 109 in the Classic. Journalism will be making his 4-year-old debut off a more than five-month layoff but has been training incredibly well throughout the winter at Santa Anita Park for trainer Michael McCarthy. Jose Ortiz, who took the reins on Journalism for the first time in the BC Classic, will ride him Saturday. While Ortiz is one of the best jockeys in North America, McCarthy and Ortiz have just two wins together all-time from 22 starts and are 0-for-13 over the past three years. On his own, McCarthy is just 1-for-8 over the last five years at Oaklawn Park, with his most recent win at the track coming in 2022 in the Azeri Stakes. Journalism is incredibly talented and owns a 2-for-2 record at 1 1/8 miles along with the highest average speed in this field, but he faces a tough task to come off the long layoff to face Sovereignty for the third time as well as a proven older horse in White Abarrio.
The rest of the field, with their best Equibase Speed Figures in similar races, is Liberal Arts (105), Duke of Duval (102), and Publisher (106).
Win Contenders in Preference Order:
White Abarrio
Sovereignty
Journalism
