Papa Clem wins million dollar Arkansas Derby

Papa Clem, ridden by Rafael Bejarano, secured a spot in the Kentucky Derby by winning the one million dollar Arkansas Derby on Saturday. The son of Smart Strike wore down favourite Old Fashioned in the stretch to win the Grade II, mile-and-an-eighth...

Papa Clem, ridden by Rafael Bejarano, secured a spot in the Kentucky Derby by winning the one million dollar Arkansas Derby on Saturday.

The son of Smart Strike wore down favourite Old Fashioned in the stretch to win the Grade II, mile-and-an-eighth affair at Oaklawn Park in one minute 49.01 seconds.

The victory was worth $600,000 for Papa Clem, giving the colt more than enough graded stakes earnings to qualify for the Kentucky Derby in three weeks.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.