Southwest Stakes
- Location: Oaklawn Park, Hot Springs, AR
- Inaugural Race: 1968
- Current Distance: 1 1/16 miles
- Track Type: Left-Handed Dirt
- Age Qualifications: Three-year-olds
- Status: Grade 3
- 2021 Purse: $750,000
- 2021 Race Date: Monday, February 15th
The Southwest Stakes is often the final leg of the early Road to the Kentucky Derby prep-races awarding 10 points to the winner, in addition to 4-2-1 allotments for second, third and fourth position finishers.
2020 Southwest Stakes Entries and Results
| POST | HORSE | JOCKEY | TRAINER | WIN | PLACE | SHOW |
|---|
2 | Silver Prospector | Ricardo Santana, Jr. | Steven M. Asmussen | $11.40 | $6.00 | $3.40 |
1 | Wells Bayou | Florent Geroux | Brad H. Cox | $9.20 | $5.00 | |
9 | Answer In | Javier Castellano | Brad H. Cox | $3.00 | ||
3 | Shoplifted | Brian Joseph Hernandez, Jr. | Steven M. Asmussen | |||
8 | Taishan | Mario Gutierrez | Richard Baltas | |||
7 | Villainous | David Cohen | Jeremiah C. Englehart | |||
5 | American Butterfly | Declan Cannon | D. Wayne Lukas | |||
6 | Chase Tracker | John R. Velazquez | Todd A. Pletcher | |||
4 | Gold Street | Martin Garcia | Steven M. Asmussen |
Exotic Payoffs:
| $2 Exacta (2-1) | $96.40 |
| $2 Trifecta (2-1-9) | $418.40 |
| $2 Superfecta (2-1-9-3) | $1,906.00 |
Watch the 2020 Southwest Stakes
History of the Southwest Stakes
Launched in 1968, the Southwest Stakes has become a key part of the Oaklawn Park series of preps for the Kentucky Derby. The second of the four Oaklawn preps, it’s also part of the Road to the Kentucky Derby series, for which the first four home get points on a 10-4-2-1 basis. It was promoted to grade three status in 2008.
The best horse to win the race is probably Smarty Jones, who won the Southwest Stakes by three-quarters of a length in 2004. He went on to win the remaining Oaklawn Derby preps, the Rebel Stakes and the Arkansas Derby, before winning the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes.
Two years later, Lawyer Ron completed the same treble that Smarty Jones did; he went on to win races such as the Whitney Handicap and Woodward Stakes. Belmont Stakes runner-up Denis of Cork won the race in 2008, while in 2012 one of the two divisions held that year was won by Secret Circle, later to win the Breeders’ Cup Sprint.
Previous Winners of the Southwest Stakes
| POST | HORSE | JOCKEY | TRAINER | WIN | PLACE | SHOW |
|---|
2 | Silver Prospector | Ricardo Santana, Jr. | Steven M. Asmussen | $11.40 | $6.00 | $3.40 |
1 | Wells Bayou | Florent Geroux | Brad H. Cox | $9.20 | $5.00 | |
9 | Answer In | Javier Castellano | Brad H. Cox | $3.00 | ||
3 | Shoplifted | Brian Joseph Hernandez, Jr. | Steven M. Asmussen | |||
8 | Taishan | Mario Gutierrez | Richard Baltas | |||
7 | Villainous | David Cohen | Jeremiah C. Englehart | |||
5 | American Butterfly | Declan Cannon | D. Wayne Lukas | |||
6 | Chase Tracker | John R. Velazquez | Todd A. Pletcher | |||
4 | Gold Street | Martin Garcia | Steven M. Asmussen |