Rebel Stakes Picks — Betting Preview, Odds, and Predictions (2025)

The latest action on the Road to the Kentucky Derby is set for this weekend, as the G2 Rebel Stakes is staged at Oaklawn Park. A competitive race is set, with 14 runners to line up in Arkansas. You can find the latest odds and our picks here.

Odds: Sandman Narrowly Preferred

Rebel Stakes Recent Winners

Rebel Stakes: Event Information

Event Preview

The key race on the Road to the Kentucky Derby this weekend will be staged at Oaklawn Park, with the Rebel Stakes being a key prep before the opening leg of the Triple Crown. A number of contenders come into the race with interesting claims.

Coal Battle is unbeaten on dirt, and was excellent when winning the Smarty Jones Stakes at Oaklawn. However, there are clear limitations that can be found by his moderate speed figures recorded to this point.

Sandman will be a very interesting contender on the face of his fast-finishing second in the G3 Southwest Stakes. He broke incredibly slowly on that day, but that hasn’t been a rarity in his career to this point, which is a major concern.

Madaket Road represents leading connections this weekend, with Bob Baffert having won the Rebel on eight occasions. He has already held his own against California’s best, and the yard tends to send a solid contender to Oaklawn, meaning he deserves respect.

Tiztastic is the runner from the Steven Asmussen yard this weekend. He has already finished third in the G3 Southwest, and was third in the G2 Jockey Club. His only wins to this point have come on the turf, but confidence can be taken from his recent efforts.

As an outsider, Dreaminblue could still be improving for Randy Morse. The three-year-old broke his maiden impressively when running through traffic over six furlongs at Oaklawn. Has stamina to prove this weekend.

Rebel Stakes Picks

We will be siding with Speed King this weekend for the Ron Moquett team. The three-year-old has form to find on Coal Battle after finishing behind his reappearing rival in the Remington Springboard Mile.

However, the additional distance churned out excellent improvement last time out, as he won over course and distance, beating Sandman and Tiztastic in the G3 Southwest. He can confirm that form at Oaklawn Park this weekend.