Kentucky Derby 2025 Report: Coal Battle Wins Rebel Stakes

The Grade 2 Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn was the most recent Kentucky Derby 2025 points race, and Coal Battle picked up his third Derby prep victory. In this report, I will recap the John Battaglia Memorial and Rebel, update the Derby points standings, and share my latest exceptional 11 Derby contenders.

The next three Kentucky Derby points races are the Fountain of Youth Stakes at Gulfstream, the Gotham at Aqueduct, and the San Felipe at Santa Anita on Saturday, March 1. 

Fountain of Youth field: 1 – Gate to Wire, 2 – Sovereignty, 3 – Burnham Square, 4 – McKellen, 5 – Solid Left, 6 – River Thames, 7 – Neoequos, 8 – Keep It Easy

Gotham field: 1 – Scorching, 2 – Normandy Coast, 3 – Calling Card, 4 – Sacrosanct, 5 – Sand Devil, 6 – Pagoda, 7 – Flood Zone, 8 – McAfee, 9 – Garamond, 10 – My Mitole

In other Derby news, Bullard shipped from California to Arkansas and spiked a temperature and was forced to scratch out of the Rebel Stakes (G2) on Feb. 23. Last year’s Bob Hope (G3) hero needs to recover quickly if he has any hope of making the Derby. He has zero Derby points and has yet to compete in a route race. Due to this setback, he drops off my Derby list to make room for Coal Battle. 

Read more at The Runaway Horse

Rebel Stakes 2025 Video Picks at Oaklawn

In this horse racing video, I analyze the Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn (2-23-25).  

I am covering all of the road to Kentucky Derby prep races, and through the first 21 points races, my top choices have 5 wins, 4 runner-up finishes, and a show finish. Two of my top choices scratched, so I am officially 5-for-19. Check out horse racing free picks and more at The Runaway Horse.