Southeast Arkansas will make an imprint on this year’s running of the Kentucky Derby.
Mystik Dan, a race horse owned by 4 G Racing, is one of 20 horses that make up the field for the 150th running of horse racing’s first Triple Crown leg, scheduled for a 5:57 p.m. Central post time Saturday at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky. Mystik Dan’s ownership includes Lance Gasaway, a Star City farmer and former University of Arkansas at Monticello wide receiver who was inducted into the school’s athletic Hall of Fame in 2015.
Other owners include his cousin Brent Gasaway, Brent’s wife Sharilyn and Daniel Hamby III; the team also bred Mystik Dan. Kenny McPeek is the horse’s trainer. Brian Hernandez Jr., who has made more than 18,000 starts in his career with 2,562 wins, will ride Mystik Dan.
Lance Gasaway was an honorable mention All-American at UAM as a senior in 1985. He set single-game UAM and Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference records at the time of 196 yards on 16 receptions in the Boll Weevils’ 36-31 win over Henderson State University that season.
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Gasaway finished his Weevil career with 113 receptions for 1,605 yards and 12 touchdowns. Today, he manages an 18,000-acre farm in Star City.
Mystik Dan finished third in the Arkansas Derby on March 30 at Hot Springs’ Oaklawn Park and earned enough points to qualify for the Kentucky Derby field. The horse has made six career starts (three this year including a win in the Feb. 3 Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn), winning two times, finishing second once and third once to earn $641,360 in his career.
Mystik Dan has drawn the No. 3 post and as of Thursday had 20-1 odds of winning the Kentucky Derby.
“Well, he looks like a contender with his speed and ability to race closer to the pace, with the inside post usually being bad,” Pine Bluff native and Oaklawn handicapper Charlie Cooper said. “But again his gate speed will put him in contention to win if good enough. Remember, I am very proud of my skills as a handicapper, but the Derby is usually hard to figure out with that many horses needing racing luck to avoid trouble. The more I look at him, the more I like him.”
The race, which will be televised on NBC (KARK-4) and its streaming service Peacock, will be held on the first anniversary of the passing of Gasaway’s father Clint, according to Bloodhorse.com.
Saturday wouldn’t be the first time there has been some southeast Arkansas influence on the Derby. The thoroughbred Pine Bluff, owned by a Lake Hamilton stable, placed fifth in Louisville in 1992 after winning the Arkansas Derby, but came back to win the Preakness Stakes in Baltimore. A third-place finish in the Belmont Stakes near New York helped Pine Bluff win a $1 million bonus from Chrysler.