Overanalyze wins Ark. Derby

Overanalyze, rebounding from a lackluster seasonal debut, overpowered his rivals in the drive to easily win the $1 million Arkansas Derby and stamp his ticket for this year's Run for the Roses.

Rafael Bejarano brought the son of Dixie Union from well off the pace to score handily at 7-2 odds for Repole Stable and trainer Todd Pletcher. The Arkansas Derby, the last major prep race for the 2013 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands, was worth 100 points. It guaranteed Overanalyze a starting spot in the 20-horse starting gate May 3.

Frac Daddy garnered 40 points for finishing second and also appears to be headed for Lousville. Unheralded Carve finished third, with pacesetter Falling Sky weakening to fourth in deep stretch. That left the Sam F. Davis winner with 30 points and on the bubble for the Derby.

Overanalyze was considered a top Derby candidate after a 2-year-old campaign that included wins in the Futurity Stakes at Belmont Park and the Remsen Stakes at Aqueduct Racetrack. In his only start since the Nov. 24 Remsen, which he won by a nose over Normandy Invasion, he ran a non-threatening fifth in the Gotham Stakes last month.

The final time for the Arkansas Derby, a 1 1/8-mile test of 3-year-olds, was 1:51.94 on a fast track.

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