Muth gave Baffert his fifth Arkansas Derby victory, tying him with fellow Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher for the most wins in the race inaugurated in 1936. Brad Cox has won the last two renewals, with Cyberknife in 2022 and Angel of Empire in 2023, Timberlake, who finished behind Fierceness and Muth while fourth in last year’s BC Juvenile, could not give Cox the “hat trick.” Timberlake came into the Arkansas Derby off a win in the G2 Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn in his 2024 debut but had no answer when Muth challenged him at the three-eighths pole.
