THE final major Kentucky Derby prep race takes place this evening at Oaklawn with all eyes on Classic Empire in the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby.

The son of Pioneerof the Nile, was the champion two-year-old and Breeders’ Cup winner last year but disappointed in third-place finish in the February Lambholm South Holy Bull Stakes. He came out of the race with a foot abscess that interrupted his training.

After refusing to breeze a couple of times at Palm Meadows, Classic Empire has since turned in four good workouts while being rerouted from the Blue Grass Stakes to the Arkansas Derby. Although unbeaten in his completed races, he had also whipped round at the start last season and lost his jockey at Saratoga.

While Classic Empire has been trying to get right, those he has already beaten have boosted his form but he needs to pick up qualifying points to get into the Derby field.

Malagacy will be making his fourth start this year as he looks to bag the 100 Derby qualifying points for the winner.

The chesnut son of Shackleford is part of the Todd Pletcher-trained army that stormed onto the Triple Crown scene in recent weeks.

Unraced as a juvenile, Malagacy won his maiden by 15 lengths in his debut going five and a half furlongs at Gulfstream in January and followed that run with a seven-length win next time out over six and a half furlongs. On his first two-turn test he captured the Rebel by two lengths, but the added distance and better class rivals pose another question.

The Steve Asmussen-trained Untrapped has never finished worse than third in five prior starts, was most recently third in the Rebel, is the mount of Mike Smith and has first time blinkers.

KEENELAND

The brilliant US turf mare Lady Eli will make her 2017 debut when she headlines a field of eight fillies and mares entered for the Grade 1 Coolmore Jenny Wiley Stakes (ATR 11.12pm).

Trained by Chad Brown, the five-year-old Lady Eli will be making her first start since a nose defeat in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf at Santa Anita in November.

Lady Eli missed nearly 14 months of racing as she battled back from laminitis to competition last August with a runner-up finish in the Ballston Spa at Saratoga and a victory in the Grade 1 Flower Bowl Invitational. Irad Ortiz Jr. has the mount on Lady Eli and will break from stall one.

Also in the field are three other Grade 1 winners: Time And Motion, Illuminant, and the Mark Casse-trained Catch A Glimpse. The latter won the 2015 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf here and took the Belmont Oaks Invitational as one of her five graded stakes victories last year. Catch A Glimpse will be ridden by Florent Geroux.

Time And Motion was a Grade 1 winner in the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup here last year. This is her first start since December.

Illuminant, winner of the Grade 1 Gamely last May at Santa Anita, finished third in the 2016 Coolmore Jenny Wiley behind champion Tepin.

The Grade 3 Stonestreet Lexington Stakes is also on the card.