HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Barber Road has put trainer John A. Ortiz on a path to the Kentucky Derby, which has been a goal for the horseman since he opened his public racing stable in 2016. Barber Road has run second in the first two Kentucky Derby points races at the Oaklawn Park meet and next Saturday is set to start as one of the top contenders in the Grade 2, $1 million Rebel at Oaklawn. The 1 1/16-mile race, which rewards its first four finishers points on a scale of 50-20-10-5, had nine potential starters as of Thursday, according to Oaklawn racing secretary Pat Pope. He said the race would be drawn Monday. Barber Road is set to have his final work for the Rebel on Monday. He is based at Oaklawn, where he opened his 3-year-old season in the $250,000 Smarty Jones on Jan. 1, finishing two lengths behind winner Dash Attack. Barber Road came back in the Grade 3, $750,000 Southwest on Jan. 29 and finished 1 1/2 lengths behind Newgrange. “This is a nice ride he’s taking us along for,” said Ortiz, who trains Barber Road for the WSS Racing operation of Bill Simon. “It’s a lifetime wish to get one of these types of horses that take you to the Derby. We feel very blessed to have him.” :: KENTUCKY DERBY 2022: Derby Watch, point standings, prep schedule, news, and more Barber Road is a son of Race Day, and bloodstock agent Jared Hughes selected him as a weanling, Ortiz said. Barber Road launched his career last August, finishing fourth in a maiden special weight sprint at Colonial Downs. He returned to action in October, winning in his two-turn debut in a $30,000 maiden-claiming race at Keeneland. “He’s a horse that wasn’t being very consistent at the time,” Ortiz said. “He was going through some growing pains, growing up. Once we stretched him out, so did his body and so did his abilities. We think the longer for him, the better.” Barber Road won the 1 1/16-mile maiden race by 3 3/4 lengths. He then captured a starter allowance in November at Churchill Downs by more than six lengths. From there, the horse ran second in three straight stakes, the most prestigious being the Southwest. :: For the first time ever, our premium past performances are free! Get free Formulator now! “We’re just hoping he continues to develop,” Ortiz said. Ortiz, who will turn 36 on Wednesday, comes from a racing family. “My dad was a jockey back in Colombia, moved to the States, ended up retiring and worked for Bill Mott,” Ortiz said. “I was introduced to horse racing through Bill Mott’s stable.” His other formative years were spent working for such trainers as Kellyn Gorder. Ortiz is coming off his best year as a trainer, with $2.6 million in earnings by horses he saddled in 2021. He won 48 races from 314 starts, according to Daily Racing Form statistics. Ortiz maintains a year-round stable in Kentucky, where he has about 30 to 40 horses at the Thoroughbred Training Center. He also has 35 runners stabled at Oaklawn. Ortiz will be welcoming 2-year-olds later this spring by such stallions as Arrogate, Curlin, Maclean’s Music, and Liam’s Map, all selected by Hughes. “We’ve got a nice little arsenal coming up,” Ortiz said. But right now, he’s enjoying the lead up to the Rebel with Barber Road. The Rebel field was coming together earlier this week. Doppelganger and Newgrange are both in play for the Rebel, with works this weekend to determine their status, according to trainer Bob Baffert. Trainer Steve Asmussen said Chasing Time and Stellar Tap are both probable for the Rebel. Chasing Time was an impressive allowance winner at Oaklawn, and Stellar Tap is coming off a third-place finish in a Fair Grounds allowance in January, which marked his first start since October. Trainer Kenny McPeek has been pointing Smarty Jones winner Dash Attack to the Rebel, while trainer Dallas Stewart has had the same gameplan for Ben Diesel, who was third in the Southwest. Pope said other potential starters include Un Ojo. Trainer D. Wayne Lukas said last month that Ethereal Road would be considered for the race following his impressive maiden win at Oaklawn. Pope said a flight from Southern California was scheduled to arrive early in the week at Oaklawn. – additional reporting by Jay Privman