HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Stakes winners Coal Battle and Kale’s Angel will meet notable debut winner Hot Property on Saturday in a competitive renewal of the $250,000 Smarty Jones at Oaklawn Park. The 1 1/16-mile race – along with the Jerome at Aqueduct – serve as the first Kentucky Derby points races of 2025. The Smarty Jones also is the first of four Kentucky Derby points races on offer at Oaklawn. The first five finishers Saturday will earn points on a scale of 10-5-3-2-1. Kale’s Angel could go favored on the strength of his win in the Advent Stakes on Dec. 6 at Oaklawn. He was prominent when winning the 5 1/2-furlong race by more than five lengths in what was his dirt debut. The Beyer Speed Figure of 93 that Kale’s Angel earned is the best career number in the Smarty Jones. “He always trained really well on the dirt. It was just kind of circumstance why we started him on grass,” trainer Peter Miller said. “And then he won, and we kept him there for a little bit. He’s certainly bred for the dirt.” Kale’s Angel, a son of Complexity, will be looking for his first two-turn win Saturday. It will be his first attempt routing on the main track. In his best two-turn start on turf, he was a good fourth in the Grade 3 Zuma Beach at a mile at Santa Anita. “We ran him two turns twice, so he’s got a little experience,” Miller said. “We’ve just got to wait and see. He’s doing extremely well. We think it’s a good spot to see how he handles it.” Ramon Vazquez has the mount from the rail for Tom Kagele and Earnest Marchosky. :: Bet the races with a $200 First Deposit Match + FREE All Access PPs! Join DRF Bets. Coal Battle is a two-time stakes winner at two turns on dirt, his latest score coming in the $300,000 Springboard Mile on Dec. 13 at Remington Park. For the effort, he picked up 10 points for the Kentucky Derby. “He came back so fresh from the Springboard Mile – really like he didn’t run,” trainer Lonnie Briley said. “He came back and was playing at the barn and didn’t even wet his tongue. So, we said, ‘Heck, we’ll go here and see how it comes up.’ He’s training good for it and all that, but when you start stretching them out, it’s always a question. But I don’t think distance will hurt him at all. “The only thing I don’t like is that 122 pounds.” Briley pointed out the spread in the weights, with Kale’s Angel toting 119 and Hot Property in at 117. Juan Vargas has the mount on Coal Battle from post 8 for Norman Stables. “He has speed,” Briley said. “I could have sprinted him, really. We kind of let him break from the gates and take him back a little back, and he loves running at the end.” Coal Battle’s other two-turn stakes win came on the six-furlong track at Delta Downs in the Jean Lafitte. He is making his first start at Oaklawn, but has been based this winter in Hot Springs. “I’ve went to five different tracks in three different states, I believe, with this horse, and he’s always adapted pretty decent,” Briley said. Hot Property launched his career Nov. 24 at Fair Grounds and wired a field of maiden special weight rivals at 1 1/16 miles. For his more than three-length win, he earned a strong Beyer of 84. “He obviously broke and was on the lead, and I thought he settled well enough from the outside and he finished up well,” trainer Brad Cox said. “So, a good debut effort, good figures, and we’ve been pointing for the Smarty Jones pretty much since that maiden-breaking win.” Hot Property is bred to be a runner as a son of Medaglia d’Oro and the mare Milwaukee Appeal, who won the Woodbine Oaks and earned more than $1.1 million. As a broodmare, she’s produced a Grade 2 winner of more than $500,000 in Actress. “He’s good-minded, trains along well enough,” Cox said. “There’s plenty of him. I mean, he looks like a two-turn horse. That’s why we started at two turns. He’s got a lot of stretch and scope to him, so I don’t think distance will be a problem at all moving forward.” Flavien Prat has the mount for Gary and Mary West from post 6. Cox and Prat won the Smarty Jones in 2023 with Victory Formation. Cox also won this race last year with Catching Freedom and in 2021 with Caddo River. Last season, Mystik Dan launched his Kentucky Derby-winning campaign with a troubled fifth-place finish in the Smarty Jones. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.