In this week's On Racing, Round 1 of what true fans can only hope is a season-long rivalry takes place April 18�at OaklawnPark, where the two best 3-year-olds of 2025 emerge at age 4 in the $1.25 million Oaklawn Handicap (G2) ... .
Sovereignty and Journalism are not alone in the April 18 OaklawnHandicap (G2) as competitors with Kentucky Derby (G1) experience. Publisher and White Abarrio also raced in the first leg of the Triple Crown with less distinction ... .
Journalism lost the first two rounds to Sovereignty, but those matches were in 2025. Round 3 is April 18 at OaklawnPark where the now-4-year-old heavyweights tangle again in the $1.25 million Oaklawn Handicap (G2) for older horses at 1 1/8 miles ... .
The 2026 OaklawnHandicap (G1) feels like a throwback race to a bygone era in sport where true horse racing heavyweights of the handicap/older male division would meet regularly in marquee stakes across the country ... .