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Hot Springs, AR (SportsNetwork.com) - Monday, while the nation observes Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Oaklawn Park begins its series of stakes for 3- year-olds with the one-mile, $150,000 Smarty Jones Stakes. The Smarty Jones, named for the locally raced colt that won the 2004 Kentucky Derby and Preakness, is followed by the Southwest Stakes on Feb. 16 and the Rebel on March 14 with the Arkansas Derby on April 11. Trainer Steve Asmussen will saddle a pair of 3-year-olds among the nine entered Monday. Leaving from post 7 will be Bayerd, winner of the Springboard Mile last year at Remington Park. The colt, owned by Clark Brewster, will be ridden by Ramon Vazquez. Bayerd is a nice horse who has run five very good races, Asmussen said. He won his last race at a mile so the Smarty Jones is a good spot to start his 3- year-old campaign. Im anxious to see how he does at Oaklawn, which can be a horse specific course sometimes. Joining Bayerd will be Lucky Player, owned by Jerry Durant. The colt will be ridden by Ricardo Santana Jr. from post 6. Lucky Player won the Iroquois Stakes at Churchill Downs after being second in the Prairie Meadows Juvenile. Hes a nice horse too, Asmussen said of Lucky Player. Well see if he can handle two turns at this time of year. Neither one is quirky. They are both straightforward colts and easy to be around. They are young, good-feeling boys. We have hopes and dreams for them. Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas will start battled tested Mr. Z. The chestnut colt, owned by Zayat Stables, will break from post 3 with Jon Court riding. Mr. Z won his debut effort last June at Churchill and then saw nothing but stakes competition. He was second in Saratogas Sanford and Saratoga Special, fifth in the Iroquois, second in Keenelands Breeders Futurity, fifth in the Breeders Cup Juvenile, second in the Delta Downs Jackpot and third in the Los Alamitos Futurity. Mr. Z has earned $499,726 in eight starts. Here is the field for the Smarty Jones from the rail out: Far Right, Mike Smith; Paid Admission, David Mello; Mr. Z, Jon Court; American Sailor, Joe Rocco Jr.; Hebbronville, Shaun Bridgmohan; Lucky Player, Ricardo Santana Jr.; Bayerd, Ramon Vazquez; Private Prospect, Alex Birzer and Runaway Bling, Glenn Corbett. The Smarty Jones has an approximate post time Monday of 5:38 p.m. ET. Last years Smarty Jones Stakes was won by Tanzanite Cat one year after Will Take Charge won on his way to being voted 2013 champion 3-year-old male. Cheap Jim Thome Jersey .Kessy tried to show what he can do playing left wing for the Oilers in 5-0 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday in pre-season action. Wholesale Indians Jerseys .Y. -- Kristen Gillman rallied to win the U. http://www.cheapindiansjerseys.com/?tag=cheap-larry-doby-jersey .com) - Jimmie Johnson won Sundays AAA Texas 500 while championship contenders Jeff Gordon and Brad Keselowski as well as their teams were involved in a post-race fight on pit road after the two clashed in the closing laps at Texas Motor Speedway. Cheap Omar Vizquel Jersey .The Ottawa Senators winger was relegated to a corner seat in the locker-room to allow Daniel Alfredsson to return to his regular stall one last time. Cheap MLB Jerseys . "It was a little weird looking over and seeing all the green uniforms," he said of his first game against the Boston Celtics.TORONTO - At the ripe old age of 26, Amir Johnson - the teams second-most experienced player - is one of only two Raptors starters that can give a firsthand account of what it will be like to compete in the postseason. "All he says is, its crazy," DeMar DeRozan told reporters following Torontos win over the Pistons Wednesday. The Raptors longest-serving members, Johnson and DeRozan have had two coaches and 56 different teammates in five seasons with the club, all without appearing in a single playoff game. Before becoming a fixture in Toronto, Johnson logged 56 minutes in 11 postseason contests spanning over two seasons with the Pistons. At the time, the forward was primarily a spectator, mentored by the likes of Rasheed Wallace, Chauncey Billups, Richard Hamilton and Antonio McDyess. Johnson is a man of few words but hes shared a couple with DeRozan, who is poised to make his playoff debut next month. "Amir says one word and you really just have to go off that one word, how he explains something," said the Raptors all-star guard. "Everything is crazy to him. So, he always says its crazy." "Its crazy, D," Johnson interjected from his locker on the far side of the room. "See, so its crazy," DeRozan continued. "Playoffs are going to be crazy." Up until this season, DeRozan and Johnson had endured 190 losses to just 119 wins in Raptors red. They havent played in a meaningful late-season game since their first year with the team, Chris Boshs last. Their bond is a unique one, as you might expect, having experienced the trials and tribulations of the Raptors four-year playoff drought together. "Thats my dog, man," DeRozan said of Johnson, both hail from the state of California. "Amirs known me [since] I was running around with the same pair of dirty shoes on playing basketball. We always used to look up to Amir, especially in LA. He was a big star and everything. Its definitely cool just to be here with him." "People dont know, Amirs my cousin,&qquot; he said with a smirk, jokingly, we think.dddddddddddd"You can ask Amir." So we did. "Oh man, I dont know," he responded, this was news to him. "I have no idea. Somewhere down the line, I guess. I guess were cousins, I dont know. Ive got to talk to his mom, talk to my mom and see." DeRozan, the Raptors leading scorer, is enjoying a career year but the playoffs - as coach Dwane Casey has cautioned - are a different animal. The atmosphere is intensified, the competition more fierce, scoring opportunities are harder to come by, weaknesses are magnified and in a seven-game series the oppositions scouting report will undoubtedly feature DeRozan. Theres been a steep playoff learning curve for Raptors stars of the past. Bosh, Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady each shot under 40 per cent from the field in their first postseason series. Making his playoff debut as a 23-year-old in 2000, Carter shot just 30 per cent, turning the ball over nearly three times per contest in a three-game sweep to the Knicks. Even with that in mind, DeRozan believes hes more prepared than most. While many players on losing teams find it far too maddening to watch their peers compete for a title in April and May, the Raptors guard has done just that each year hes missed out, making notes and using them for motivation. "I had to [watch]," he admitted, "just to understand, to see how it was. Youre playing the same team, possibly seven times. Just to understand that and see the different schemes out there and try to really get a knowledge of how its played." "Thats why I work so hard. It always bugged me going home early, just sitting there, doing nothing. It used to make me so hungry. Ive got a lot of friends that play in the playoffs and Ive always got to hear them all summer talk about their experience in the playoffs. Its always pushing me even further. I just want to get there, not even for myself, just for this organization as well. It definitely feels good that were moving in the right direction now." 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