HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - Trainer Todd Pletcher obviously made the right decision when he chose to run Balto Star in the $500,000 Arkansas Derby on Saturday rather than in a Kentucky Derby prep in New York or in Kentucky.

	Balto Star (second from left) begins his move to the lead as he moves across the rest of the field.

"It looked like the easiest spot," Pletcher said at the time.

Was it ever.

Taking command at the start from his outside post over a sloppy racetrack, Balto Star cleared the field going into the first turn and was never threatened as he rolled to a 4 1/2-length victory as the 8-5 favorite in the 65th running of the Arkansas Derby before a rainy-day crowd of 39,872 at Oaklawn Park.

California shipper Jamaican Rum, the 3-1 second choice, closed five wide for second under Eddie Delahoussaye, and Son of Rocket, who pressed the winner throughout, finished third in the field of 11, 5 3/4 lengths behind the runner-up.

The victory was the second straight in the Arkansas Derby for Pletcher, who won last year's running of the nine-furlong Grade 2 race with Graeme Hall. Three other trainers, Ron McAnally, D. Wayne Lukas, and Loren Rettle, have accomplished the feat.

Earlier in the day, Pletcher, who watched the Arkansas Derby from Keeneland, saw two of his horses, Invisible Ink in the Blue Grass and Left Bank in the Commonwealth Breeders' Cup, run poorly at the Kentucky track.

Like Graeme Hall, Balto Star won his Arkansas Derby on the lead, but unlike Graeme Hall, who finished an eased last of 19 at 46-1 in the Kentucky Derby, Balto Star goes to Louisville for the May 5 Derby as a major contender.

With Mark Guidry sitting chilly, Balto Star maintained a narrow lead over Strike It Smart and Son of Rocket through a quarter in 22.19 seconds and a half in 45.96. Leaving the backstretch, Balto Star widened his advantage to the wire. Jamaican Run passed tired horses to finish a clear second, while Son of Rocket, a two-time stakes winner over the track, won a three-way photo from Royal Spy and Faiths Wish for the show.

"My horse did it easily; he's a pleasure to ride," said Guidry, who was riding for the first time at this track. "He's very athletic. I think he'll run all day."

The victory was the fourth in eight starts for Balto Star, a son of Glitterman who is owned by the Anstu Stables of New Yorker Stuart Subotnick, and the $300,000 first prize boosted his bankroll to $720,190. He was clocked in 1:49.04 in the off going, paid $5.20, and topped an 11-9 exacta worth $21.60.