Bye Bye J draws attention in Wednesday allowance
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - Alex and JoAnn Lieblong bought Bye Bye J in winter 2019, and one of her first wins for the couple came at Oaklawn Park in an Arkansas-bred stakes worth $100,000.
Fast forward to Wednesday, when Bye Bye J will be running in an Arkansas-bred allowance worth $106,000 – a race that spotlights the record purse structure this meet at Oaklawn.
“She’s been a delight to have, and we’re fortunate that the purses are what they are,” Alex Lieblong said.
Bye Bye J is the class of the field in Wednesday’s eighth race, a six-furlong allowance for fillies and mares. The card opens the final week of racing at the meet that closes Saturday.
The Lieblongs were tied for third in the local owner standings through Sunday, with a record of nine wins from 30 starts for stable earnings of $616,769.
Bye Bye J has a good chance to add to those totals. She’s a four-time stakes winner who has earned nearly $400,000 and she’s moving back into the overnight ranks after finishing a close fourth as the favorite in the $150,000 Downthedustyroad on Feb. 28 at Oaklawn. The six-furlong stakes for Arkansas-breds was run in the slop, on an afternoon in which the wet-weather conditions were extreme. Since the Downthedustyroad, the second- and third-place finishers have won races.
Bye Bye J will start from post 6 on Wednesday, with trainer Steve Asmussen giving the mount to David Cabrera.
Other leading contenders in the 11-horse race include Hillary G, winner of the $150,000 Rainbow Miss earlier this month at Oaklawn. The 2019 Rainbow Miss was the first stakes Bye Bye J won for the Lieblongs, when the purse was $100,000. Ramon Vazquez will ride the front-running Hillary G for trainer Tommy Vance.
The Oaklawn meet has been a focal point for the Lieblongs, who are Arkansas residents. The couple has celebrated a number of notable wins this season, including Abrogate in the Purple Martin Stakes and Willful Woman in a recent allowance route for which she earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 80.
Alex Lieblong said Saturday that Asmussen is leaning toward a start with Abrogate in the Eight Belles at Churchill Downs and is considering the Black-Eyed Susan at Pimlico for Willful Woman.
“That was the last communication,” Lieblong said. “Willful Woman has really grown into herself. She looks better every time I see her. Just watching her works, she skips along.”
Following the meet, the Lieblong runners will be active in Florida and Kentucky, while some will ship to New York. Alex Lieblong noted there is a bonus in place for some runners coming out of Oaklawn and racing at Belmont Park.
“We’ll send those that look like they fit and are ready to run,” he said.
In addition to Asmussen, the couple has horses with David Fawkes, Steve Hobby, and Ron Moquett.
Dates set for 2022
The Arkansas Racing Commission has granted Oaklawn a 57-date meet for 2022. It will run from Jan. 28-May 7.
Oaklawn will race Thursday through Sunday most weeks, with a special Monday card on Feb. 21.