Fantasy will kick off Racing Festival of the South

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Oaklawn Park moves into its most important stretch of racing next Saturday, April 4, with the Grade 3, $400,000 Fantasy Stakes. The feature for 3-year-old fillies opens the annual Racing Festival of the South.

Oaklawn will put on nine major stakes over its final five dates as part of the festival, which was introduced in 1974. There are five graded races during that period, including the only two Grade 1 races held in the Southwest, for total stakes purses of $3.3 million. The series closes with the Arkansas Derby on the final card of the season, April 11.

The field for the 1 1/16-mile Fantasy will be drawn Wednesday. It offers the winner 100 eligibility points for the Kentucky Oaks, with the second- through fourth-place finishers to pick up points on a sliding scale of 40-20-10. Oaklawn will not race the day after the Fantasy, which is Easter Sunday.

The festival resumes April 8 with the $100,000 Carousel for fillies and mares over six furlongs. The Grade 3, $300,000 Count Fleet Sprint Handicap at six furlongs is set for April 9. Oaklawn then puts on a stakes double April 10, with the Grade 1, $600,000 Apple Blossom Handicap for fillies and mares at 1 1/16 miles and the $100,000 Bachelor for 3-year-olds at six furlongs. Pat Pope, racing secretary at Oaklawn, said weights for the Apple Blossom and the Oaklawn Handicap, to be run April 11, are due out next Saturday.

Oaklawn’s final card will boast four stakes, with the Grade 1, $1 million Arkansas Derby at 1 1/8 miles to be supported by the Grade 2, $600,000 Oaklawn Handicap at the same distance and a pair of races for 3-year-olds, the $100,000 Northern Spur at a mile and the $100,000 Instant Racing for fillies at six furlongs. The draw for the closing-day card will be held April 8. Pope said it will be a 12-race program that will have a special early post of noon Central.

Planes bringing horses from Florida and Southern California are scheduled to arrive in Arkansas during the final week of the meet, said Pope. He looks for the field for the Arkansas Derby to come into focus after this weekend’s Kentucky Derby preps, he said on Friday.

Some horses could use the Arkansas Derby as a last chance to gain Kentucky Derby qualifying points. The Arkansas Derby is the final prep offering 100 eligibility points for the Kentucky Derby. The race’s second- through fourth-place finishers will earn points on a 40-20-10 basis.

Oaklawn is scheduled to open its infield for the festival’s two Saturday cards, weather permitting. The forecast for Fantasy Day is sunny with a high of 69 degrees.