HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Lark’s Mischief enters Sunday’s eighth race at Oaklawn Park off a quick win at the allowance’s six-furlong distance. He earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 99, the best last-race number in the field of 10. The number also is higher than the local Beyer par for the two-other-than allowance level, which is a 91. Lark’s Mischief is further appealing as a son of North America’s leading general sire, Into Mischief, and a mare who placed in a pair of Grade 1 races, Miss Besilu. These credentials would seem to make Lark’s Mischief the favorite. But, he’s 9-2 on the morning line in a nod to the competitive nature of the race. “I really like the horse,” said Robertino Diodoro, who trains Lark’s Mischief for Flying P Stable. “That’s a salty, salty race. Holy cow!” The field includes Super Ocho, a multiple Group 2 winner who was a close sixth in the 2022 Breeders’ Cup Sprint; Easy Action, who won a first-level allowance last out at Churchill Downs with a Beyer of 98; Tapatio Leo, who has won his last three starts at three different tracks in Southern California; and Count de Monet, winner of the 2022 Advent at Oaklawn. :: Bet the races with a $200 First Deposit Match + FREE All Access PPs! Join DRF Bets. Lark’s Mischief was an $80,000 claim out of his last start Nov. 12 at Churchill Downs. He led throughout, and after covering a half-mile in 44.73 seconds had enough to hold on for a neck win in 1:09.13. “We liked him,” Diodoro said of making the claim. “He’s got speed. He’s a good-looking horse. He’s well bred. “We definitely didn’t think this race would come up as tough as it did. At the same time, our horse is training really well.” Easy Action was a 3 1/4-length winner on Nov. 11 at Churchill. He covered six furlongs in 1:09.38. Easy Action, who tracked the pace, figures to again be prominent Sunday when he breaks from post 2. Ricardo Santana Jr. has the mount for Alex and JoAnn Lieblong and trainer Norm Casse. Tapatio Leo has set the pace in his string of wins, which have come in sprints at Del Mar, Santa Anita, and Los Alamitos. Ramon Vazquez has the mount for trainer Peter Miller, who has a division of horses at Oaklawn. The Grade 1-placed Kneedeepinsnow was third last out in a Prairie Meadows stakes June 9 that has become a key race, with runner-up Ultimate coming back to win the Iowa Sprint and the fourth-place finisher, Tiger Dad, taking the Free Pass at Assiniboia Downs. Axel Concepcion, who led all North American-based apprentice jockeys in wins and earnings in 2023, is named to ride Texas Red Hot for trainer Randy Morse. Concepcion is named on his first two Oaklawn mounts earlier in the card, both for trainer Brad Cox. ◗ Oaklawn announced Friday that over the first nine dates of the meet average field size has been 9.84 horses per race. The track had 886 starters through the Smarty Jones Day card last Monday. ◗ Purses over the first nine dates have averaged $914,888 a day, according to statistics provided by Chris Ho, the track’s vice president of marketing. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.