Longtime owner Hickman dies at 90

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Georgia Hickman, a longtime owner who raced at Oaklawn, died Feb. 28 in Ft. Worth, Texas, according to her trainer, Walter Fite. She was 90.

Fite said Hickman and her husband, A.D. Hickman, owned horses for about 20 years, among them Windy Jake, Explosive Lady, and Georgia’s Cantina. Fite said the Hickmans would live in Hot Springs during the Oaklawn meet, with their main home in Texas.

Fite, who is now retired, said the couple also raced at Remington Park, Louisiana Downs, Ruidoso Downs, and the now-shuttered Trinity Meadows. The couple has two sons, Don and David.

◗ Commanding Arch, who debuts in the nightcap Thursday, is a 3-year-old by Arkansas Derby winner Archarcharch who was bred and is co-owned by Krystal Fires-Court. The owner’s father, Jinks Fires, trained Archarcharch and conditions Commanding Arch. The owner’s husband, Jon Court, rode the horse’s sire and is named aboard Commanding Arch. Val Yagos, the co-owner of Archarcharch, is a partner in Commanding Arch.

◗ The second purse increase of the Oaklawn meet, announced last Friday, starts with Thursday’s card.