Oaklawn adds two Wednesday cards

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. -- Oaklawn Park will add two Wednesday programs to its meet in March after receiving Arkansas Racing Commission approval for the dates at a meeting Saturday. The move came a few hours after Oaklawn announced Saturday’s program was canceled due to freezing temperatures. It was the sixth canceled program of the meet that opened in January.

Oaklawn will add March 18 and March 25 to the meet that runs through April 11. Oaklawn was originally scheduled to race 57 dates this year, and provided there are no more cancellations, the added dates will bring the meet’s length to 53 dates.

The added dates were approved at a regularly scheduled meeting of the commission.

Arkansas, like other parts of the country, has experienced some extreme winter weather conditions in January and February. The track lost this year’s opening weekend, Jan. 9-11, due to freezing temperatures, while the weather also claimed its popular Presidents Day program Feb. 16. That holiday Monday card traditionally includes the Grade 3, $300,000 Southwest Stakes, which had to be postponed to Feb. 22. The other cancellation this meet came on Friday.