Oaklawn opens with adjusted schedule, higher purses

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Oaklawn Park will move into a new era when it launches its 115th season of racing on Friday.

The track has reconfigured its dates, opening two weeks later than usual and running three weeks after its traditional closing card, Arkansas Derby Day, to May 4. It also has added a winner’s circle enclosure, built three new barns with five more on the way, and is introducing two new six-figure stakes races.

But that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

There’s a $100 million expansion project in the works that involves extending the gaming area and adding a seven-story hotel and a 14,000-square-foot event center that will overlook the first turn of the track. The construction will be done in phases after live racing ends, with the entire project scheduled to be completed by the start of the meet in 2021.

“I can’t wait for our racing season in a couple of years, when everything’s built, everything’s humming,” said Lou Cella, president of Oaklawn. “It will be a very unique experience at Oaklawn.”

For now, Cella said the focus is on the 57-date meet at hand. Oaklawn opens with a more than $30 million purse package that includes a pair of $1 million preps for the Kentucky Derby – the Grade 2 Rebel on March 16 and the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby on April 13.

“It’s all about the purses, that’s the name of the game,” Cella said. “If you have rising, and consistently high purses, you get the best horses, jockeys, and trainers. Fans want to see winners. They want to see the best.”

Oaklawn will run four Kentucky Derby points races as part of its 30-race stakes schedule worth $8.8 million. First up is the $150,000 Smarty Jones on Friday. It’s followed by the Grade 3, $500,000 Southwest on Feb. 18, the Rebel – with the purse increased from last year’s $900,000 – and the Arkansas Derby. The meet closes with one additional offering for 3-year-olds, the $250,000 Oaklawn Invitational at 1 1/8 miles. The race will be run on the same day as the Kentucky Derby.

“We have around 5,000 people show up on Kentucky Derby Day for simulcast,” Cella said. “Throw in a competitive race like that and we anticipate a big, fun day.”

The Oaklawn Invitational could draw horses that might not have enough points or are not ready for the Kentucky Derby.

“I wouldn’t be surprised to see many of these horses go on to the Preakness, Belmont,” Cella said.

Other stakes highlights include the Racing Festival of the South, which opens April 12 with the Grade 3 Fantasy, a Kentucky Oaks points race boosted in value from $400,000 to $500,000. The Festival continues with the Arkansas Derby Day card, which includes the Grade 2, $750,000 Oaklawn Handicap and Grade 3, $400,000 Count Fleet Sprint Handicap. In the past, the meet would have closed with that program, but the Festival rolls through Sunday, April 14, with the running of the Grade 1, $700,000 Apple Blossom Handicap.

As for the new meet structure, a driving force is the weather – trading winter dates for spring dates.

“It’s really very simple,” Cella said. “We have to get out of January. That’s our goal.

“On paper, it makes a lot of sense. We just hope it resonates. We’re not going to know in Year 1, 2, or 3. If we find it’s not resonating, we’ll go back to the old schedule.”

Oaklawn has a plan in place to keep the quality of its racing high in its final weeks, when some horses could travel to meets that open in April. In addition to introducing rich stakes like the Oaklawn Invitational and the $200,000 Oaklawn Mile for 4-year-olds and up on May 3, there are strategic purse bumps set for four key stakes days – Southwest Day, Rebel Day, Arkansas Derby Day, and Kentucky Derby Day.

“We want the best races for the patrons,” said Pat Pope, Oaklawn’s racing secretary. “Purses on those days will be increased at least $5,000 for any race for 3-year-olds and up – maidens, allowance, claiming – and $10,000 for any straight 3-year-old races, with a strong possibility that they will be higher.”

Pope said Oaklawn is starting the meet with maiden special weight races worth $77,000 and no-conditions allowances at $80,000. The bottom claiming price is $6,250, and the minimum purse is $20,000. Overall, purses are projected to average more than $550,000 per program, a track record.

Oaklawn received requests for nearly 3,000 stalls, about double the number of horses the track can house, said Wayne Smith, Oaklawn’s general manager. There are more than 15 new stables on the grounds, among them from trainers Mark Casse, Larry Jones, Dallas Stewart, and Nick Zito. Oaklawn also will be drawing horses from Louisiana Downs, which is now offering training center services due to last year’s shuttering of the Evangeline Training Center.

As for Oaklawn, Smith said that aside from racing, the focus this meet will be communicating the extended dates.

“We’re pushing hard from an advertising standpoint to remember to ‘stay until May,’ ” he said. “That’s our tagline.”

“We’ll see on the Sunday after the Arkansas Derby if it worked,” Cella said.