Oaklawn opens with expanded gaming area, rich stakes schedule

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Oaklawn Park will begin its 111th season of racing Friday at a satisfying pinnacle. After introducing the parimutuel electronic game Instant Racing 15 years ago to help it survive against competition from gaming interests, the track has developed into one of the premier winter meets in North America.

Oaklawn’s path to the Triple Crown has become one of racing’s most popular, having produced horses like Smarty Jones, Afleet Alex, and Curlin. Purses have exploded – projected to average $400,000 a day at this year’s 57-date meet – and in the barn area, the list of prominent owners and trainers stabling at the track has grown with each passing season.

Still, it appears the best is yet to come.

Oaklawn’s little Instant Racing parlor began to grow not long after it was rolled out in 2000. Gambling through electronic games of skill was passed in a 2005 referendum and upheld by the state in 2007. On Dec. 31, the track completed a $20 million expansion to its upscale gaming center that will continue to fuel the racing program for years to come as part of a master plan driven by Oaklawn president Charles Cella.

“We think this is the beginning of a new era for Oaklawn Park,” said Eric Jackson, the track’s general manager. “When we got into gaming, we said we were going to use gaming to enhance racing, and that’s what we’ve done. Now, we’ve expanded gaming, and that’s going to further expand racing. I think we’re getting ready to take Oaklawn to a higher level than it is today.”

Oaklawn’s program of 31 stakes is worth a record $6.6 million at this meet, with the Grade 1, $1 million Arkansas Derby serving as an exclamation point on the closing-day card April 11. From now until then, 3-year-olds will drive toward that goal in races like the Grade 3, $300,000 Southwest on Feb. 16 and the Grade 2 Rebel on March 14, a 1 1/16-mile stakes boosted from $600,000 to $750,000 for 2015.

“David Longinotti, our director of racing, is projecting a [total] purse distribution of $23 million,” Jackson said of the new meet. “That’s up $2 million from a year ago. We’ve got maidens running for $60,000. About six or seven years ago, they were running for $30,000.”

Oaklawn’s ability to increase purses for the seventh straight year has made recruiting stables a fun task for the track’s racing secretary, Pat Pope.

“There’s a lot of stakes horses back there,” he said.

Pope said he received requests for about 3,000 stalls. It’s a record number for the track, which can accommodate 1,500 horses. Pope said 154 trainers requested those stalls, and Oaklawn was able to find space for 112. Last year, Pope said he received requests for about 2,600 stalls.

Steve Asmussen, the winner of the past three training titles in Hot Springs, and D. Wayne Lukas, the Hall of Famer who has Take Charge Brandi, the winner of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies, settled in for the season, are regulars who will be squaring off with divisions from new faces like Karl Broberg, Wayne Catalano, Robertino Diodoro, Tony Dutrow, Steve Margolis, Al Stall Jr., and Mike Stidham.

Shaun Bridgmohan and Joe Rocco Jr. are among the new riders challenging Ricardo Santana Jr., who is seeking his third consecutive title at Oaklawn.

“I think the impact of the purses has also added depth to the jockey colony,” said Pope.

Pope said that aside from the Racing Festival of the South, a weeklong run of major stakes April 4-11, he looks for the Rebel card to be a blockbuster. For the second year in a row, the prep will share a card with the Azeri, which has seen its purse grow from $200,000 to $300,000 for 2015. The Azeri, for fillies and mares, is a stepping-stone to the Grade 1, $600,000 Apple Blossom on April 10.

“I’m looking for a very strong day,” Pope said. “All of the sudden, there’s $1.3 million in just stakes. That’s not counting the maiden special weights and other races. That’s just three of the 10 races.”

The other March 14 stakes is the Razorback Handicap, the prep for the Grade 2, $600,000 Oaklawn Handicap on April 11. The purse for the Razorback also received a boost for this year, from $200,000 to $250,000.

As for the gaming expansion, it is located on the south end of the grandstand. Of the additional 50,000 square feet, more than 35 percent is dedicated to gaming space, a move that ultimately will provide room for up to 600 new player positions. At present, both the older gaming area and portions of the new floor are housing a total of 1,050 player positions.

“This gives us elbow room for the future,” Jackson said. “We don’t need all of that gaming space right now. We’re trying to plan for the future. The investment in Oaklawn today is also an investment for the next five, 10 years. It’s a great reflection on the Cella family, planning for the days ahead.”