Oaklawn Park boosts purse of Apple Blossom Handicap

The purse of the Apple Blossom Handicap has been raised to $700,000 in the most significant change to the 31-race stakes schedule for the Oaklawn Park meet that opens Jan. 12. Last season, the race was worth $600,000 when won by champion Stellar Wind.

Oaklawn’s stakes calendar, which features four races offering Kentucky Derby qualifying points, will be worth a track-record $8.53 million in 2018.

The Apple Blossom, a 1 1/16-mile race on April 13, is one of two Grade 1 stakes at Oaklawn. The $1 million Arkansas Derby will close out the season April 14. The stakes anchor the annual Racing Festival of the South, a grouping of major races over the final week of the meet. The Apple Blossom will share a card with a Kentucky Oaks prep, the Grade 3, $400,000 Fantasy.

In another change to the stakes schedule, the purse for the Essex Handicap has been boosted from $250,000 to $300,000. The 1 1/16-mile race will be run March 17. Last meet, Mor Spirit shipped in and won the Essex two races before his tour-de-force performance in the Metropolitan Handicap at Belmont.

Oaklawn’s outstanding program for 3-year-olds starts with the $150,000 Smarty Jones at a mile Jan. 15. The Grade 3, $500,000 Southwest at 1 1/16 miles follows on Feb. 19. Last meet, those two races each awarded 17 qualifying points for the Kentucky Derby.

The 3-year-old action escalates March 17 with the Grade 2, $900,000 Rebel, a 1 1/16-mile race that was worth 85 points in 2017. The meet’s final steppingstone to the Kentucky Derby is the 170-point Arkansas Derby. The 1 1/8-mile race will be supported by three other stakes on closing day, including the Grade 2, $750,000 Oaklawn Handicap at the same distance and the Grade 3, $400,000 Count Fleet Sprint Handicap.

The Rebel shares a card with the Essex and Grade 2, $350,000 Azeri, which is the local steppingstone to the Apple Blossom. The Southwest will be part of a program that includes the Grade 3, $500,000 Razorback Handicap, won last meet by Gun Runner, and the Grade 3, $150,000 Bayakoa, which could produce starters for the Apple Blossom.

2018 Oaklawn Park stakes schedule

DATE	RACE	CONDITIONS	DISTANCE	PURSE
Fri., Jan. 12	Fifth Season	4YO & Up	1 1/16M	$125K
Sat., Jan. 13	Pippin	4YO & Up	1 1/16M	$125K
Mon., Jan. 15	Smarty Jones	3YO	1M	$150K
Sat., Jan. 20	Dixie Belle	3YO Fillies	6F	$125K
Sat., Jan. 27	American Beauty	4YO & Up F&M	6F	$125K
Sat., Feb. 3	King Cotton	4YO & Up	6F	$125K
Sat., Feb. 10	Martha Washington	3YO Fillies	1M	$125K
Sat., Feb. 17	Bayakoa (G3)	4YO & Up F&M	1 1/16M	$150K
Mon., Feb. 19	Razorback Handicap (G3)	4YO & Up	1 1/16M	$500K
Mon., Feb. 19	Southwest (G3)	3YO	1 1/16M	$500K
Sat., Feb. 24	Downthedustyroad	3YO & Up F&M*	6F	$100K
Sat., Feb. 24	Gazebo	3YO	6F	$125K
Sat., Mar. 3	Nodouble	3YO & Up*	6F	$100K
Sat., Mar. 3	Spring Fever	4YO & Up F&M	5 1/2F	$200K
Sat., Mar. 10	Honeybee (G3)	3YO Fillies	1 1/16M	$200K
Sat., Mar. 10	Hot Springs	4YO & Up	6F	$125K
Sat., Mar. 17	Azeri (G2)	4YO & Up F&M	1 1/16M	$350K
Sat., Mar. 17	Rebel (G2)	3YO	1 1/16M	$900K
Sat., Mar. 17	Essex Handicap	4YO & Up	1 1/16M	$300K
Sat., Mar. 24	Purple Martin	3YO Fillies	6F	$150K
Fri., Mar. 30	Rainbow	3YO*	6F	$150K
Sat., Mar. 31	Rainbow Miss	3YO Fillies*	6F	$150K
Sat., April 7	Carousel	4YO & Up F&M	6F	$150K
Sat., April 7	Arkansas Breeders' (Open Div.)	3YO & Up	1 1/16M	$100K
Thur., April 12	Bachelor	3YO	6F	$150K
Fri., April 13	Apple Blossom Handicap (G1)	4YO & Up F&M	1 1/16M	$700K
Fri., April 13	Fantasy (G3)	3YO Fillies	1 1/16M	$400K
Sat., April 14	Northern Spur	3YO	1 1/16M	$150K
Sat., April 14	Count Fleet Sprint Handicap (G3)	4YO & Up	6F	$400K
Sat., April 14	Oaklawn Handicap (G2)	4YO & Up	1 1/8M	$750K
Sat., April 14	Arkansas Derby (G1)	3YO	1 1/8M	$1 million

*Arkansas-bred