Oaklawn Park: Jacobson shipping in a trio for Saturday's card
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Thomas Shelby is one of three horses New York-based trainer David Jacobson plans to fly to Oaklawn Park for overnight races on Saturday’s card.
Jacobson said the horses are scheduled to take a FedEx flight to Memphis, Tenn., on Thursday morning, then van about 2 1/2 hours to Oaklawn.
Thomas Shelby goes in the seventh race, an allowance worth $107,000. Jacobson said it could serve as a springboard to the $125,000 Stymie later this month at Aqueduct. Thomas Shelby is coming off a third-place finish in the Queens County at Aqueduct. Jacobson’s uncle, Hirsch Jacobs, trained Stymie.
Jacobson has second allowance starter on the Oaklawn card Saturday in Uncle Buddy. He enters the eighth race off an allowance win. The purse is $104,000.
He also has entered Little Demon in Oaklawn’s third race on Saturday, a $10,000 starter allowance with a $31,000 purse.
All of Jacobson’s entrants are to be ridden by Ramon Vazquez, the Southern California-based jockey whose agent, Bill Castle, has longstanding ties to Jacobson.
Vazquez also rides the John Sadler-trained Stone Silent in the $150,000 Dixie Belle Stakes on Saturday at Oaklawn. The rider was based in Arkansas before moving his tack last year to Southern California, where he has since won titles at Santa Anita and Los Alamitos.
Jacobson’s starters will be his first at Oaklawn.
“These spots are working for my horses,” he said. “We’ll see how it goes. We’ll just feel our way out, see how they run. Bill wants me to see the track since I’ve never been there, and it’s really exciting for me.”
Jacobson’s first win as a trainer came in 1974 with a horse owned by Castle’s father, Jerome Castle.
Vazquez will be riding for Jacobson for the first time Saturday.
“I didn’t know Ramon well until Bill had [his book] and now I watch his races religiously,” Jacobson said. “I love to watch him ride.”
Vazquez and Thomas Shelby will be lining up against Super Stock, who won the Arkansas Derby in 2021. Jockey Keith James Asmussen, who was aboard the horse for his first three career starts, has the call for his grandfather, co-owner Keith Asmussen, and his father, trainer Steve Asmussen.
* The Dixie Belle field of eight from the rail with riders is: Pate, Rafael Bejarano; Klassy Bridgette, Francisco Arrieta; Key of Life, Flavien Prat; Stone Silent, Vazquez; Always Angels, Nik Juarez; Parody, Ricardo Santana Jr.; Twirled, Isaac Castillo; and Baytown Lovely, Grace McEntee.
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