Oaklawn track report

Entries for the first Oaklawn Park qualifying tournament for the Daily Racing Form/National Thoroughbred Racing Association National Handicapping Championship close at 5 p.m. Central on Friday. More than 125 handicappers are already set to compete in the tournament, which will be held at the track on Saturday and Sunday.

The first three finishers win trips to the finals in Las Vegas in January 2007.

The entry fee is $300, with $120 of that amount to be used as the player's bankroll. The first-place finisher in the tournament will earn $12,000.

* Walter Soes has joined the Oaklawn staff full-time as assistant track supervisor. He will work under track superintendent Steve Breckling. Soes had served as the identifier during live racing at Oaklawn since 1995. He is a 48-year-old native of Louisiana and a graduate of Louisiana Tech.