Sisks have a nose for Oaklawn owner title

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Mike and Mickala Sisk of M and M Racing won the recent owner title at the fall meet at Churchill Downs and now have their sights set on Oaklawn. The North Texas couple have won the last four titles in Hot Springs.

“The Oaklawn meet is going to be longer, the money is better than it’s ever been, and the goal, obviously, is to win the owners title,” Mike Sisk said. “I like our chances. We’ve got about 20, 25 head at Oaklawn and as soon as that claiming button starts, we’ll be claiming like crazy!”

Sisk added how difficult it can be to claim at Oaklawn.

“Finding the horse is great – then you got to win the shake,” he said.

The demand is so competitive, Sisk joked that he probably could lose a new rhinoceros he recently purchased from Africa. The Sisks are starting a reserve in Texas.

“I could run him, put [our] green and white silks on him, and he’d get claimed,” he said.

The Sisks have their racehorses with trainer Robertino Diodoro. They built their stable up through the claiming box, among their acquisitions, Thomas Shelby.

“This horse has been incredible for us,” Mike Sisk said. “He’s 7 for 11 [this year] and he seems to be getting better every time he runs. We claimed a couple of new horses at Churchill, and I think they’re going to fit well. We’ve got them at Oaklawn.”

The rhinoceros operation launched last month when the Sisks welcomed a 4,500-pound male named Max. Their purchase from a reserve will be joined by an additional male and 15 females, said Mike Sisk. The goal is to help preserve and increase the rhinoceros population, which has dwindled drastically due to poachers seeking their horns.

Max, 22, has a huge fan in Mike Sisk.

“He’s the coolest,” he said.

The Sisks also have started to invest further in the Arkansas racing industry.

“We’re building a little horse farm there,” said Mike Sisk. “We’ve got some mares with the babies on the ground.”

The couple is investing in the state breeding program due to the purse structure at Oaklawn.

“I’m very committed to Arkansas, very committed to Oaklawn,” he said.

◗ Jockey Ricardo Santana Jr., who is looking for his ninth title at Oaklawn, is spending part of opening weekend riding in Puerto Rico, said his agent, Ruben Munoz. The jockey is riding for Mexico and Panama in the Caribbean Classic series of stakes that features a number of elite jockeys. Santana’s mount in the main event Sunday is Hakkasan. He goes in the Clasico del Caribe, according to Munoz.