Southwest purse increased to $1 million; meet will have 47 stakes

Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark., announced Tuesday the purse of the Southwest Stakes has been boosted from $800,000 to $1 million in a move that makes the track’s three major Kentucky Derby points races each worth seven figures.

In total, the Oaklawn meet will have a stakes schedule of 47 races worth a total of $16.2 million when it opens Dec. 6.

The Southwest, which remains at 1 1/16 miles, will be run Jan. 25. The other major Oaklawn preps are the Grade 2, $1.25 million Rebel at 1 1/16 miles Feb. 22 and the Grade 1, $1.5 million Arkansas Derby at 1 1/8 miles March 29.

An additional Kentucky Derby points race, the $250,000 Smarty Jones, will be run Jan. 4. The four preps are worth a total of $4 million.

Mystik Dan won the Southwest this year en route to his victory in the Kentucky Derby. Thorpedo Anna, also trained by Kenny McPeek, won the Fantasy at Oaklawn before taking the Kentucky Oaks.

“With the success of Arkansas-owned Mystik Dan and of Thorpedo Anna, the facts speak for themselves and echo what we’ve been saying for a number of years: There is no better place for horsemen to prepare Thoroughbreds for future success than Oaklawn,” Lou Cella, the track’s president, said in a press release. “Not only were our runners able to win the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks this year, Seize the Grey keyed a Preakness Stakes trifecta of horses that had competed in Oaklawn races.”

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Oaklawn’s series for 3-year-old fillies will feature purse increases next season. The Martha Washington on the Southwest undercard has been increased from $250,000 to $300,000, while the Grade 3 Honeybee on the Rebel undercard has been boosted from $400,000 to $500,000.

The races are stepping-stones to the Grade 2, $750,000 Fantasy on the same card as the Arkansas Derby. The races in the Oaklawn series all offer points for the Kentucky Oaks.

In a new twist to the racing program, Oaklawn will be rolling out 10 overnight stakes, each worth $145,000. Some of the races will be carded on major 3-year-old cards.

The overnight stakes include the American Pharoah for 4-year-olds and up at 1 1/16 miles on the undercard of the Arkansas Derby. American Pharoah, the 2015 Horse of the Year, won that race en route to sweeping the Triple Crown.

Oaklawn’s stakes schedule offers several prominent races for older horses during its Racing Festival of the South, which now extends for a month from late March to late April. The Grade 1, $1.25 million Apple Blossom Handicap for fillies and mares at 1 1/16 miles is April 12 and shares a card with the Grade 3, $500,000 Count Fleet Sprint Handicap for 4-year-olds and up at six furlongs.

The Grade 2, $1.25 million Oaklawn Handicap for 4-year-olds and up at 1 1/8 miles is April 19 and shares a card with the $200,000 Bath House Row Stakes that traditionally carries a berth into the Preakness.

Oaklawn will race through May 3, 2025.

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