With storm approaching, Oaklawn rearranges calendar; Rebel Day is now Sunday
?q=100)
In advance of a winter storm system, Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark., has moved the Rebel Stakes card to Sunday, according to track president Lou Cella. The card featuring the Kentucky Derby points race was originally scheduled for Saturday.
Oaklawn also is shifting Friday's program to Saturday and Sunday's program to Monday. The races will be run as originally drawn. The decision to change the schedule came Tuesday morning, said Cella.
Due to the forecast, Oaklawn has canceled training Wednesday and Thursday and plans to offer a Friday afternoon session. By pushing each card back, the goal is to afford horses more training time ahead of their races.
“The track, we know as we progress, it’s going to be better for our horses so they can get out on the track,” Cella said. “We don’t even know when they can get out on the track, but we know they’ll probably get out Friday afternoon, but for sure Saturday.
“I hate it for all of our fans, who love this Rebel weekend. And I hope they can come Sunday. It kills us to do this, but it’s what’s right for the horses and what’s right for the industry. And we can’t shift it a week because of the scheduling.
“This is one of those areas where it all comes down to the horses and what’s best for them, so that’s what we’re doing. Unfortunately, our racing fans have to take the brunt of it. They still get to see great racing. It’s just shifted back a day.”
Rebel Day is traditionally the second biggest day of the meet behind Arkansas Derby Day.
“We called all the ship-ins from coast to coast and they’re all ready to go,” Cella said of horsemen sending horses from Southern California and South Florida for Rebel Day races.
Forecasters are calling for sleet and snow in the area Tuesday afternoon with overnight temperatures projected to drop to 19 degrees. The overnight low Wednesday into Thursday is forecast to be 10 degrees and Thursday night's low into Friday is projected to be 14 degrees. The high for all three days is expected to be 33, according to AccuWeather.
The forecast for the Rebel Day card on Sunday is a high of 58 degrees and a low of 34.
Oaklawn announced grandstand seats reserved on Etix.com for Friday and Sunday will be canceled and that grandstand seats reserved for Saturday will be automatically moved to Sunday. Refunds go “through the original point of purchase.”
Any restaurant reservations can be changed by calling the restaurant, while any Oaklawn hotel reservation changes should be made by calling the track’s hotel.
Oaklawn will have a special first post of 12 p.m. Central on Sunday for the 12-race Rebel Day card, according to Jason Milligan, vice president of racing for Oaklawn. He said post time for Saturday and Monday will be 12:30 p.m. Central.
Cella noted there are two stakes on the card Monday. He said if the weather permits, the infield will be open Sunday and possibly Monday.
“The whole great weekend has just shifted 24 hours,” said Cella.
:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.