Zito planning 20-horse Oaklawn division

Hall of Fame trainer Nick Zito is headed to Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark.

In a major winter circuit switch, he plans to have a 20-horse division at the upcoming meet, which opens on Jan. 25. Zito had previously wintered at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla.

“It’s a big change,” he said Monday. “We went to Florida for 30, 35 years.”

Zito said he would continue to have horses in New York this winter, with those runners stabled at Belmont Park.

The Oaklawn division – which will be composed of horses now stabled at Churchill Downs – will be a first for Zito, who won the Kentucky Derby in 1991 with Strike the Gold and again in 1994 with Go for Gin.

“We obviously just shipped horses into Oaklawn,” Zito said. “We never stabled there. We’re going to bring a few horses there, which will be good. I’ve always liked the people there. I’m just going to try it, see what happens.

“I should have probably went a few years ago. I just never got around to it. I’m thankful to Oaklawn for the opportunity. I know a lot of people try to get in there. It’s very popular now.”

Zito said his longtime owners are supportive of the move. He also has some new faces that will be part of the Oaklawn division, among them Dream Walkin’ Farms, the stable owned by Oklahoma-based country artist Toby Keith.

Zito said he is looking forward to Oaklawn’s famously large crowds.

“I’m basically a racetrack nut,” he said. “To begin with, I’m a racetrack fan.”

Zito entered the Hall of Fame in 2005.

Casse returning to Oaklawn

Trainer Mark Casse will be back at Oaklawn Park with a division of horses with the first time since 2016.

Casse on Monday said he plans to have 18 horses on the grounds at the Hot Springs, Ark., track, which starts racing Jan. 25. He said horses that could see action at the meet include Shamrock Rose, the winner of the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint in November.

“We’re going to bring an assortment of horses,” Casse said Monday. “It’s great racing. We always try to look for good racing. We’re racing a lot in New Orleans and it helps that we can go back and forth.”

Oaklawn’s program for 3-year-olds is a draw, said Casse. He shipped champion Classic Empire to town in 2017 and the horse won the Grade 1, $1 million Arkansas Derby before finishing a troubled fourth in the Kentucky Derby. And last meet, Casse trainee Wonder Gadot came to Oaklawn and was second in the Grade 3 Fantasy in April before going on to run second in the Kentucky Oaks then winning this year’s Queen’s Plate at Woodbine.

“We have a lot of young horses that we think have potential to be Oaks and Derby horses,” Casse said. “The plan would be to [prep at] Oaklawn with some of those horses.”

Casse is a nine-time Sovereign Award winner as champion trainer in Canada.