After losing the first three days of its racing season last week due to
Oaklawn Park president Charles Cella said in a statement last month that
Cella and everyone else will find out soon enough as the 54-day stand
Among the horses expected for the 2015 meet are Breeders’ Cup Juvenile
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Oaklawn’s stakes program is again highlighted by the Grade 1, $1 million
Arkansas Derby, which concludes the “Racing Festival of the South,” on April 11.
Preceding the Arkansas Derby for classic hopefuls are the $150,000 Smarty Jones on
January 19; the Grade 3, $300,000 Southwest on February 16; and the Grade 2,
$750,000 Rebel on March 14.
Other meet highlights include the Grade 1, $600,000 Apple Blossom Handicap
for fillies and mares on April 10; the Grade 2, $600,000 Oaklawn Handicap on
April 11; the Grade 2, $300,000 Azeri for fillies and mares on March 14; the
Grade 3, $400,000 Fantasy for three-year-old fillies on April 4; and the Grade
3, $300,000 Count Fleet Sprint Handicap on April 9.
The 2015 Oaklawn racing season will mark the seventh consecutive year of
increased purses. The total purse projection for the meet is more than $23
million, and maiden special weight races will carry purses of $60,000 — $5,000
more than when the 2014 season opened. Open allowance races will offer purses up
to $65,000, and the minimum purse will be $18,000. Purses at Oaklawn have risen
by more than one-third since the initial opening of the gaming center, and the
quality of racing has tracked right along with it.
Oaklawn received requests for nearly 3,000 stalls for the 2015 racing season,
double the quantity that it can house. Horsemen returning will include Hall of
Famer D. Wayne Lukas; Randy Morse, who will have Grade 1 winner Moonshine Mullin
in his stable again; Ken McPeek, Steve Hobby, Chris Richard, Ron Moquett and
Donnie Von Hemel.
Six-time Sovereign Award winning trainer Mark Casse returns for his second
straight year and will be joined by newcomers Wayne Catalano, Mike Stidham,
Steve Margolis and Tony Dutrow, among others. Six-time leading trainer Steve
Asmussen also returns, and is expected to start both Breeders’ Cup Distaff
winner Untapable and Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile runner-up Tapiture in stakes
engagements during the season.
In addition to offering free general admission throughout the meet, Oaklawn
will also offer purse bonuses for horses that run and win without Lasix.
The Oaklawn Lasix-free Bonus program will provide a 10 percent bonus to the
winner’s share of the purse for all horses that run and win without Lasix. This
means Oaklawn Lasix-free incentives will range from $1,080 for its minimum purse
of $18,000 up to $60,000 for the Arkansas Derby. The total potential bonus
supplement will be $1.4 million.
Lasix-free bonus payments will be provided by Oaklawn itself and will not
come out of the purse fund.
In Thursday’s Dixie Belle, the likely favorite is the undefeated Promise Me
Silver, a Texas-bred who has won four races by a combined 21 1/2 lengths,
including the $50,000 Letellier Memorial at Fair Grounds on December 20.
Also expected to attract support are stakes debuters Sarah Sis, a Keeneland
allowance winner in October, and Toutsie Rules, a Keeneland graduate who took an
allowance at Fair Grounds last time.
In addition to the races, Oaklawn will also be offering their traditional
50-cent corned beef sandwiches promotion for fans in attendance on opening day.
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