Positive business trends, highlighted by large 20,000 plus crowds most
Saturdays, have led Oaklawn Park to announce its third purse increase of the
meet effective Thursday.
Claiming races will be increased by $300 and all other overnight purses will
be increased by $1,000. Oaklawn Park began the season with a minimum purse of
$15,200 and after the third increase that minimum is now $16,500. The purses for
maiden special weight races have increased from $36,000 to $41,000.
In addition, Oaklawn Park is adding two stakes races to the schedule and
increasing the purses of three other stakes races, all to be held during the
Racing Festival of the South, April 9-16. April 13, a Wednesday, has been added
to the schedule after weather related cancellations, and will now feature a yet
to be named $100,000 stakes for fillies and mares going 1 1/16 miles. Also, as a
supporting feature to the $500,000 Apple Blossom H. (G1) on April 15, Oaklawn is
bringing back the $75,000 Bachelor S. for three-year-olds going six furlongs.
The Bachelor was last run in 2008.
The mainstays to the Racing Festival of the South receiving increases include
the April 14 Count Fleet Sprint H. (G3), which will go from $150,000 to
$200,000. The Northern Spur S. and Instant Racing S, the two supporting stakes
on the Arkansas Derby (G1) undercard April 16, both get bumped by $25,000 to
$100,000.
“We may have gotten off to a rough start with the weather, but since then, we
have had tremendous support from our horsemen, but especially our fans,”
Assistant General Manager of Racing David Longinotti said. “The fields coming
together for the Rebel S. (G2) and Azeri S. (G3) this Saturday are unbelievable
with the likes of The Factor (War Front), Blind Luck (Pollard’s Vision) and
Havre de Grace (Saint Liam) all slated to run, and the horses being mentioned
for all of our Racing Festival stakes are the who’s who in racing. We are very
excited about what the next few weeks hold for us.”