Live racing returns to Hot Springs with the opening of Oaklawn’s 2014 live
meet January 10, and greeting fans will be some of the most competitive racing
in the country, especially in the three-year-old ranks. Overall, the 57-day meet
will offer more than $20 million in purses and 31 stakes, highlighted by the
78th running of the $1 million Arkansas Derby April 12.
Oaklawn’s three-year-old stakes program is one of the most successful in the
nation and last year, it produced likely champion three-year-old Will Take
Charge and Oxbow, whose victory in the Preakness Stakes was the 10th Triple
Crown race won by an Oaklawn-raced horse in 10 years. The four-race program
offers 289 points based on the qualifying method for the Kentucky Derby and
these race days also help anchor some of Oaklawn’s most popular promotions.
The series starts January 20 with a special Martin Luther King Jr. card that
features the $150,000 Smarty Jones Stakes and a free baseball cap giveaway with
paid admission. It continues February 17 with a Presidents’ Weekend card that
includes the $300,000 Southwest Stakes and $55,000 Progressive Cash Giveaway.
Next to Arkansas Derby Day, the most anticipated day during the Oaklawn meet
is Rebel Stakes Day, March 15. In addition to this $600,000 race for aspiring
sophomores, the card now includes the $200,000 Razorback Handicap and $200,000
Azeri Stakes, and one lucky fan will walk away with a new boat and truck,
courtesy of Bradford Marine.
The meet will begin with the traditional 50-cent corned beef sandwiches on
the first Saturday, January 11, and end with the Racing Festival of the South
which starts April 5 with the $400,000 Fantasy Stakes and concludes April 12
with the Arkansas Derby and three other stakes.
Back by popular demand, Oaklawn will open its Infield, complete with a Beer
Garden, live music and family-friendly activities, every Saturday from Rebel
Stakes through Arkansas Derby. The popular “Dawn at Oaklawn” program returns
February 15 and will allow guests to get up close and personal with the horses
and top racing personalities from 7:30-9:30 a.m. (CT) every Saturday through the
end of the meet. Visitors can also take barn tours as part of the Saturday
morning program.
Post times will be 1:30 p.m. on weekdays and Sundays and 1 p.m. on Saturdays.
Some exceptions are opening day, January 10; Super Bowl Sunday, February 2; and
the two holiday Mondays, January 20 and February 17, when first post is 1 p.m.
For more information, visit www.Oaklawn.com or
call 1-800-OAKLAWN.
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