AT THE POST

DAY 29 of 57

FRIDAY’S ESTIMATED ATTENDANCE 6,000

FRIDAY’S TOTAL HANDLE $4,157,933 FRIDAY’S ON-TRACK HANDLE $469,750 FRIDAY’S OFF-TRACK HANDLE $3,688,183

TODAY’S SIMULCAST SCHEDULE Gulfstream Park, 11 a.m.; Laurel Park, 11:30 a.m.; Tampa Bay, 11:35 a.m.; Aqueduct, 12:20 p.m.; Fair Grounds, 1 p.m.; Santa Anita, 2:30 p.m.; Golden Gate, 2:45 p.m.; Penn National, 5 p.m.; Turfway Park, 5:15 p.m.; Delta Downs, 5:40 p.m.; Charles Town, 6 p.m.; Sam Houston, 6 p.m.; Daytona Beach (greyhounds), 6:25 p.m.; Derby Lane (greyhounds), 6:30 p.m.; Southland (greyhounds), 7:30 p.m.; Los Alamitos, 8 p.m.

FRIDAY’S STARS

There were no multiple winners among jockeys and trainers on Friday. David Cabrera, who is second in the jockey standings with 23 victories in 143 starts, won the eighth race with Almafuerte ($14.80), covering 6 furlongs in 1:12.07. Cabrera trails Ricardo Santana by three victories.

Robertino Diodoro, who is tied for the lead with Brad Cox in the trainer standings with 17 victories, won the fourth race with Double Ours ($9.80). Ron Moquett, who is tied with Steve Asmussen for second with 15 victories, won the second race with Darion’s Dream ($6.80).

EXCLAMATION POINT’S NEXT STEP

Exclamation Point makes his debut in a 1-mile race in today’s fifth race, an allowance optional claiming race for 3-year-olds. Exclamation Point, a 3-yearold son of Concord Point, earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 77 for his front-running 2 ½-length career-debut victory sprinting last month for owner/breeders Steve and Brandi Nicholson and trainer Brad Cox.

“We’ll see how the race plays out,” said Cox, Oaklawn’s leading trainer this year. “I would like to see him sit off horses. I kind of thought that might happen the first time, but it didn’t. We’re just looking for a good effort.”

Cox said he initially thought he would pass on today’s 1-mile race, but changed his mind after Exclamation Point recorded a half-mile workout Monday morning of 47.40 seconds. Exclamation Point worked with 4-year-old stablemate Bold Prophet, who is entered in today’s ninth race, a first-level allowance for older horses, after breaking his maiden Jan. 26 in his last start.

“I was kind of thinking about waiting, but he breezed so well this past week that there wasn’t any sense in waiting,” Cox said. “If the race was there … it was, it went. I just felt like we needed to be a part of it, just continue the process of developing him.”

Exclamation Point, the 9-5 program favorite, is scheduled to break from post 2 under Fernando De La Cruz and carry 114 pounds.

LASIX-FREE VICTORIES

Trainer Kenny McPeek recorded his record fifth victory since Oaklawn’s “Lasix-free Bonus Program” was implemented in 2015 in Thursday’s first race with Brockton George, who was making his first career start without the legal anti-bleeder medication.

Brockton George, racing for the ninth time, also represented a record sixth Lasix-free victory at the meeting, and 20th overall. Oaklawn had five Lasixfree victories in 2015, four in 2016 and five last year, according to data released by the track.

Four of McPeek’s Lasix-free victories have come this year. He said last month that he was taking horses off Lasix in order to chase the bonus (10 percent of the winner’s share of the purse). Brockton George earned an additional $1,500 from an adjusted purse of $26,500. The mile race was for conditioned $20,000 claimers.

Another one of McPeek’s Lasix-free winners at the meet, Blueridge Traveler, returned to win the $100,000 Maxxam Gold Cup Stakes last Saturday at Sam Houston without running on anti-bleeder medication.

Oaklawn has awarded $52,080 in bonus money under the Lasix-free program, with McPeek totaling $15,480 this year.

Trainer Will VanMeter has four victories under the Lasix-free program.

FERNANDO’S FEATS

Fernando De La Cruz, in his first year racing at Oaklawn Park, is tied for sixth with 13 victories in 95 starts, earning $598,652.

De La Cruz, 31, was riding at Tampa Bay Downs when agent Tony King said he called the jockey “out of the blue” in late December and asked if he would be willing to try Oaklawn.

“He was doing well in Tampa, but wasn’t having the success he had the previous couple of years,” King said. “I said, ‘What about the opportunity to go maybe hustle and ride at Oaklawn?’ He said, ‘Let me think about that. That’s an option for me.’ ”

King said the hook for De La Cruz relocating to Arkansas at the 11th hour was the opportunity to potentially “ride a few horses” for Brad Cox, a close friend of the agent, who is tied with Robertino Diodoro with 17 victories on the season.

The Cox/De La Cruz combination has produced a 9-3-0 record from 24 starters at the meet and purse earnings of $355,722.

“Been blessed,” King said. “It’s worked out very well so far.”

One of De La Cruz’s victories for Cox came aboard Exclamation Point, a 3-year-old half-brother to champion and 2017 Arkansas Derby winner Classic Empire, in his Feb. 3 career debut.