Oaklawn made season’s final racing day count

Much has been said and written about Oaklawn’s record handle on Saturday.

For the closing day 14-race card that featured two Arkansas Derbies, the handle was $41 million, breaking the record that was set two weeks earlier of 18.9 million.

What both those totals emphasize is how much interest there is in Oaklawn racing.

Most of that money was wagered out of state.

Oaklawn was closed to the public from March 13 through the final day and only about $100,000 was bet on track by owners, trainers and employees on Saturday.

What was startling about the $41 million was that it was wagered at a time when Las Vegas is virtually shut down.

The tracks and off-track gambling sites that took those bets will reap the rewards of Oaklawn having such a great racing card.

Those places only pay Oaklawn a very small fee to receive the racing signal.

In other words, it was a huge payday for everyone but Oaklawn who made all the sacrifices to make sure spring racing didn’t get sidelined by covid-19.

Splitting the Derby into two legs, both won by Bob Baffert-trained horses, was the idea of Louis Cella, president of Oaklawn Racing Casino Resor and Racing, and done purely in the interest of thoroughbred racing.

If all goes well for the winners of the Arkansas Derby — Charlatan and Nadal — Oaklawn will get more publicity on the first Saturday in September when those two try to become the next winner of the Kentucky Derby.

Both ran sensational races. Charlatan won easily under a hand ride, covering the 1 1/8-mile race in 1:48.49. Nadal recovered from a slight slow start and won easily in 1:48.34. The Dallas Cowboys got a surprise during the 2020 NFL Draft, but one that inspired owner Jerry Jones.

With the No. 17 pick, Stephen and Jerry Jones never expected to get a player they figured would be gone a long time before they went on the clock.

Surprisingly, no one had taken Oklahoma receiver CeeDee Lamb, and the Jones’ took the talented Sooner.

Lamb, who grew up in New Orleans until Hurricane Katrina forced his family to relocate, caught 173 passes for 3,292 yards and 32 touchdowns in three seasons with the Sooners. He had no idea he was about to be honored in a very big way.

“This is a little drama from my perspective,” Jerry Jones said, “but when we were all sitting there and had said our peace, then we said, ‘OK. What’s it going to be?’ I said in honor of my great friend that just passed [in December], we’re going to have his namesake come on over here and wear old number 88 just like Michael [Irvin] and Dez [Bryant] and those guys. And we’ve got us a receiver. Let me tell you one thing: If he’s got the compete and heart of that Jerry Lamb, he’ll be bad to the bone.”

Jerry Lamb was a wide receiver and teammate of Jones at Arkansas when they won the 1964 national championship and was one of his closest friends.

Admittedly, CeeDee Lamb had expressed a desire to wear No. 10, but the significance of wearing the same number as Drew Pearson, Michael Irvin and Dez Bryant got his attention.

That the owner wanted him to wear No. 88 to honor a close friend sealed the deal.

According to Rich Dalrymple, the Cowboys’ public relations director, no number has ever been retired. The team’s Ring of Honor is the place to retire jerseys.

Granted, no one wears No. 8, worn by Troy Aikman, No. 12 worn by Roger Staubach, No. 22, worn by Emmitt Smith and No. 74, worn by Bob Lilly, but they are not officially retired.