Oaklawn splits Arkansas Derby
The first May running of the Arkansas Derby isn’t the only change this year regarding Oaklawn Park’s oldest race.
Oaklawn announced Sunday that it is splitting the Grade 1 race for 3-year-olds into two divisions, both offering 170 qualifying points for the 146th Kentucky Derby Sept. 5. Each division carries a $500,000 purse on Oaklawn’s modified closing-day card.
The 84th Arkansas Derby, originally scheduled April 11, was moved to May 2 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Oaklawn’s precedent-shattering division follows another by Churchill Downs (Louisville, Ky.) that the Kentucky Derby would not be run on the first Saturday in May.
The Arkansas Derby, dating to 1936, had its original $1 million
purse reduced to $750,000 after closing the racetrack casino in mid-March.
In addition, the Arkansas Derby, which usually draws the season’s largest crowds, will be run before an empty grandstand. Oaklawn, which been closed to spectators since March 13, is one of the few tracks nationally that has remained open for racing during the public health crisis.
Louis Cella, in his second year as track president, made the announcement Sunday.
“Because of our national crisis, we and the entire world of sports are in uncharted waters requiring unprecedented actions,” Cella said. “We’re trying to make the best of a very, very difficult situation. On the one hand, it is the worst of times to be racing without fans in our grandstand. On the other, we have a large number of exceptional 3-year-olds wanting to run in the Arkansas Derby. We simply did not want to see anyone lose that opportunity.”
The expected field of 22 horses includes winners of the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, the Grade 2 Rebel Stakes, the Grade 2 Tampa Bay Derby and the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby. Each division winner receives 100 points for possible entry to the Kentucky Derby with 40 each to the runners-up, 20 each for third-place finishers and 10 for fourthplace runners.
Fans may wager on the closing-day card through oaklawnanywhere.com or the computer application. All Oaklawn races Saturday will be broadcast on FoxSports 1 and TVG. Partial coverage including stakes races will be on NBC Sports (TVG feed). First post is at noon on a 14-race program including the Grade 2 $600,000 Oaklawn Handicap, which like the Arkansas Derby is nine furlongs.
The Arkansas Derby, which has produced seven Kentucky Derby winners, comes off a decade that 2015 winner American Pharoah went on to become racing’s first Triple Crown champion in 37 years. Two other Arkansas Derby winners (Sunny’s Halo in 1983 and Smarty Jones in 2004) took the Run for the Roses as did runners-up Lil E. Tee (1992), Grindstone (1996) and Super Saver (2010). Country House, third-place finisher behind winner Omaha Beach in the Arkansas Derby, was elevated from second to first in the Kentucky Derby last year after placing behind disqualified winner Maximum Security at Churchill Downs.
Oaklawn has earned national acclaim within the sport as one of the few major tracks open in the usual run-up to the Triple Crown. Major races such as the Blue Grass (Keeneland), Santa Anita Derby and Wood Memorial (Aqueduct) were postponed as tracks in Kentucky, California and New York shut down.
The financial crunch in Hot Springs, Arkansas’ largest tourism resort, has been felt acutely during what is usually its busiest time for visitors. Tweaking the Oaklawn schedule in his first year as track president, Cella received additional racing dates in 2019 past the usual mid-April close coinciding with the Arkansas Derby. The “stay-until-May” promotion stayed in effect this year on a 57-day meeting that began Jan. 24.
“We are not alone in our suffering,” Cella said. “All of America is hurting. By maintaining some semblance of a racing program, at least we’ve been able to help horse owners, their employees, trainers and jockeys while providing for racing fans across the country to help.”
Churchill Downs president Kevin Flanery recognized Oaklawn’s “unique and important position to immediately fill a void for horsemen.” The Louisville
track will announce “an extension of the Road to the Kentucky Derby” in the weeks ahead, Flanery said, in its commitment to “holding the very best Kentucky Derby on Sept 5, and … certainly one of the most memorable of our lifetimes.”
Cella applauded the Arkansas Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association for helping promote safety measures, which, he said, another professional sports league has sought information. Protocols have included
but not been limited to: temperature checking everyone who enters the stable area and grandstand area daily; limiting access to the paddock and winner’s circle and separate jockey quarters for out-of-state riders.
“Our partnership with the horsemen this year during the COVID-19 pandemic has shown a remarkable level of unity and has made all of us very proud,” said Cella, giving particular credit to HBPA president Bill Walmsley.