Oaklawn Park

Every week, the TDN posts a roundup of the relevant Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) related rulings from around the country. The following rulings were reported on HISA's "rulings" portal and through the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit's (HIWU) "pending" and "resolved" cases portals. Resolved ADMC Violations: Date: 02/18/2025 Licensee: Raymond Valerio, trainer Penalty: Disqualification of Covered Horse's Race results, including forfeiture of all purses and other compensation, prizes, trophies, points, and rankings and repayment or surrender (as applicable); a fine of $500; imposition of 1.5 Penalty Points. Final...

A veteran Hall of Fame trainer, Mark Casse knows that sometimes it's better to be lucky than good. The Casse-trained Sandman (Tapit) turned in a remarkable effort in his last start, the GIII Southwest S. at Oaklawn, finishing second after breaking in a tangle and dropping far behind the leaders. Once straightened out, he rallied furiously and finished second, missing by just a length. To talk about the Southwest and Sandman's next start, Sunday's GII Rebel S. at Oaklawn, Casse joined the team on this week's TDN Writers' Room podcast...

With freezing weather in the forecast, Oaklawn Park has shifted its racing schedule for the coming week. The Hot Springs oval has canceled racing Friday and will move its Friday card to Saturday. The card originally scheduled for Saturday, which included the GII Rebel Stakes and GIII Honeybee Stakes, will be moved to Sunday. Races scheduled for Sunday will now be run Monday. Extreme cold temperatures also caused Turfway Park to move its Wednesday racing card to Sunday, with a first post time of 4:15 p.m. The Florence, Kentucky track...

Just Steel (Justify), runner-up in last year's GI Arkansas Derby, continues to train towards his 4-year-old debut at Oaklawn Park, with the Mar. 29 GIII Oaklawn Mile his first major target of the season, according to trainer D. Wayne Lukas. Just Steel has been sidelined since suffering a condylar fracture during a fifth-place effort in the GI Preakness Stakes last May. "He's pretty versatile," Lukas said. "He could go long or short, so I've got some options. In a perfect world, if everything would fall into place, I'd like to...

3rd-Oaklawn, $110,000, Msw, 2-8, 3yo/up, f/m, 6f, 1:10.50, ft, 8 lengths. NUIT MAGIQUE (f, 4, Arrogate--Twixy, by Mutakddim) made an eyecatching move to split horses three furlongs from home and widened through the final eighth of a mile to graduate by eight impressive lengths Saturday afternoon at Oaklawn Park. Pegged at morning-line odds of 9-2, the $255,000 Keeneland September yearling turned $1-million Fasig-Tipton Midlantic topper, off at 14-5, was under a hustling ride early on from Nik Juarez and was no better than midfield through the opening exchanges before improving...

Saffie Joseph, Jr. has had some big days since he came to the U.S. from his native Barbados in 2011, but perhaps none bigger than last Saturday at Gulfstream Park. He had three stakes wins, including a score with Be Your Best (Ire) (Muhahaarar ({GB}) in the GII Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational Stakes and a win with Mystic Lake (Mo Town) in the GII Inside Information Stakes. But the one that really mattered was the victory by White Abarrio (Race Day) in the GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes....

Oaklawn Park has postponed Thursday, Jan. 30's card, rescheduling it to Monday, Feb. 3. Severe weather, including possible flash flooding, is forecasted for the area for Thursday. The Jan. 30 race date was originally added to make up for other race dates lost to winter weather. Weather has repeatedly played havoc on Oaklawn's calendar this season. Live racing is expected to resume Friday, Jan. 31.

This could only happen to Brad Cox. He trained the best 2-year-old filly in the country last year as Eclipse Award winner Immersive (Nyquist) whipped everything she faced, including eight challengers in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies. Earlier this year, she looked like the runaway leader among the fillies eyeing the GI Kentucky Oaks, but came down with a minor injury and will not be ready in time for the Oaks. For most other trainers that would have been a severe setback, losing out on a chance they may...

Jockeys either misjudging the location of an alternate finish line or failing to ride all-out under a traditional wire placement have been in the news on four occasions since October. But after apparently failing to realize that a one-mile stakes on Saturday ended at the sixteenth pole under Oaklawn Park's short-stretch configuration for races at that distance, the 22-year veteran Rafael Bejarano got penalized for essentially the opposite infraction. Timing his ride on a closer like there was still half a furlong to go, Bejarano kept whipping and driving his...

After considering several options, trainer Kenny McPeek said Monday that newly minted Horse of the Year Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna) will make her four-year-old debut in the GII Azeri S. on March 8 at Oaklawn Park. That would give her time to make the April 5 G1 Dubai World Cup, but McPeek said he has all but ruled out a trip to the Middle East in order to run in the April 12 GI Apple Blossom S., also at Oaklawn. "The Azeri will be a good first step back for...

Speed King (Volatile), second as the favorite in the Remington Springboard Mile Stakes Dec. 13, ran them off their feet in Saturday's GIII Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn Park, good for 20 points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby. Overlooked at odds of 14-1 while drawn widest of all in post nine, Speed King cleared the field beneath Rafael Bejarano heading into the clubhouse turn. He set fractions of :24.11 and :47.82, gave them the slip on the far turn and kept on finding down the stretch to pull off...

WinStar Farm and CHC Inc.'s Rapture (c, 3, Uncle Mo--Positively Royal, by Bernardini) had to be used some early on to gain a forward position from an awkward draw, but settled nicely from there just off the speed and responded when asked to finish off his race to graduate by 6 3/4 lengths in his two-turn debut Saturday at Oaklawn Park to earn 'TDN Rising Star' honors. A debut second as the favorite to subsequent strong-figure Tampa allowance winner Vassimo (Nyquist) on his one-mile unveiling at Gulfstream Park Dec. 14,...