Oaklawn

8th-OP, $102K, Alw/Opt. Clm ($80K), 3yo/up, 5 1/2f, 4:46 p.m. ET Nearly a year after suffering his first defeat in last winter's GI Runhappy Malibu S., China Horse Club and WinStar Farm's NASHVILLE (Speightstown) will return to the races as a likely prohibitive favorite in this sprint at Oaklawn. Starting his career with a devastating 11 1/2-length romp as a 3-10 favorite in the Saratoga slop last September--easily good enough for 'TDN Rising Star' honors--the $460,000 Keeneland September proved that was no fluke with an effortless 9 3/4-length allowance score...

The Week in Review by T.D. Thornton It was a little odd to see Oaklawn Park in the mix of tracks running on the first weekend of December. It was even stranger to see the Arkansas track carding races for 2-year-olds, which has not happened since Mar. 27, 1975. The winds of change are blowing through the pre-winter mists of Hot Springs. The biggest challenge facing Oaklawn as it embarks upon a Dec. 3-May 8 season for the first time is whether or not the popular track can retain the...

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency WELL-BRED GHOSTZAPPER DEBUTS IN NY 2nd-AQU, $80K, Msw, 2yo, f, 1m, 12:20 p.m. Joe Allen went to $400,000 at FTFMAR for GLAMOROUS DAYS (Ghostzapper) after a :21 4/5 breeze and she debuts here for Shug McGaughey. She is a daughter of dual Grade I winner Life At Ten (Malibu Moon). TJCIS PPs   BAUER UNVEILS PRICEY INTO MISCHIEF 7th-OP, $84K, Msw, 2yo, f, 6f, 4:19 p.m. Rigney Racing's LITTLE MOMBO (Into Mischief) makes his career bow in this spot for trainer Phil Bauer. The $500,000...

Four years ago--almost to the day--when Arkansas native Staton Flurry sat down for a tête-à-tête with the TDN, his trainer Brad Cox took the opportunity to indulge in a little divination. "He's out for good horses and wants to win stake races," said Cox at the time, before pointing to their as yet unfinished greatest hits tour with multiple graded-stakes winner, Mr. Misunderstood (Archarcharch). "What this horse has done for him, those are the kinds of horses that he's looking for." Turns out, Cox reads the tea leaves as well...

Dr. Lee Cyphers, Oaklawn's longtime Association Veterinarian, passed away at age 66 Sunday, Sept. 5 following complications from a brain aneurysm. He was a fixture at the Oaklawn starting gate and in the paddock spanning three decades. He was a local Hot Springs veterinarian with a highly successful small animal clinic. He is preceded in death by his parents and two brothers Steve and Chuck Cyphers. Survivors include his wife and best friend Kristi; children, Morgan Lee (Summer) Cyphers, Margaret "Meggy" Beatrice (Joseph) Boone, the mother of his children, Viki...

Oaklawn will celebrate 2020 champion sprinter Whitmore (Pleasantly Perfect) with Whitmore Day, held at Oaklawn Park Mar. 19. The afternoon will be highlighted by the $200,000 Whitmore S., formerly named the Hot Springs S. Whitmore Day will also feature an appearance by Whitmore, in addition to t-shirt giveaways, and the first 5,000 fans will receive a commemorative Whitmore baseball card. Whitmore won the six-furlong race four times during his career for trainer Ron Moquett's Southern Springs Stable, Robert LaPenta, and Head of Plain Partners LLC. Victorious in the GI Breeders'...

The richest meet in the 118-year history of Oaklawn is set to begin Dec. 3 and will feature maiden special weights for $84,000 and open allowances starting at $100,000. Overall, the 66-day season will offer purses between $45 million and $50 million. Stall applications and the first condition book are now available at www.oaklawn.com/racing/horsemen/. Stall applications are due Thursday, Oct. 21. "Our slogan has been 'A New Level of Racing' the last few years and that's exactly what we intend to deliver," Oaklawn President Louis Cella said. "Our purses will...

The purse for the 2022 GI Arkansas Derby will be increased to $1.25 million--up from $1 million in 2021--and the race will be contested Saturday, Apr. 2, Oaklawn Park announced Tuesday. The date shift is a departure from the traditional three weeks before the Kentucky Derby and the increased purse makes the race the richest event among Derby preps. In 2022, Oaklawn will offer a record 36 stakes worth $12.3 million. In addition to the Arkansas Derby, three stakes will carry million dollar purses and 15 other stakes will offer...

St George Stables' Letruska (Super Saver) completed an ascent from the humblest of humble beginnings to the highest of highs in the Thoroughbred game, fighting back willingly inside of multiple Eclipse Award winner and two-time GI Breeders' Cup Distaff winner Monomoy Girl (Tapizar) to take Saturday's $1-million GI Apple Blossom H. by half a head. Reigning 3-year-old champion Swiss Skydiver (Daredevil) couldn't go with the top two late and settled for third. The contrarians were out in force all across social media since the Apple Blossom was drawn Tuesday, reasoning...

Saturday's GI Apple Blossom H. at Oaklawn Park features a clash between champions Monomoy Girl (Tapizar) and Swiss Skydiver (Daredevil). Named champion 3-year-old filly off a sparkling 2018 campaign, Monomoy Girl returned from a year and a half on the sidelines to win all four starts in 2020, including Churchill's GI La Troienne S. followed by a successful title defense in the Nov. 7 GI Breeders' Cup Distaff at Keeneland. After realizing $9.5 million from Spendthrift Farm at Fasig-Tipton in November, the 6-year-old mare marked her debut sporting the MyRacehorse...

A pair of Spendthrift Farm homebreds stamped themselves as 3-year-olds to watch for the second half of the season with recent jaw-dropping 'TDN Rising Star' performances. Following Sea (c, 3, Runhappy--Quick Flip, by Speightstown) earned his 'Rising Star' badge with a flashy maiden win at second asking for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert on the GI Arkansas Derby undercard, good for a gaudy 97 Beyer Speed Figure. The bay was hustled to the front by Joel Rosario in the six-furlong affair and was pressed on his inside through an...

Following Sea (Runhappy) took the trip down to Hot Springs with his GI Arkansas Derby-bound stablemates for this lucrative maiden test and proved more than up for the task with a dominant debut victory, earning 'TDN Rising Star' honors. A $230,000 in utero purchase by Spendthrift Farm at the 2017 KEENOV sale, the bay crossed the line second behind stablemate and subsequent GI Runhappy Santa Anita fourth Defunded (Dialed In) on debut at Santa Anita Mar. 6, but he was demoted to third by the stewards for interference. Receiving Lasix...