Oaklawn Park has announced significant purse increases to a number of its 2020 stakes as the Arkansas oval will for the second year host a meet that stretches into May. Four stakes at meet, which runs from Jan. 24 to May 2, will feature $1-million purses: the Mar 14 GII Rebel S., Apr. 11 GI Arkansas Derby, Apr. 18 GI Oaklawn H. and Apr. 18 GI Apple Blossom H. Both the Oaklawn H. and Apple Blossom have been pushed back on the calendar and given $250,000 purse bumps.
The purse for the Feb. 17 GIII Southwest S. for sophomore males has also been increased by $250,000 to $750,000, and purses its three preps for the GI Kentucky Oaks have been raised as well: by $25 ,000 for the Feb. 1 $150,000 Martha Washington S., and by $100,000 each for the now $300,000 GIII Honeybee S. Mar. 7 and $600,000 GIII Fantasy S. Apr. 10. The second-annual $300,000 Oaklawn Invitational for 3-year-olds will again be run on GI Kentucky Derby day.
“We have so many great things happening now at Oaklawn and it's reflected in our remarkable stakes program scheduled for the 2020 season,” Oaklawn President Louis Cella said. “We are especially proud of the increases we made to our 3-year-old series for horses on the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks trail.”
The inaugural 1 1/2-mile Temperence Hill S. for older horses will be contested Mar. 13.
With the shift of the Oaklawn H. and Apple Blossom, this will be the first time that the Racing Festival of the South will stretch past the Arkansas Derby.
“My father conceived the idea for the Racing Festival of the South in 1974 and since that time it's become one of the most prominent events on the national racing calendar,” Cella said. “I think he would be thrilled to see the purses of the Oaklawn Handicap and Apple Blossom at $1 million each.”
Oaklawn's 2020 stakes schedule features a total of 33 races worth $10,700,000. Overall, 15 of those stakes received purse increases including four Arkansas-bred stakes.
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