Oaklawn

MyRacehorse and Spendthrift Farm will partner on the 2021 racing campaign of two-time champion Monomoy Girl (Tapizar), who makes her 2021 debut Sunday at Oaklawn in the GIII Bayakoa S. In a lease-to-race agreement for the 2021 season, MyRacehorse has acquired a majority ownership interest in the 6-year-old mare, purchased by Spendthrift at the 2020 Fasig-Tipton November Sale for $9.5 million. The news was first reported by Bob Ehalt on BloodHorse.com, who discussed the details with Sol Kumin, who has also bought back into the mare. Shares in Monomoy Girl,...

After losing eight days of racing due to record-breaking winter weather, Oaklawn has added both races and extra race days to make up for canceled days last week and this coming weekend. In addition, the Hot Springs oval previously announced the further postponement of their President's Day weekend stakes to the weekend of Feb. 27-28. A total of 27 races have been added to the schedule as well as two additional race days Wednesday, Mar. 31 and Wednesday, Apr. 28. The track is also increasing purses for all overnight races...

Oaklawn, beset by frigid weather which necessitated the cancelling of live racing Friday-Monday, has further altered its stakes schedule to accommodate the extended weather forecast. The featured graded black-type events of Presidents' Day weekend--the GIII Bayakoa S., GIII Razorback H., and GIII Southwest S.--all originally rescheduled for Saturday, Feb. 20, have all been moved again to Sunday, Feb. 21, to take advantage of the best conditions available. In addition, the Dixie Belle S., which was set for Feb. 13, has now been rescheduled to Saturday, Feb. 20, the same day...

Keepmeinmind (Laoban) worked five furlongs in a bullet :59 at Oaklawn Tuesday morning in preparation for a start in the GIII Southwest S. Feb. 15. The fastest of 17 works published at the distance, the 3-year-old completed the final quarter-mile in a sharp :22.80, galloping out six furlongs in 1:11.80, seven furlongs in 1:25.40 and a mile in 1:40.40, according to local clockers. Accompanied by David Cohen, the winner of the GII Kentucky Jockey Club S. last November worked over a fast track following the second break to renovate the...

The freshly-minted Eclipse Award winning sprinter Whitmore (Pleasantly Perfect) will try to add to his seven Oaklawn stakes wins this winter, according to part-owner--along with Bob LaPenta and Head of Plains Partners--and trainer Rron Moquett. Whitmore punctuated his 2020 campaign with a dominating victory in the Nov. 7 GI Breeders' Cup Sprint at Keeneland. "I think the reaction that we get from the rest of the people kind of mimics how we feel all the time about him," Moquett said Friday morning. "It's like everybody's giving him credit, loving him...

8th-Oaklawn, $84,000, Alw, 1-24, (NW1X), 3yo, f, 6f, 1:11.89, my, 1 1/2 lengths. ABROGATE (f, 3, Outwork--Hot Coffee, by Burning Roma) became the third winner on Oaklawn's Sunday card for her owners, trainer and jockey Ricardo Santana, Jr. A six-length debut winner at Churchill Nov. 12, she'd been flattered when the runner-up from that heat returned to take her next two starts and was backed down to 4-5 favoritism facing a promising group. Away well, the dark bay was content to press from second through an opening quarter of :22.78...

7th-Oaklawn, $84,000, Alw, 1-23, (NW1X), 3yo, 6f, 1:10.29, ft, 3 1/2 lengths. SWIFTSURE (c, 3, Uncle Mo--Island Saint {GSP, $133,860}, by Speightstown) wired the field to take his debut by 3 1/4 lengths in his career bow at the Fair Grounds Nov. 27 and was hammered down to even-money to repeat here. Hustled out of the gate, the dark bay was overtaken by longshot Lock Up (Maclean's Music) and kept a watchful eye from second through a swift first quarter in :21.51. Closing the gap on the backstretch, Swiftsure took...

Caddo River (Hard Spun) made good on his 'TDN Rising Star'-worthy graduation at third asking with a facile first stakes score in Oaklawn's Smarty Jones S., good for 10 points on the Road to the GI Kentucky Derby. Away well from his outside post, the 3-5 chalk seized the early advantage and clocked an unpressured opening quarter in :23.12 and a half in :47.16. Extending clear with ease on the backstretch run, the bay rolled home the easiest of winners under a hand ride from Florent Geroux. Caddo River was...

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency INTRIGUING GROUP OF COLTS DEBUT ON PEGASUS UNDERCARD 6th-GP, $50K, Msw, 3yo, 7f, 2:04 p.m. This salty Pegasus World Cup day maiden special is littered with firsters with big pedigrees and big price tags, including a half-brother to undefeated Triple Crown hero Justify (Scat Daddy) named STAGE RAIDER (Pioneerof the Nile). After RNAing for $950,000 at KEESEP, the bay will carry the colors of breeder John Gunther and will be saddled by Chad Brown. In addition to Horse of the Year and champion 3-year-old male...

Champion Monomoy Girl (Tapizar) will make her 2021 debut in the GIII Bayakoa S. Feb. 15 at Oaklawn, trainer Brad Cox told the track's notes team. A lock to win her second championship after a perfect 2020 season capped by a victory in the GI Breeders' Cup Distaff in November, the chestnut was purchased by Spendthrift for $9.5 million at the Fasig-Tipton November Sale and returned to the Cox barn for a 2021 campaign. "Honestly, with her breeze this past weekend, she's probably a little ahead of schedule, as far...

Louis Cella, the owner and president of Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort, has been honored as the 2020 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Sportsman of the Year for his leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic. When most of the rest of the country--including live sports--shut down in March, he was one of a handful of racetrack principals who were able to continue live racing and do it safely. "In racing, we have an obligation," Cella told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. "It's not like a retail store. You send your employees home and good luck and let's...

Working in partnership with the Arkansas Racing Commission and the Arkansas HBPA (Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association), Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort has announced, subject to legislative approval, a series of significant proposed safety and integrity enhancements planned for the 2021 racing season. Key provisions include the prohibition of Clenbuterol within 60 days of a race, reduction in the maximum amount of Lasix without specific approval, and the mandatory use of safety whips in races. "We began working on these measures last spring," said Oaklawn President Louis Cella. "We hosted a...