HOT SPRINGS — Oaklawn Park has always been special to Arkansans, but now in the world of thoroughbred racing it is special nationwide.
It is one of a few heavyweights going the distance in a sport loved passionately by fewer each year.
From the Jockey Club to the infield, Oaklawn means something extraordinary to people in the Natural State.
Frank Fletcher, noted businessman and horse owner, has always said his No. 1 goal in horse racing is to win the Arkansas Derby because that’s where his friends and family are. He can worry about that the first Saturday in May.
Everyone should know by now that Eric Jackson’s creation of Instant Racing and Charles Cella’s ability to get it approved has has paid dividends for thoroughbred racing in Arkansas.
Since 2000, 37 race tracks have closed their doors, and for just as many years Oak-lawn has had growth to make it a rival to California’s Santa Anita and Kentucky’s Churchill Downs as far as purses, horsemen, quality of racing and leadership.
Last Saturday, the track that ran its first race in 1904 — making it the longest held sports franchise by a family — added another word to its resume.
Legendary.
Its foresight and unselfishness allowed several 3-year-old colts who were being trained for the Kentucky Derby to have a track to continue its training.
Almost as soon as Santa Anita announced weeks ago that it would be closing temporarily following the death of the 21st horse this year, Louis Cella, who took over the reins from his dad, and his team sat down and made a decision. They would run their $1 million Rebel Stakes in two divisions.
They added $500,000 to the purse, so each division would be running for $750,000 and Derby points.
Honestly, no other track in America even thought about doing that, but that’s part of the great legacy of the Cellas and Oaklawn Park. So, 20 horses lined up at Oaklawn in two races last Saturday with their sights on the Kentucky Derby.
At a time when the track needed to focus on its own live meet and next month’s official change from games of skill to full-fledged casino games, conventional thinking was, as it always has been, what is best for the sport of horse racing?
That’s been the constant since the Cellas opened Oak-lawn 115 years ago. It was why Charles Cella offered bonuses to horses who could win his prep races and the Kentucky Derby, and he backed up his promises in 2004 when he wrote a $5 million check to the owners of Smarty Jones.
Oaklawn’s ever-increasing purses had already attracted Hall of Famers from coast to coast, but last Saturday was like the Kentucky Derby came to Hot Springs.
The first leg of the Rebel tickled the innards as locals lined up and outraced everyone to to the winners circle. Long Range Toddy is owned by Willis Horton of Marshall and trained by Steve Asmussen — OK, he’s a national player, but he’s won the training title nine times at Oaklawn so he’s been thoroughly adopted — and ridden by longtime local jockey Jon L. Court.
Court kept Long Range Toddy off the pace until the head of the stretch, and when he pulled the trigger his mount picked them off and hit the finish a neck in front in 1:42.49.
The last leg of the Rebels saw shipper Omaha Beach go wire-to-wire, holding off odds-on favorite Game Winner by a nose, with the running time a blink of the eye quicker, 1:49.42.
It was great racing with a great crowd of 45,000 at one of the greatest tracks in America and last Saturday’s splitting of the Rebel Stakes was worthy of an Eclipse Award.