Shifman: Uncertainty will follow Oaklawn Park’s final card

As has been the case at Oaklawn Park throughout the Spring, their featured races this week attracted full fields loaded with horses ranked in the NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll.

The Grade 2 Oaklawn Handicap drew a full field of 14 older male horses and six of them can be found receiving votes in the most recent poll, including Mr Freeze (No. 5), By My Standards (8), Combatant (9), Tacitus (15), Warrior’s Charge (20) and Trophy Chaser (30).

The Grade 1 Arkansas Derby, which split into two divisions when 22 horses were entered, contains seven sophomores that received votes in the current Top 3-Year-Old Poll: Nadal (No. 3), Charlatan (4), Wells Bayou (5), King Guillermo (9), Gouverneur Morris (12), Silver Prospector (14) and Farmington Road (23).

Top barns have flocked to the Hot Springs, Ark., track to take advantage of the big purses and the top-level stakes competition, while at the same time knowing that after Saturday there are no more graded stakes scheduled amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The other major spring/summer meetings at Belmont Park, Churchill Downs and Santa Anita are all currently on hold as track management negotiates with state and local government agencies to allow racing to resume.

The pandemic has caused unimaginable loss of life and has created a political climate that makes it extremely difficult to maintain businesses, with Thoroughbred racing being one of them.

The Oaklawn Park meeting allowed a bit of normalcy in that the best horses have had a venue at which they could perform. Going forward there is only uncertainty but certainly some light at the end of the tunnel with racing fit to continue behind closed doors soon.

At this point, however, there is uncertainty for the Triple Crown and the road to the Sept. 5 Kentucky Derby. The Santa Anita Derby and the Wood Memorial were postponed, while the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes are left unscheduled.

There is the promise of a new Kentucky Derby trail and the hope that graded stakes racing will be able to resume. But until more racetracks are allowed to open, nothing is for sure. To add, everything could change daily pending more COVID-19 outbreaks.

In the meantime, fans can support the racing that we do have. Enjoy tracks that are still open from home, and consider a contribution to the backstretch organizations that are helping workers deal with obstacles they face.

Stay safe, and let’s all do what we can to help this uncertainty shift to the kind of positive outcomes that we all want to see.