Blame winter: Oaklawn moves Kentucky Derby prep, 5 more stakes
The domino effect of the fierce cold that has gripped the nation this week led Oaklawn to pushing the Grade 3, $800,000 Southwest Stakes, its next Kentucky Derby 2024 prep, back a week to Feb. 3.
“Due to this weekend’s racing cancellation, Oaklawn will move the entire Southwest Stakes card to Saturday, Feb. 3,” track spokesperson Chris Ho said in a Thursday afternoon news release. “Our three-day race weekend resumes next Friday, Jan. 26, with first post at 12:30 p.m. (CST). The Fifth Season Stakes will be run Saturday, Jan. 27.”
Click here for Oaklawn entries and results.
The rescheduled Southwest Stakes day card features three other stakes races: the $250,000 Martha Washington, the $150,000 King Cotton and the $150,000 American Beauty. According to a Thursday news release Oaklawn has also moved the $150,000 Fifth Season, originally scheduled for Saturday, to Feb. 27. The Bayakoa (G3), scheduled for Feb. 3, will instead happen Friday, Feb. 2.
The forecast for continued severe cold led management at the Hot Springs, Ark., racecourse to call off races Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Even though it is expected to be sunny, the National Weather Service predicted high temperatures of 32 degrees Friday, 30 on Saturday and 35 on Sunday. With breezy conditions all three days, the NWS said the wind chill may drop to 10 degrees.
Trainer Steve Asmussen’s 2-for-2 colt Carbone was listed in Horse Racing Nation’s Stakes Tracker as one of the nine probable starters for the 1 1/16-mile Southwest, which will award 20-10-6-4-2 Derby qualifying points to the top five finishers. With wins in maiden and allowance starts, Carbone was listed this week at best odds of 70-1 in the Las Vegas futures for the Derby.
The $250,000 Martha Washington, a Kentucky Oaks (G1) points prep, is scheduled to be run on the Southwest undercard. So are the $150,000 King Cotton and the $150,000 American Beauty, both six-furlong sprints.
Entries for Southwest day are expected to be taken Jan. 28.
Oaklawn canceled races on consecutive Sundays early this month, most recently last weekend because of the wintry weather. The condition of the thawing track led to the scrubbing of all but one race Jan. 7.