Tag: Oaklawn Handicap

Rated R Superstar, seen here winning the Grade 3 Essex Stakes, is one of three millionaires in the Grade 2 Oaklawn Handicap field. He is 5/1 on the morning line in a deep, eight-horse field. (Image: Coady Photography)

This Deep Oaklawn Handicap Provides A Handicapper’s Puzzle

- 4 min read

The numbers tell you how competitive Saturday’s Grade 2 Oaklawn Handicap is from a wagering standpoint. Because this is a race where just about everyone can win. How competitive is the anchor stakes race on Oaklawn Park’s 12-race card? Six of the eight older horses in the 1 1/8-mile Oaklawn […]

Plainsman captured the Razorback Handicap by a neck in his last outing: the Grade 3 Razorback Handicap. He's the 5/2 second favorite in the Grade 3 Oaklawn Handicap, the final race in this week's Cross Country Pick 5. (Image: Coady Photography)

Oaklawn Provides Strong Stakes Bookends for Cross Country Pick 5

- 3 min read

A deeply talented Grade 1 for fillies and mares and a contentious Grade 3 for older males bookend this week’s New York Racing Association Cross Country Pick 5 wager. The all-stakes Cross Country Pick 5 features races from Oaklawn Park – the site of the aforementioned Grade 1 Apple Blossom […]

Oaklawn Park's 2021-22 stakes schedule consists of a record 36 stakes. Included is a revamping of its Kentucky Derby trail stops. (Image: Coady Photography)

Oaklawn Park Boosts Arkansas Derby Purse, Remakes Derby Prep Trail

- 3 min read

Oaklawn Park just shifted the landscape for the 2022 Kentucky Derby trail, boosting the purse for the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby to $1.25 million and moving the race up a week, to April 2, 2022. That moves the Arkansas Derby from its traditional spot as the last major Derby prep […]

Silver State emerged from a six-wide cavalry charge to capture Saturday's Grade 2 Oaklawn Handicap. That was his fifth consecutive victory dating to last October. (Image: Coady Photography)

Silver State Shows a Golden — and Quiet — Touch Worth Watching

- 3 min read

While you were paying attention to the Kentucky Derby trail, Silver State was winning races. While you were paying attention to the adventures of Charlatan, Maxfield, Knicks Go, Monomoy Girl, and Swiss Skydiver, Silver State was joining them in the millionaire’s club. The 4-year-old punched his membership ticket to that […]

Combatant pulled off a mild upset in winning March's Santa Anita Handicap. The 5-year-old is a 4/1 favorite to win the Oaklawn Handicap. (Image: Benoit Photo for AP)

Older Horses Show Off Newest Tricks in Deep Oaklawn Handicap Field

- 3 min read

This is scheduling as brilliant as the race its talent promises. In between the split Arkansas Derby divisions on Oaklawn Park’s dynamic closing day card rests the $600,000 Grade 2 Oaklawn Handicap – a race punching far above its Grade 2 status. Put the grade aside. Far aside. This year’s […]