Riding the crest of American Pharoah's Triple Crown success and its own surging business, Oaklawn Park plans to spread the money around next racing season.
Oaklawn announced Thursday that its first 2016 condition book features the richest purses in track history for the eighth consecutive year.
Maiden special weights will be worth $68,000, an $8,000 hike over where they started in 2015, and open allowance levels will be up to $75,000, a $9,000 increase over the 2015 starting point. The minimum purse will be $21,000, up $3,000 from this season.
Overall, Oaklawn is projecting total purses of $27 million with average daily distribution of $475,000. This is 12 percent more than in 2015 and 76 percent higher than when the streak of increases began in 2008.
The announcement came two days before American Pharoah's scheduled start in the Grade 1 Travers at Saratoga in upstate New York. The Bob Baffert-trained 3-year-old won two Oaklawn prep races, the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby and Grade 2 Rebel, before becoming the first horse in 37 years and 12th in history to sweep the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes. American Pharoah is the only Triple Crown winner to race at Oaklawn, which opened in 1904 and conducted its first race meet the following year.
"Oaklawn has had to reinvent itself several times over the course of our 112 years, but what has never changed is our commitment to offering world-class thoroughbred racing," said David Longinotti, director of racing. "We are extremely proud of our business model that has helped generate higher purses year after year. These purses and the tremendous support we get from Arkansas racing fans are the biggest reasons Oaklawn is able to attract horses like ... American Pharoah."
Oaklawn derives purse money from its award-winning gaming operation, expanded for a second time at the beginning of this year. Oaklawn Anywhere, an in-state advanced deposit wagering platform, also has been successful, generating more than $1 million in purses this year and an estimated $1.5 million in 2016.
Oaklawn, which previously announced a record $7.55-million stakes schedule for 2016, opens Friday, Jan. 15 and runs through Saturday, April 16.
Horsemen seeking stall applications and condition books can email [email protected] or call the racing office at 1-800-OAKLAWN (501-701-5570). Stall applications, due Oct. 29, and the first condition book are also available at www.Oaklawn.com.
Sports on 08/28/2015