Whitmore and Petrov are scheduled to arrive at Oaklawn Park to join almost 1,300 horses after training resumed on Friday.
Oaklawn reported 1,289 horses on the grounds Thursday morning. Training resumed Friday morning following a three-day halt caused by freezing Temperatures.
Trainer Ron Moquett, of Hot Springs, said Whitmore and Petrov were scheduled to arrive today after a freshening for both in Kentucky. Whitmore was Oaklawn's top sprinter last year, winning all three starts, including the Grade 3 $400,000 Count Fleet Sprint Handicap.
Petrov ran second in the $150,000 Smarty Jones Stakes and Grade 3 $500,000 Southwest Stakes for 3-year-olds last year at Oaklawn.
Nominations to the $125,000 Fifth Season Stakes for older horses on Friday will close Thursday. Entries for the opening-day program will be drawn Monday.
Blowout maiden winner P R Radio Star arrived Tuesday from Hawthorne for co-owner/trainer Tom Swearingen, who plans to run in the 3-year-old son of Warrior's Reward in a first-level allowance/optional claimer at a mile on Jan. 13.
P R Radio Star, in his dirt debut, was a front-running 12 ½-length maiden winner sprinting Dec. 16 at Hawthorne. The bay colt had finished third in his Aug. 12 career debut at Arlington Park before running seventh in its $75,000 Arlington-Washington Futurity Sept. 9. P R Radio Star has never raced around two turns.
"I think he wants to the two turns, for sure," Swearingen said. "I think that's going to be his motivation there. That's where he wants to go. Seems like the more he goes, the stronger he gets."
The allowance/optional claimer is a companion race to the $150,000 Smarty Jones Stakes Jan. 15, Oaklawn's first of four major Kentucky Derby preps.
Robertino Diodoro, Oaklawn's second-leading trainer last year, said Kent Knudsen will oversee his Hot Springs division in 2018. Rob Atras had overseen Diodoro's Oaklawn division the last three years, but he is now with the trainers' New York string.
Diodoro won 220 races last year, including 31 at Oaklawn, to rank fifth nationally, according to Equibase, racing's official data gathering organization. Diodoro said he has approximately 150 horses in training at four sites in Arizona, Louisiana, New York and at Oaklawn. He said he will have about 40 horses at Oaklawn and plans to be in Hot Springs much more often in 2018.
Trainer Mac Robertson said multiple stakes winner Hot Shot Kid, a 4-year-old Majestic Warrior gelding, is about to resume training at Oaklawn after a lengthy freshening. Hot Shot Kid broke his maiden on the final day of the 2017 Oaklawn meeting, his first of five consecutive victories, capped by the $85,000 Minnesota Derby on July 29 at Canterbury Park. Hot Shot Kid has not started since his winning streak ended with a fifth-place finish in the $200,000 Mystic Lake Derby Aug. 26 at Canterbury Park.
Trainer Will VanMeter said Shortleaf Stable's Lone Rock will be nominated to the Smarty Jones, but the plan is to run the Majestic Warrior colt in a first-level allowance/optional claimer opening weekend. Lone Rock, who has worked sharply for his 3-year-old debut, broke his maiden by 10 ½ lengths Sept. 2 at Indiana Grand and finished second in his last start, an entry-level allowance/optional claimer Nov. 10 at Churchill Downs.
Sports on 01/06/2018