Just a few days after the April 14 Arkansas Derby, Oaklawn Park broke ground on new projects both seen by the fans and behind the scenes.
Track officials, in Oaklawn's June newsletter, announced that 2018 marks the first time in 115 years that winning horses will return to a new winner's circle near the grandstand. Stakes race winners will continue to go to the infield's winner's circle.
Jennifer Hoyt, media relations manager, told The Sentinel-Record Friday the project has consisted of digging up a portion of the north apron of the grandstand. The winner's circle will be for everyday use, while the current winner's circle in the infield will still serve as a gathering place for larger stakes races, she said.
Hoyt said the winner's circle will "allow the fans a chance to get closer to the winners after each race and groups can now enjoy the excitement of going to the winner's circle without having to walk through mud on rainy days."
In the last three years, Oaklawn has also built five new barns on the backstretch and by 2019, three new barns will open. To make room for this construction, four barns have been torn down which will improve the barn area while also adding parking for horsemen and guests.
Hoyt said by the start of the 2019 live meet, there will be 39 barns total.
"Anytime you can tell horsemen that you are improving the barn and making changes for their benefit, it helps in the recruiting efforts," she said. "Our purses and the commitment to racing that we have shown year after year are why more and more horsemen are looking at Oaklawn."
Oaklawn Jockey Club President Louis Cella said Oaklawn has been "very aggressive" in making changes to improve its products for fans in the last 10 years, not just physically with construction but with a change in the traditional racing schedule which was announced just ahead of the Arkansas Derby.
Additional projects include improvements to the jockeys' room, exterior painting on the front and back of the building, updates to the Carousel Restaurant and the installation of new air conditioning units in the grandstand.
"All the improvements have been made with the fan in mind," Hoyt said of the winner's circle, restaurant updates and air conditioning units in particular.
She said the projects will have to be completed before horses arrive later this year when the track officially opens for training.
"Before horses arrive we'll have to have it all finished," she said. "With the new race dates, the barn area will actually open a week later than usual, but the track opens the last week of November so it will be done before then. There will probably be a few finishing touches for it. That's the big news is we have such a tight time frame, we only have April to November for construction. We don't have April to January."
The 115th live race meet will begin Jan. 25 and end on May 4, coinciding with the 2019 Kentucky Derby and trading inclement weather early on with warmer spring race days.
Hoyt said in the coming weeks, fans should be watching for announcements regarding the 2019 stakes schedule and as fall approaches, Oaklawn will "be able to share information about our recruiting efforts to bring in even more new trainers and jockeys."
Local on 06/17/2018