Oaklawn outlines promotions for upcoming meet

Live racing returns to Hot Springs with the opening of Oaklawn's 2014 live

meet January 10, and greeting fans will be some of the most competitive racing

in the country, especially in the three-year-old ranks. Overall, the 57-day meet

will offer more than $20 million in purses and 31 stakes, highlighted by the

78th running of the $1 million Arkansas Derby April 12.  

Oaklawn's three-year-old stakes program is one of the most successful in the

nation and last year, it produced likely champion three-year-old Will Take

Charge and Oxbow, whose victory in the Preakness Stakes was the 10th Triple

Crown race won by an Oaklawn-raced horse in 10 years. The four-race program

offers 289 points based on the qualifying method for the Kentucky Derby and

these race days also help anchor some of Oaklawn's most popular promotions.

The series starts January 20 with a special Martin Luther King Jr. card that

features the $150,000 Smarty Jones Stakes and a free baseball cap giveaway with

paid admission. It continues February 17 with a Presidents' Weekend card that

includes the $300,000 Southwest Stakes and $55,000 Progressive Cash Giveaway.

Next to Arkansas Derby Day, the most anticipated day during the Oaklawn meet

is Rebel Stakes Day, March 15. In addition to this $600,000 race for aspiring

sophomores, the card now includes the $200,000 Razorback Handicap and $200,000

Azeri Stakes, and one lucky fan will walk away with a new boat and truck,

courtesy of Bradford Marine.

The meet will begin with the traditional 50-cent corned beef sandwiches on

the first Saturday, January 11, and end with the Racing Festival of the South

which starts April 5 with the $400,000 Fantasy Stakes and concludes April 12

with the Arkansas Derby and three other stakes.

Back by popular demand, Oaklawn will open its Infield, complete with a Beer

Garden, live music and family-friendly activities, every Saturday from Rebel

Stakes through Arkansas Derby. The popular "Dawn at Oaklawn" program returns

February 15 and will allow guests to get up close and personal with the horses

and top racing personalities from 7:30-9:30 a.m. (CT) every Saturday through the

end of the meet. Visitors can also take barn tours as part of the Saturday

morning program.

Post times will be 1:30 p.m. on weekdays and Sundays and 1 p.m. on Saturdays.

Some exceptions are opening day, January 10; Super Bowl Sunday, February 2; and

the two holiday Mondays, January 20 and February 17, when first post is 1 p.m.

For more information, visit www.Oaklawn.com or

call 1-800-OAKLAWN.

Bet Horseracing Free Online at TwinSpires.com