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Oaklawn remains
strong Feb. 17, 2012 - Owner Edward J. DeBartolo opened Oklahoma City's Remington Park in 1988 and promptly declared that Arkansas' Oaklawn Park had "outlived its usefulness." DeBartolo, owner of the state's first deluxe facility after pari-mutuel horse racing was legalized in Oklahoma, said Oaklawn should be "razed and leveled." Instead, Oaklawn has survived horse racing's downturn and flourished as tracks in neighboring states have struggled. Oaklawn struggled briefly in the early 1990s to absorb the loss of business from Oklahoma, but it is horse racing in this state that has struggled while interest in Oaklawn from serious horse players remains strong. Tulsa's Fair Meadows is barely keeping the doors open for live racing while casino gambling, a lifeline for tracks across the country, was added at Remington Park and Claremore's Will Rogers Downs. Oaklawn has enjoyed a rebirth in horse racing and, despite a handful of new deluxe horse tracks in Texas, continues to be one of the most successful tracks in the country. "It is great for us, too," said Ron Shotts, director of racing at Fair Meadows. "It is a significant jump in our business at our betting windows when Oaklawn is running. "It is easy to tell when Oaklawn starts running. We get much more busy at our place thanks to Oaklawn. Our bettors really like Oaklawn. They always have." Oaklawn opened its 108th season last month, and 18,087 fans showed up at the Hot Springs track on opening day. Oaklawn is in the midst of a 34-race stakes program worth more than $5 million, the highest purse structure in the track's history. Oaklawn, through all of the ups and downs of the horse racing industry, including the downturn in the sport over the past 20 years, continues to be very popular. Last year Oaklawn drew a daily average of 11,649 fans and had a daily handle of $4.4 million. Last year's Arkansas Derby drew 62,364 fans with an $11.4 million handle. Just five years ago, Oaklawn set the all-time record with 72,484 for the Arkansas Derby. In other words, Oaklawn is bucking a national trend. It helps Fair Meadows because Oaklawn remains No. 1 with Tulsa horse players. Since Jan. 1, the average daily handle at Fair Meadows has been $50,600. Since Oaklawn started running, the average daily handle at Fair Meadows has jumped up to $62,045. "Historically, folks in this part of the country have always gone to Oaklawn for horse racing," said Shotts. "Until we got horse racing in this state about 25 years ago, if you wanted to bet on the ponies you went to Oaklawn. It is the traditional place for horse racing in this part of the country. "I think some of that is still true today. There is horse racing all over the place now, but a lot of people still love Oaklawn." Not only is Oaklawn still popular with fans, it is also popular within the horse industry. Oaklawn still draws some of the top horses and is considered one of the top tracks in advance of the triple crown races. In recent years, Oaklawn has been the launching pad for triple crown-race winners like Smarty Jones, Afleet Alex, Curlin, Summer Bird, Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta. Read more By JOHN KLEIN Senior Sports Columnist: Tulsa World | ||
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