Best Bets For Oaklawn Park’s Two Graded Stakes: Whitmore
Oaklawn Park, located in Hot Springs (Ark.), hosts the only two graded stake events this weekend. Grade III Whitmore Stakes and Essex Handicap headline Oaklawn’s Saturday 10-race card.
Grade III Whitmore Stakes
The $200,000 Whitmore Stakes is a Grade III event for four-year-olds and older at a distance of six furlongs on the dirt. Ten male horses are slated to go to post at 5:22 p.m. (ET).
All 10 entrants will get a share of the prize money. After paying 1.5% of the original purse to the owners of horses finishing 5th through last, 65% of the remaining purse will be paid to the owner(s) of the winner, 20% to second, 10% to third, and 5% to fourth.
The event has existed since 1944 under various names and race conditions. In 2021, the race was changed from the Hot Springs Stakes to the Whitmore Stakes after the retired thoroughbred Whitmore, who broke E J Harley’s record with four consecutive Hot Springs Stakes wins between 2017 and 2020.
This year’s event should be highly competitive and close. Tejano Twist is the morning line favorite with 3/1 odds, but three other horses have odds of 5/1 or better. These horses are Cogburn (7/2), Edge to Edge (4/1), and Flash of Mischief. Jockey Ricoardo Santana Jr., who has won the race three times, gets the ride on Cogburn.
Prediction: I like five of the horses to varying degrees here. In addition to Cogburn, Edge to Edge, and Tejano Edge, Miles Ahead (15-1) and Spankster (8/1) are the other entrants I like.
Order of finish: 1. Cogburn 2. Tejano Twist 3. Edge to Edge 4. Spankster 5. Miles Ahead 6. Pirate Rock 7. Baytown Bear 8. Empire Gold 9. Flash of Mischief 10.
Best Bet: $2 on Cogburn (7/2) to win
$1 exacta box: Cogburn/ Tejano Twist/Edge to Edge
Grade III Essex Handicap
The $500,000 Essex Handicap is a Grade III event for four years old and upwards at a distance of one and one-sixteenth miles. 10 male horses are slated to go to post at 5:45 p.m.
All 10 entrants will get a share of the prize money. After paying 1.5% of the original purse to the owners of horses finishing 5th through last, 65% of the remaining purse will be paid to the owner(s) of the winner, 20% to second, 10% to third, and 5% to fourth.
The race originated as the Southland Handicap in 1948 for three years olds. In 1973, the name was changed to the Essex Handicap in honor of the former racetrack Essex Park, also located in Hot Springs, Arkansas, and was destroyed by fire in the early 20th century.
The Essex Handicap changed race conditions from three to four years old and older in 1973. The event was gifted Grade III status in 1985, and then in 1987, the race distance of the event was increased by forty yards to one and one-sixteenth miles. The Handicap lost its graded stakes status in 2008, and its status of Grade III was reinstated last year.
This year’s field is loaded with successful entrants, as four horses have earned over $1 million. R Rated Superstar (20-1), making his fourth start in the race, won the event last year and in 2019. Last Samurai, Silver Prospector, and Classic Causeway are the other million-dollar earners.
A win by R Rated Super Star will give him a record three event wins. Jockey David Cabrera, who was on R Rated Superstar last year, gets the ride again. Ricardardo Santana Jr., who will ride Silver Prospector, is among three jockeys with three Essex Handicap wins. Last Samurai is the morning line favorite at 5/2 odds.
Prediction:: I like five horses to varying degrees to win the event. In addition to Rated R Superstar and Silver Prospector (6/1), Call Me Fast (15/1), Classic Causeway (15/1), and Last Samurai (5/2) are the other entrants that I like. Silver Prospector, Call Me First, and Last Sumurai are coming off wins.
Order of finish: 1. Last Sumurai, 2. Classic Causeway 3. Rated R Superstar 4. Call Me Fast 6. Silver Prospector 6. Forza Di Oro 7. Necker Island 8. Vittorio 9. Tawny Port 10. Keystone Field
Best Bet: $2 show bet on Classic Causeway (15-1)
$1 Exacta Box: Last Sumurai/Classic Causeway/R-Rated Superstar/ Silver Prospector
Silver Prospector
