Oaklawn helps state after storms

Anyone who saw the attendance figures at Oaklawn and wondered why the crowd wasn't larger Saturday must not have read his previous morning's newspaper.

That it was occasion for the 87th Arkansas Derby was more important than which horse won the race -- Angel of Empire should comport himself quite nicely in Kentucky, thank you -- but a longshot from being the state's biggest news story.

Photos out of Little Rock and beyond showed damage from tornadoes that rocked the Natural State Friday. Sarah Huckabee Sanders' father, when he was governor of Arkansas, said an ice storm after Christmas one year left carnage "almost apocalyptic in nature." This equaled that at the very least.

Mike Huckabee, presumably on religious grounds, was not Oaklawn's biggest booster during his term in office. For example, he discontinued the tradition of the governor presenting the trophy to the winning owner of the Arkansas Derby. Bill Clinton, for one, left the winners' circle soaked after congratulating John and Nancy Reed's 1984 victory with Rampage.

The reigning governor got an excused absence for not attending the first Arkansas Derby of her term -- that from track president Louis Cella, whose late father, Charles, loved Derby Day at Oaklawn to the utmost degree.

Cella and Sanders talked, he said, "and I told her that the state needed a governor more that day than it needed her at Oaklawn."

If nothing more than comforting the afflicted, Sanders toured damage sites Saturday. She didn't have to leave the capital city.

The daughter of a pulpit minister who graduated from Ouachita Baptist University, Sanders showed benevolence when it was most needed. Though a critic of President Joe Biden, the young woman who once worked for Donald Trump said she would be in touch with federal officials to activate the clean-up.

Cella, after one of the biggest days in track history, one attended by an estimated 65,000 people, and on which three of the 13 races had combined purses of $2.25 million, did a noble thing himself. He promptly donated $25,000 to the Arkansas Red Cross to speed its recovery efforts.

Charles Cella lifted spirits one year when he purchased Christmas lights for the city. As our friendship blossomed over the years, I told him once, "You can improve your image a ton by letting people know what and how much you contribute to various causes."

Gone are the days when Oaklawn took in more money on its races than was handled on track. The elder Cella and the late Richard Duchossois, track owner at since-shuttered Arlington Park in Chicago, were instrumental in merging betting pools and bringing about simulcast wagering. Along with electronic games of skill, simulcasting belongs high up in the story when assessing what factors were responsible in the emergence of what's known now as Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort.

Going against Gulfstream Park, which handled $38 million on the 15-race Florida Derby undercard, Oaklawn offered a strong product with four stakes, albeit with no grass racing. On 13 races in Hot Springs, where the track was rated fast, fans bet $2.5 million on track as $19.5 million came from outside its walls. What they now call all-sources handle topped $21.5 million on the local product.

Not that daily attendance no longer matters, but no track can expect an average of 23,000 betting $3.1 million six days a week while closed on Sunday and with no wager more exotic than an early daily double. Oaklawn did that one year, and no beamed more than the track president.

Charles Cella lived to see a new day, although perhaps not comfortable with all the growth, saying once he would rather close the track than co-exist with casino gambling. Now, one comes to Oaklawn for a number of reasons -- watch horses, bet on a race or a sporting event, dine in pleasure and even see a top-name act in the entertainment center.

Oh, with the governor detained from presenting the Derby hardware, Louis Cella conducted an in-house search for an adequate replacement. Rochelle Cella -- although somewhat skittish of horses, her husband said -- did nicely. Eric Jackson's beloved Lynda set the standard as the longtime official greeter after the Fantasy Stakes. With more practice, Rochelle is sure to have it down pat.

Louis' dad taught him all he needed to know about stewardship. "The boss," as I told him after the races Saturday, "would be proud."