Oaklawn Park vs. Tough Economy

Danzig · #1 02-17-2009, 05:40 PM

i believe the article in todays paper said that their signal has been re-established in vegas. yay

SOREHOOF · #2 02-17-2009, 05:54 PM

There was good racing and good horses. The meet seems to get better every year. Did Rachel Alexandra break a sweat?

Danzig · #3 02-17-2009, 06:44 PM

saw the other day that their average field size leads the nation. and there are offers coming in for rachel a. how high will they go? but knowing how things are in dubai, i wonder how much sheikh mo will be spending in the near future.....

hailrazer · #4 02-17-2009, 07:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Danzig

saw the other day that their average field size leads the nation. and there are offers coming in for rachel a. how high will they go? but knowing how things are in dubai, i wonder how much sheikh mo will be spending in the near future.....

I hope they keep her. Oaklawn got a boost from Curlin being bought and switched to Assmussen and then brought to Oaklawn, but I hate when a good one like Medaglia d'Oro gets sold and shipped.

blackthroatedwind · #5 02-17-2009, 08:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hailrazer

I hope they keep her. Oaklawn got a boost from Curlin being bought and switched to Assmussen and then brought to Oaklawn, but I hate when a good one like Medaglia d'Oro gets sold and shipped.

What boost did they get from Curlin making his second and third career starts at Oaklawn?

As for Medaglia D'Oro, one of two things would have happened, he would have improved for his former trainer ( highly unlikely ) the way he did for Frankel and raced, maybe, twice more at Oaklawn ( the Arkansas Derby and following year's Oaklawn Handicap ) which would have been one more start than he still made. The other possibility was he remained relatively slow and I doubt that would have been a big boost for Oaklawn when he languished in allowance company for a few years.

hailrazer · #6 02-17-2009, 08:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blackthroatedwind

What boost did they get from Curlin making his second and third career starts at Oaklawn?

As for Medaglia D'Oro, one of two things would have happened, he would have improved for his former trainer ( highly unlikely ) the way he did for Frankel and raced, maybe, twice more at Oaklawn ( the Arkansas Derby and following year's Oaklawn Handicap ) which would have been one more start than he still made. The other possibility was he remained relatively slow and I doubt that would have been a big boost for Oaklawn when he languished in allowance company for a few years.

Not really talking about a financial boost but more of a boost in status and the opportunity to have the top runners here as often as possible. You know, we are only little ol' Arkansas so we try to hold on tight when we get sumphin gud. We claim Smarty and Alex and Curly as our own even though they only came as stepping stones to the Triple Crown races. MDO is ours too even after he left. Round Pond, Eight Belles, Hard Spun and now Old Fashioned might as well be Arky breds. We gave Rockport Harbor back.....

Oaklawn promotes the star horses that come here. When we lose one, it stings.