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OAKLAWN PARK
Oaklawn Park, seen here in 1935, has always been popular with racegoers
always been popular. They’ll get close to 30,000 people on opening day.” Fans have been coming to Oaklawn for more than a century. Actually, before the Civil War, the pasture Oaklawn Park sits on was used for impromptu pony races by farm boys. Thoroughbred racing was held at Sportsman's Park, on the southeastern edge of Hot Springs, and at Essex Park before Charles Dugan, Dan Stuart and John
Condon formed the Oaklawn Jockey Club in 1904 and began construction of a new racetrack. Oaklawn opened on February 15th, 1905, and included innovations such as a glassenclosed grandstand and steam heat. The official opening was February 24th, 1905, and more than 3,000 people attended the races thanks to a holiday being declared in the city of Hot Springs. Anti-gambling legislation closed Oaklawn
at the end of the 1907 season for nearly a decade, though the infield was the site of the Arkansas State Fair from 1906 through 1914, when the Cella family took over: Louis A. Cella and his brother Charles, both from St. Louis. In 1916, the Hot Springs Men’s Business League, operating as a non-profit, civic enterprise, staged a short, 30-day season beginning March 11th. That led to the reopening of both Essex Park and Oaklawn Park, which were approved to split a full season of racing in 1917. But the day after Essex Park’s gala re-opening, the track burned to the ground, never to open again, and Essex’s dates were given to Oaklawn, which has sculpted a niche in the national racing calendar with a meet which begins in mid-January and runs through the second week of April. “People have found it's a good place to winter their horses, and horses do well here,” Holthus said. “It’s like a family track, a little bit different than most tracks.” The biggest difference these days is that Oaklawn continues to thrive, continuing to buck a national trend of decreased attendance and handle at other racetracks. A smooth transition of ownership within the Cella family has been a steadying influence. When Louis A. Cella died in 1918, Charles took over sole ownership of the track. When Charles passed away, his ISSUE 11 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com 49