Oaklawn’s Track Receives High Praise After Wettest February on Record

Veteran jockey agent Scott Hare said in late February that for a while he thought he was representing riders at Emerald Downs, a joking reference to the track located near Seattle, noted for being one of the country’s rainiest cities.

Hot Springs couldn’t be far behind in 2018.

According to the National Weather Service in Little Rock, Arkansas, Hot Springs Memorial Field Airport received 13.76 inches of rain in February—the most on record for the month—breaking the previous mark of 10.11 in 1989.

The effects, of course, were felt a few miles away at Oaklawn, which from February 9 through March 2 ran 117 consecutive races without a “fast” track.
Despite a monsoon-like February, Oaklawn never missed a day of racing during the month, a credit to the work of track superintendent Kevin Seymore, several trainers and jockeys said.

“Amazing,” said trainer Steve Hobby of Hot Springs, who saddled his first Oaklawn winner in 1985. “Hat’s off to the crew. They did a tremendous job.”
Jockey Alex Birzer echoed Hobby’s comments about Seymore and other track maintenance officials.

“I think all the track crew, they’ve done an excellent job,” Birzer said. “How much water have we actually had? I mean, it’s insane how much. Wettest February I remember. I’ve been coming here for almost 20 years. I haven’t ever seen anything like that. I can’t say enough on how good a job they’ve done.”

Trainer Will VanMeter has been a regular at Oaklawn for almost a decade, first as an assistant to Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas before going out on his own in 2013. VanMeter, who saddled his first career winner at the 2014 Oaklawn meeting, said the surface held up “fantastic” following a line of severe thunderstorms that delayed Saturday’s sixth race approximately 15 minutes.

“The fact that they had it harrowed for the first race the following day, I think, shows how good the surface is this year,” VanMeter said.

Trainer Donnie K. Von Hemel started his first horse in Hot Springs in 1985 and said he was impressed with how well the surface has handled the relentless rainfall.

“I think all things considered, a record-breaking rainfall in February, there was sure the potential for the track to fall apart, and it hasn’t,” Von Hemel said. “I think the track has held up well under the circumstances.”

Through the end of February, Oaklawn had run 245 races this year, with the track rated fast only 46.1 percent of the time (113 races). It has been rated muddy or sloppy 37.6 percent of the time (92 races).