Great fields of good horses—that’s what every horse racing fan always wants. At the end of the day, it’s about the thrill and excitement that goes from zero to 100 in seconds, or, as we say in horse racing terms, in three strides. That’s what you get at Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort.

But what makes this Arkansas racetrack the bettors’ paradise? Surely it can’t be the chilly winter weather a fan would have to brave? No, other factors come together to make the Oaklawn meet the most happening place for the race players. Millions are wagered on the best of horses at the graded races like the Arkansas Derby, the Southwest Stakes, and the Rebel Stakes. And now, with the latest news, the bettors are surely going to have a field day.

It was confirmed by the Oaklawn Park General Manager, Wayne Smith, who was at Del Mar talking to FanDuel Racing reporter Scott Hazleton. In the clip shared by the news outlet’s X handle on August 16, Hazleton asked the esteemed GM what changes the handicappers and horse players can look forward to when the Oakland meet starts in winter.

Well, Wayne Smith didn’t waste much time confirming the big change. “We’re actually gonna make this into two different meets,” said the Oaklawn Jockey Club GM. “We’re gonna have a holiday meet, which will run from December 12th till January 4th. Then we’re gonna take a three-week sabbatical. And then, we’re gonna go back to racing starting January 30th, which will be Southwest weekend, and then go all the way to Kentucky Derby weekend.”

It’s a big change for sure for the horse racing fans who have been so accustomed to having a busy Oaklawn timeline during January. Practically, the entire month will be freed up. And there’s a reason. Reporter Hazleton himself brought it up that this will only allow better fields in the races without the worry about the extreme conditions of the January winter. And Wayne Smith also hopes that’s the case. “We really thought that this is an opportunity in January to kind of give us, give everybody a break because that’s typically when the weather hits us,” the GM said.

And with better fields and the best horses on show at the big graded stakes, how can the bettors stay away? “The wagering side is really going to be good,” Smith said. “Our field sizes lead the country when the time that we race.” Yes, fans have been braving the adverse severities of weather conditions to turn up trackside all these years. To think how excited they would be now. Well, the result is already showing. “We’re having a lot of interest into this meet this year,” Wayne Smith said.

Why wouldn’t they? There are more exciting changes that Oaklawn Park has in store for the 2025-26 season, and it’s not just for the fans.

The horse racing fans are getting a bigger, better Oaklawn Meet

Wayne Smith also confirmed that some of the races will have improved purses. That includes the G2 Fantasy Stakes, which had a prize purse of $750,000 in 2025. In 2026, though, it’s a whole $1 million. The 1 1/16 miles race, which features three-year-old fillies, will now become the race that offers a million dollars before the coveted Kentucky Oaks in May.

It’s a special move that will see Oaklawn host 6 races with a million-dollar prize pool. Only in 2025, they increased the offerings of the G3 Southwest Stakes from $800,000 to a million. That will also stay a million. In addition, the G3 Honeybee Stakes will also get a boost from $500,000 to $750,000.

The 2025-26 season of the Oaklawn meet will also be special in another way. In 2025, the horse racing community had to endure the huge loss of legendary trainer D. Wayne Lucas. To commemorate the legacy of the Hall of Famer, Oaklawn will have a new “The Coach” Overnight Stakes as a nod to the iconic trainer who had won 15 Triple Crown races. The new race is part of six new overnight stakes being organized in the 2025/26 season.

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The Oaklawn racetrack gets the prep races for the Kentucky Derby underway. That’s one of the reasons the fans love this Arkansas track. But the 2025-26 season can make it a bigger event than ever before.