Louis Cella

Oaklawn Park is adding two race days to their calendar--Sunday, Apr. 7 and Sunday, May 5--to make up for recent cancellations due to inclement weather. "We are excited to announce the two additional dates of Apr. 7 and May 5 to Oaklawn's 2023-2024 racing calendar," said Oaklawn President Louis Cella. "Thoroughbred racing is the heart and soul of Oaklawn, and adding these days provides even more opportunities for faithful fans to cheer on their favorite horses and for our horsemen to compete for additional purses." Oaklawn will race four days...

The largest purse increase in Oaklawn Park history was unveiled in a release Wednesday by the track. Purse distribution for the upcoming 2023-2024 season is set for $60 million, which amounts to a $10 million or 20% increase over last season's record-setting $50 million distribution. The average daily purses will top $900,000 when the season starts on Dec. 8. Purses for allowance races will be $140,000--$145,000, maiden special weights will be $115,000 and the minimum purse on any race will be $30,000. "Let me put this in perspective," said Oaklawn...

Oaklawn Park is pumping nearly $1 million more into the purses for its 3-year-old races, the track said in a release Wednesday. Oaklawn increased the purses of the four races pointing toward the GI Kentucky Derby a total of $600,000, with the GI Arkansas Derby bumped to $1,500,000 from $1,250,000; the GII Rebel S. going to $1,250,000 from $1,000,000; and the GIII Southwest S. and Smarty Jones increasing to $800,000 and $300,000, respectively. The purses for the three races for 3-year-old fillies with GI Kentucky Oaks aspirations were also increased,...

Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort and the Arkansas H.B.P.A. will honor Thoroughbred owners with a $400 per horse cash reward, regardless of where their horse finishes in a race, beginning Mar. 18 through the end of the racing season, May 6, 2023. Stakes races are excluded from Owner's Reward program. Owners of runners competing in allowance races will be eligible as long as seven or more horses arrive in the paddock. Owners of horses competing in all other races will be eligible as long as eight or more horses arrive in...

Another Oaklawn meet is underway and with the Arkansas track offering the highest purse structure in the country during the winter months, expectations are that it will be another banner season in Hot Springs. To discuss the Oaklawn season, the TDN Writers' Room podcast presented by Keeneland called upon track president Louis Cella to explain why Oaklawn has become such a phenomenon. Cella was this week's Green Group Guest of the Week. "It's because we don't charge $12 for a beer," Cella said when asked how Oaklawn continues to draw...

Louis Cella joins this week's TDN Writers' Room to share what is in store for this year's race meet at Oaklawn Park.

Louis A. Cella has been elected to the board of stewards of The Jockey Club, filling the expired position of C. Steven Duncker. Stuart S. Janney III, the chairman of The Jockey Club, was reelected to the board. Cella has been a member of The Jockey Club since 2017. That same year, he was named president of the Oaklawn Jockey Club, succeeding his late father, Charles J. Cella, and became the third generation of his family to serve on the board of directors of the Thoroughbred Racing Associations of North...

Oaklawn Park has added nine stakes races to its 2022-23 season, bringing the total number of black-type events offered at the Hot Springs track to 45. In addition, purses to the stakes program have been bumped by $1.45 million for total stakes purses of $13.75 million, the highest in Oaklawn's history. The overall purse distribution for the season is projected to exceed $50 million. This will be the second consecutive year the Oaklawn racing season will begin in December. The new Oaklawn stakes include: Dec. 10 Ring the Bell S....

Oaklawn will offer across-the-board purse increases beginning  Mar. 11. Claiming and starter allowance races will receive a $4,000 bump, with maiden special weights and allowances up by $6,000. "The first half of the racing season has gone extremely well, and we could not be happier to be sharing that success with our horsemen," Oaklawn President Louis Cella said. "We are particularly proud of the quality of the horses we are seeing on a daily basis, and we are very excited for the great racing to close out our season." The...

Louis Cella, president of the Oaklawn Jockey Club, has been appointed to the Management Committee of Equibase Company LLC, filling a board seat vacated by Daisy Phipps Pulito, racing manager of Phipps Stable. Cella was named present of Oaklawn Park in 2017, succeeding his late father. He is the third generation of his family to serve on the board of the Thoroughbred Racing Associations of North America (TRA), and a member of The Jockey Club since 2017. He also serves as a director of the Thoroughbred Racing Protective Bureau and...

The richest meet in the 118-year history of Oaklawn is set to begin Dec. 3 and will feature maiden special weights for $84,000 and open allowances starting at $100,000. Overall, the 66-day season will offer purses between $45 million and $50 million. Stall applications and the first condition book are now available at www.oaklawn.com/racing/horsemen/. Stall applications are due Thursday, Oct. 21. "Our slogan has been 'A New Level of Racing' the last few years and that's exactly what we intend to deliver," Oaklawn President Louis Cella said. "Our purses will...

The purse for the 2022 GI Arkansas Derby will be increased to $1.25 million--up from $1 million in 2021--and the race will be contested Saturday, Apr. 2, Oaklawn Park announced Tuesday. The date shift is a departure from the traditional three weeks before the Kentucky Derby and the increased purse makes the race the richest event among Derby preps. In 2022, Oaklawn will offer a record 36 stakes worth $12.3 million. In addition to the Arkansas Derby, three stakes will carry million dollar purses and 15 other stakes will offer...