(column)
I went to Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs for the first time on Saturday and I had an even better time than I expected.
The vibrant colors of the track were majestic and struck me most. When I stepped outside and saw the horses trotting around the dirt, the scene was striking. I felt like I was in a movie. It reminded me of the first time I went through the tunnel as a child and saw a Big League baseball diamond and was filled with wonder. This is why horse racing was once the most popular sport in America, I thought. It wasn’t the gambling. It was the spectacle!
My goodness. My words don’t do it justice. In the early part of the 20th century, the beauty of thoroughbred racing was written many times by the greatest sports writers who ever put pen to paper. I understand now why they were so inspired.
It couldn’t have been a more picture perfect late winter day in the ever greening Ouachita Mountains. The sun seemed to radiate first from the beauty of the horses who trotted across the light brown dirt as I stepped outside. The white blazes down the middle of the horses’ faces gave some of them even more character. The colors of the horses’ saddlecoths glistened in the Arkansas sun. The No. 1 was wearing a sparkling cherry apple red. The jockeys in their colorful silk shirts added to the panorama.
And this was before the race had even begun!
When the gate finally opened for the first race, the thunderous atmosphere and the growing roars from the grandstands seemed as powerful as a great heavyweight prize fight. The elegance and grace of the animals I first admired switched to a respect for their courage and athleticism.
I could go on and on, I suppose, about the excitement I felt from this day. But you get the idea. If you have never been to Oaklawn Park, you should definitely check it out. The three hours or so trip to get there from Greenville was well worth it.
A few other things that struck me.
• Before I arrived at the racetrack, I had the idea that I might try and do a little Gonzo journalism like Hunter S. Thompson. The idea was to do a little first person account about the seedy underside of horse track betting. I always thought any racetrack would be filled with tons of gambling degenerates and other ne’er-do-wells and scoundrels who make for great copy. But, I definitely didn’t see this unsavory underside at Oaklawn Park. It seemed to be a much more family atmosphere then I expected. Kids were even allowed at the racetrack. Don’t get me wrong. There was plenty of booze being consumed. Just not many slobbering drunks.
The race fans I talked to were also very friendly. They, like me, were only wagering a few bucks on each race and were much more interested in watching the beautiful horses run. Everyone seemed happy.
• Oaklawn Park opened in 1904 and the place certainly had an old-time feel to it. While it wasn’t new, it definitely seemed well maintained. It reminded me of Wrigley Field in Chicago which I visited about 20 years ago. It was a blast from the past, in the best way possible. It was obvious that the people of the town of Hot Springs and the employees of the track took pride in their racing treasure.
• I have always been attracted to the sport of thoroughbred racing from a distance. It’s a world full of people who live and breathe the sport. The last few weekends, before I visited Oaklawn, I had been watching the horse racing channel on TV — yes there is one! This is a channel that shows nothing but one horse race after another from tracks all over the country, including Oaklawn. Watching this channel is probably what inspired me to go to Hot Springs. I didn’t have any money on these races on my television set, but I was still mesmerized by what I saw. Yes, I enjoyed watching the horses run around the track, but I also really enjoyed the commentators who talked about each race and predicted who they thought would win. I wondered how, with there being so many races constantly going on all over the country, these people sounded so knowledgable about each race . These talking heads have a true passion for horse racing game which was contagious and made me want to listen more. I don’t think there predictions came out as good as they talked, but since I wasn’t betting it didn’t really matter. On the next race, they sounded just as sure of themselves as the last race they just got wrong which is kind of funny but also shows the passion of the sport. All that matters is the next race!
Which brings me back to Saturday and seeing all the horse race fans staring at their racing programs. These programs might have been written in Chinese. There was so much information about each horse and each race packed into such a small slice of paper. The more I read about each race, the more confused I became.
My only saving grace was about 10 minutes before each race a young lady with what seemed like a slight Australian accent or maybe a British accent would come on the track intercom and give her thoughts about the next race up. I paid close attention to what she said, and it actually paid off. I admired the passion she had for the sport to sound so knowledgable.
I left the races with some wonderful memories, and still a little change jingling in my pocket.
David W. Healy is the sports editor of the Delta Democrat-Times. He can be reached at dhealy@ddtonline.com.
