Track does 2-year deal with TVG
HOT SPRINGS - Oaklawn Park will return to the TVG lineup when the 2014 live meeting begins Jan. 10.
Bobby Geiger, Oaklawn’s director of gaming and wagering, said the track recently struck a two-year deal with TVG, adding the Los Angeles-based horse racing channel, distributed to more than 33 million American households, is committed to air about 70 percent of Oaklawn’s races live.
Oaklawn was affiliated with TVG in 2012 but absent from its lineup during the 2013 live meeting after negotiations fell apart “at the last minute,” Geiger said.
Geiger said HRTV, another channel dedicated to horse racing, will continue to air Oaklawn’s races.
“I think the quality of our racing is such that it deserves full coverage on both networks,” Geiger said Saturday morning.
Geiger said Oaklawn track announcer Frank Mirahmadi will have a “contractual minimum” of two live cut-ins for TVG each racing day during the 2014 live meeting.
“I’d be surprised if it wasn’t more,” Geiger said.
Mirahmadi is also an on air analyst for TVG.
Geiger said he is unsure about the amount of coverage HRTV will devote to Oaklawn in 2014.
HRTV is owned by Stronach Group and Churchill Downs Inc. Both entities also own several racetracks, including Santa Anita, Gulfstream and Laurel (Stronach Group) and Churchill Downs and Fair Grounds (CDI). Geiger said HRTV is “content heavy” with Stronach and CDI tracks during the first quarter of the year, which impacts coverage of Oaklawn.
“Naturally, being a house-owned television network, they’re going to give preference to their house-owned product,” Geiger said. “You can only show one race at a time live. When you’re dealing with six or seven racetracks, it’s hard for one not running on top of the other.”
TVG is available in the Little Rock area on Comcast Cable (channel 745) and DirecTV (channel 602).
ADW update
Oaklawn unveiled its advance deposit wagering Web site, oaklawnanywhere.com, on Friday, said Bobby Geiger, Oaklawn’s director of gaming and wagering.
Geiger described the launch as a “quiet rollout.”
“We want to test drive it a little bit, get some customer feedback,” Geiger said.
Accounts can be opened at oaklawnanywhere.com. A link through the track’s Web site, oaklawn.com, should be available soon, Geiger said.
ADW is a form of betting in which a player must fund an account before being allowed to place a bet.
Oaklawn has partnered with Churchill Downs Inc. and local horsemen on its ADW site.
ADW wagering, as part of Act 350, was initially approved during the 2013 legislative session and allowed Oaklawn to launch an ADW betting platform, which mirrors online national sites like Xpressbet and TwinSpires.
OaklawnAnywhere is only available to Arkansas residents, but wagers can be made from out of state. The minimum age to open an account is 18.
The Web site is patterned after TwinSpires, another CDI venture.
Geiger said OaklawnAnywhere has absorbed Myoaklawn, a site that previously allowed fans at Oaklawn to wager on races through smart phones, tablets or computers.
Myoaklawn customers are receiving checks to cover outstanding balances in that account.
Accounts in Myoaklawn can’t be transferred to OaklawnAnywhere, Geiger said.
Kickoff banquet
Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas will be the keynote speaker at the annual Oaklawn Kickoff Banquet on Jan. 8 at Wyndham Riverfront-Little Rock hotel, 2 Riverfront Place in North Little Rock.
The event will begin with a silent auction and reception at 5:15 p.m. Dinner is 6:45 p.m.
Individual tickets are $50 and $500 for a table of 10 sponsorship.
More information is available by contacting the North Little Rock Chamber of Commerce at (501) 372-5959 or [email protected].
Final furlong
In addition to Hall of Fame jockey Calvin Borel, agent Jerry Hissam of Hot Springs said he will represent Jesus Castanon at the 2014 meeting. … Jeremy Rose, Oaklawn’s leading rider in 2005, is on the grounds and working horses, said his agent, Gene Short of Hot Springs. Short said he also will represent newcomer Norberto Arroyo Jr. …Top Canadian-based jockey Eurico Rosa da Silva is scheduled to ride at the meeting, according to Randi Melton, assistant to trainer Mark Casse. Casse has won seven consecutive training titles at Woodbine in Canada. … Shathoor, an unstarted 2-year-old half-brother to champion My Miss Aurelia, worked 3 furlongs in :37.80 on Saturday morning for trainer Dan Peitz. Shathoor, a son of Distorted Humor, was an $850,000 Keeneland September Yearling purchase. … Reigning Apple Blossom champion On Fire Baby, now training in Florida, should arrive at Oaklawn in about 2-3 weeks, trainer Gary “Red Dog” Hartlage said.
The major spring objective is the $500,000 Grade I Apple Blossom on April 11, Hartlage said.
Sports, Pages 27 on 12/29/2013