Arkansas Sportsman of the Year: Louis Cella

Keeping racing running

When pandemic struck, Cella acted decisively

Oaklawn President and Owner Louis Cella is shown in this file photo.
(Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/JOHN SYKES JR.)
Oaklawn President and Owner Louis Cella is shown in this file photo. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/JOHN SYKES JR.)

Oaklawn stayed open when almost all of sports closed down.

For his leadership during a pandemic and efforts to keep horse racing running -- and many jobs in the state still paying -- Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort owner and President Louis Cella is the 2020 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Sportsman of the Year.

A few thousand fans attended racing at Oaklawn on March 12. Later that evening, as reports of Americans struck by covid-19 began to dominate national news coverage, Cella and other Oaklawn administrators met to decide how the track would proceed.

Amateur and professional sports across the country and around the world chose to suspend competition. Less than a 10-minute drive from Oaklawn's racetrack, the Arkansas Activities Association decided to shut down high school sports after the England boys defeated Earle for the Class 2A basketball state championship March 12. Four classes had to declare co-champions for both boys and girls.

Nearly every nonessential business and organized activity were shut down.

Oaklawn chose to continue its live racing season with attendance limited to horsemen, officials, essential track personnel and media representatives. When racing resumed on Friday, March 13, fans were excluded for the first time since the track opened in 1904.

Trainer Robertino Diodoro said horsemen appreciated the opportunity provided by Cella and Oaklawn to stay in business. He said it was particularly important to those who consider Oaklawn their base of operations and who are dependent on regular paychecks.

"There would have been a lot of people in trouble, including myself," Diodoro said. "I mean, there are so many people here where this is their big meet. Not just me, but guys like Ron Moquett and [Steve] Asmussen, and the list goes on and on. If they had shut it down, there would've been a lot of trainers and owners in trouble."

Horsemen understood the necessity of much of their work, as did Cella. Domesticated animals -- regardless of any engagement with commerce -- depend on human care.

"In racing, we have an obligation," Cella said. "It's not like a retail store. You send your employees home and good luck and let's talk next week.

"We have 500 people in the backstretch. We've got 1,500 horses that have to be fed and cared for. We have our own employees, and at that time, we're ramped up to a thousand people. We can't just turn the lights off and say go home. It's not right, and we can't do it. "

So Oaklawn kept running with its live meet for several more weeks as scheduled without fans.

Trainer Brian Williamson said he did not believe Oaklawn would complete the season.

"I can't believe how well they handled it," he said. "I thought for sure they would eventually have to shut down, but somehow they pulled it off. They just did an amazing job to get us through that and still feel safe when there was so much panic and everything else."

Cella said no one was ever sure of much. Near the end of Arkansas Derby day May 2, the final day of Oaklawn's 2020 season, Cella expressed amazement.

"Though we're glad it's behind us, we are elated this day shined," Cella said. "You saw the national telecasts, on four networks, saying, how in the world did Arkansas, not Oaklawn, how did Arkansas pull this off. Our horsemen, our management, we all worked together because if we don't, we weren't going to have a season. It's as simple as that. In that regard, we're quite proud to have been able to pull this off."

Jockey Joe Talamo, who finished his first season at Oaklawn with 53 wins, said Oaklawn set the standard.

"Even before the pandemic, I absolutely loved Oaklawn and couldn't wait to get back," he said. "After it, I couldn't wait to get back even more. Mr. Cella and management did a great job just to be able to race.

"If you looked at tracks around the country, they pretty much shut down. No one was able to come in or leave. Oaklawn handled it really well. If you look back, no one got sick that I know of. We got through it pretty well unfazed."

A handful of other North American racetracks also remained open after March 13 -- the day mass closures first began to cripple the country's economy -- including Will Rogers Downs in Tulsa, Gulf Stream Park near Miami and Tampa Bay Downs in Tampa, Fla.

Cella said he has long had a close relationship with Tampa Bay ownership and management, established by his father Charles Cella, Oaklawn's president and owner until his death on Dec. 6, 2017. Louis Cella said he has spoken frequently with Tampa Bay President Pete Berube since the pandemic began.

"Here in Florida, we were never under pressure to shut down, but we decided as an organization to go spectatorless in mid-March," Berube said. "The state allowed us to open back up [to fans], but we decided not to do that.

"During that period of time, Louis and I spoke a lot, and one thing we have in common is that we really care about horse racing. We're in the business of horse racing. Not the casino business, but in the business of horse racing. That common goal allows us to bounce ideas off each other."

Jockey Terry Thompson, an Oaklawn regular since 2000, said Oaklawn's adjustments were ideal.

"Oaklawn did a fantastic job," said Thompson, who also owns and rents commercial space for two downtown Hot Springs businesses. "As riders up in the [jocks'] room, we were all crossing our fingers after each day that it wasn't our last day, but Oaklawn kept it going. It was just amazing."

Because of the empty grandstands, the jockey's dressing room door remained open and jockeys were allowed to spend time spread out near the paddock, track apron, and in the bleachers and reserved seating where fans usually gather.

"They let us all do our 6 feet, just so we weren't all jammed up there in the jocks' room," Thompson said. "They put a good game plan in there to keep the ball rolling."

Jockey agent Steve Krajcir said his early doubts were dispelled.

"Everyone thought they did a great job," Krajcir said. "The horsemen especially, because we were allowed to continue to work. People kept working and were allowed to make a living. Everyone was afraid they'd shut it down, but Oaklawn -- by taking temperature checks, putting wrist bands on us -- they did a great job of keeping things in check. Oaklawn was the first to deal with it."

Cella, 55, of Ladue, Mo., is a 1990 graduate of the University of Arkansas law school in Fayetteville. He and his wife Rochelle Cella have two children, both of whom Cella said he has advised to live wisely through the pandemic but to continue to live, nevertheless.

"You can be safe," Cella said. "You can be smart. You know, I tell my kids when they say, 'Oh, I don't know if I should go out,' I say, 'Look, live your life. Just do it smartly. Wear a mask. Social distance. No hugs and kisses with buddies.'

"I think it was Dr. [Jose] Romero in one of the press conferences with [Gov. Asa Hutchinson], and he said, 'Look. Don't swap air,' and that really resonated with me. I tell my kids that. If you don't swap air, you're not going to get it."

Romero is secretary of the Arkansas Department of Health.

Jockey Jon Court said Oaklawn set a standard with its pandemic response, one carried forward not just by sports interests but by businesses everywhere.

"Oaklawn set the precedent for that," Court said. "They did everything professionally. Oaklawn stepped up to the plate impressively. I was impressed that they became the leaders in the country in showing that we kept racing going, kept people employed, kept livelihoods going, and that was vital, in my opinion."

Covid-19 testing was not readily available in the pandemic's early days and not required at Oaklawn, but it became mandatory last summer at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky. Most who have endured nasal-swab tests or heard descriptions of the procedure find them cringeworthy. Williamson laughed as he shared a story he and his wife Lyda Williamson experienced at Churchill.

"Someone said, 'Hey, don't get the red-haired guy. He jams it way up there,' " Williamson said. "But then I kind of forgot, and when me and my wife went in there, you know what, she got the red-haired guy. It was kind of painful for her. Some of those guys will go a little overboard."

The preventative protocols were among the many unknowns encountered through this year. To some, Cella seemed to know about them from the start.

"Oaklawn did what is normal now before it was even a thing," Talamo said. "They put in protocols before anyone said anything about protocols, and they did it fast. I mean, the first day it happened, within hours they started doing what everyone does now. They handled it about as good as anyone could handle it."

"We talked to all of the horsemen and said, 'Guys, this is a group effort,' " Cella said. " 'We are a group effort. If anyone has an agenda and you don't play ball, we are going to fail together, or we get to get through this together.'

"They embraced our changes and our requirements. They said, 'Look, our groomsmen, if they have a temperature, they're going home.' There was no wiggle room. There was no cheating. We couldn't let it fail, but on the other hand, we couldn't just lock the doors."

Cella said Oaklawn's current plans include limited fan attendance for the 2021 season, which is scheduled to begin Jan. 22.

"We're planning on opening with fans," Cella said. "Not all the fans. Not general admission, but boxes and reserve seats and club seats."

Past winners

Past 10 Sportsman of the Year winners

2019 Lance Harter, UA track and field

2018 Dave Van Horn, UA baseball

2017 Blaise Taylor, ASU football

2016 Jeff Henderson, Olympic gold medalist

2015 Brandon Allen, UA football

2014 Fifth-year senior ASU football players

2013 Ken Duke, professional golfer

2012 Jeff Long, UA athletic director

2011 Louis Lee, amateur golfer

2010 Bobby Petrino, UA football coach

Arkansas Derby contestants race past the nearly empty grandstands May 2 at Oaklawn in Hot Springs. When Oaklawn chose to proceed with its live-racing schedule at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, fans were excluded for the first time since the track opened in 1904.
(Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Thomas Metthe)
Arkansas Derby contestants race past the nearly empty grandstands May 2 at Oaklawn in Hot Springs. When Oaklawn chose to proceed with its live-racing schedule at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, fans were excluded for the first time since the track opened in 1904. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Thomas Metthe)
Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort owner and President Louis Cella recognized the need to continue live racing amid the pandemic. “In racing, we have an obligation,” Cella said. “It’s not like a retail store. You send your employees home and good luck and let’s talk next week.”
(Arkansas Democrat-Gazette file photo)
Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort owner and President Louis Cella recognized the need to continue live racing amid the pandemic. “In racing, we have an obligation,” Cella said. “It’s not like a retail store. You send your employees home and good luck and let’s talk next week.” (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette file photo)

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