Oaklawn Park Picks - Racing Dudes (2024)

FAQs

What is the best bet on horse racing? ›

The safest bet you can make is a SHOW bet on the favorite. While it's the most likely to hit, it delivers a small return. If you want to make more money, you need to bet on the more exotic wagers. They include the EXACTA (top two horses in order), the TRIFECTA (top three in order) or the SUPERFECTA (top four in order).

Cella, Oaklawn's owner since 1968.

The Racing Dudes are Jared Welch and Aaron Halterman, high school acquaintances who discovered a mutual love for horse racing. What began in 2012 as a weekly Oaklawn Park wagering guide has grown into an internationally-renowned must-read for handicappers of all experience levels.

Trifecta and Trifecta Box

A favorite amongst seasoned bettors, the trifecta serves as the biggest payout in horse racing but is also one of the most difficult to hit. It's similar to the exacta but with a much harder twist. Betting a trifecta means picking the three horses to finish first, second, and third.

Apart from metropolitan tracks, the handicapper's preferred horses, (number one) won more races than any other number.

Oaklawn had a record 11 trainers exceed $1 million in purse earnings surpassing last season's seven trainers who earned the same amount. Jockey Cristian Torres secured his second consecutive Oaklawn riding title by winning 82 races, earning a new single-season Oaklawn record of $6,200,702 in purses.

The Arkansas Derby is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held annually in April at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Arkansas. It is currently a Grade I race run over a distance of 1 1/8 miles (9 furlongs) on dirt.

2024-2025 Oaklawn Race Meet

Gates open at 11:00am on most race days (subject to change). Gate entry is free every race day.

Who calls the races at Oaklawn Park? ›

22, 2023) — Oaklawn Jockey Club in Hot Springs announced Friday that Matt Dinerman has been hired as the track announcer for the upcoming Thoroughbred racing season, which begins December 8. Dinerman, 31, comes to Hot Springs following a six-year stint as the track announcer at Golden Gate Fields in Berkeley, CA.

Oaklawn is located in beautiful Hot Springs, Arkansas, has a storied history as one of the premier Thoroughbred racetracks in the country since 1904. A $100 million expansion completed in 2021 introduced a whole new level of luxury.

If you're looking for the biggest payout — the toughest bet to hit — then the trifecta or trifecta box might be your cup of tea. It calls for picking the three horses to finish first, second and third. Just like the exacta, you can bet it as a straight trifecta 1-2-3.

Look for a horse with a shiny coat, nicely arched neck, spring in his stride, and alert, energized demeanor. Horses that are sweating profusely, bucking or exhibiting other nervous behavior may expend too much energy before the race to produce an optimal effort.

If you're certain a particular horse will win but have no idea which runners will finish second, third, and fourth, a win bet might be the smartest play. If you're confident you can predict the top three finishers of a race in order, a trifecta is the way to go.

Trifecta and Trifecta Box

If you're looking for the biggest payout — the toughest bet to hit — then the trifecta or trifecta box might be your cup of tea. It calls for picking the three horses to finish first, second and third. Just like the exacta, you can bet it as a straight trifecta 1-2-3.

Usually, when a punter uses one horse as the key, it is best to make a trifecta or an exacta bet. An exacta bet means selecting the first and second-place horse in the correct sequence. A trifecta bet means choosing which three horses will finish first in the correct sequential order.

In the steeplechase, the numbers between 11 and 29 have proved to be the most successful, supplying 12 winners over this period. 35 and 29, 13 and 10 lead the way, however, with these numbers claiming victory twice each so far.