In 1915, a bill to legalize horse racing and pari-mutuel betting, a system in which all bets are pooled and winners are paid based on odds established before each race, had passed both houses of the legislature but was vetoed by Governor George Washington Hays. The track has remained in the Cella family since then. Cella and his brother Charles, both of St. The infield of the track continued to be used for other purposes and was the site of the Arkansas State Fair beginning in 1906 and continuing through 1914, including a 1910 fair that was attended by former president Theodore Roosevelt.īy 1914, Oaklawn was owned by Louis A. It included innovations such as a glass-enclosed grandstand and steam heat-one of the first racetracks in the country with either.Īnti-gambling sentiments, driven by former Essex Park owner and former state legislator from Garland County William McGuigan, rose in the form of a bill entitled “An Act to Prevent Betting in any Manner in This State on any Horse Race.” The bill was approved by the state government on February 27, 1907, and necessitated the closing of Oaklawn Park at the end of the 1907 season and for a decade after that. The original venue reportedly cost $500,000 and could seat 1,500 spectators. Oaklawn Park opened on February 15, 1905, and prevailed as the lone remaining horse-racing venue by 1907. The name “Oaklawn” came from the rural community in which the track would be built, which in turn took its name from what Peter LaPatourel, an early settler to the area, called his home, around which a large stand of ancient oaks stood. In 1904, they formed the Oaklawn Jockey Club and began construction shortly afterward. Charles Dugan, Dan Stuart, and John Condon-owners of the Southern Club-decided to build a racetrack on a site closer to downtown.

Following the 1903 repeal of anti-gambling laws, Essex Park was built in 1904. The popularity of Sportsman’s Park, built on the southeastern edge of Hot Springs in the early 1890s, sparked an interest in developing the sport of thoroughbred horse racing in the area.

Today, the track is Arkansas’s only thoroughbred horse racing venue and the lone remaining gambling center in a city once known as much for its casinos as for its famous thermal baths.

Even before the Civil War, the former pasture where Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort now stands in Hot Springs (Garland County) was home to impromptu races between local farm boys riding their fastest ponies.

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