Oaklawn | Horse Racing Free Tips

Grayson-Jockey Club Creates ‘A. Gary Lavin Chair’ Position

Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation announced Monday the creation of an endowment to support a full-time position, the “A. Gary Lavin Chair,” in recognition of Dr. Gary Lavin's contributions to the foundation and equine health. Lavin died at age 83 in February.

“Dr. Lavin made innumerable contributions to Grayson over the last 40 years, including time spent as a valued member of both our board of directors and research advisory committee (RAC),” said Dell Hancock, chair of Grayson. “He was instrumental in the reorganization of our research approval process, which resulted in the development of the research advisory committee we use today. Dr. Lavin believed that the veterinary community should be involved in Grayson's work, and we are proud to honor him with this position, which will facilitate a veterinary relationship with the foundation that he believed was so important.”

Oaklawn Park will be supporting this new role with a lead gift of $250,000.

“We are grateful to Oaklawn and the Cella family for their demonstrated commitment to equine health in helping to fund this position,” Hancock said.

“For three generations, the Cella-Lavin families have been working together in the best interest of the Thoroughbred,” said Louis Cella, president of Oaklawn. “We all have such great memories of Doc. It is a great honor to kick off this campaign to create the A. Gary Lavin Chair.”

Responsibilities of the A. Gary Lavin Chair will include RAC member recruitment, orientation, and management; management of grant applications, reviews, deadlines, and conflict eliminations; fundraising; and publicity.

“My father was a lifelong advocate of equine health and longtime supporter of Grayson, and my family is proud to see his legacy continue through this new position,” said Kevin Lavin, vice chairman of Grayson. “We are appreciative of the support that it has already received and thankful to the Cella family for their initiative in the fundraising effort.”

Those who are interested in supporting the endowment can designate donations to Grayson as being specifically for the A. Gary Lavin Chair position.

Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation is traditionally the nation's leading source of private funding for equine medical research that benefits all breeds of horses. Since 1983, the foundation has provided more than $30.6 million to fund 397 projects at 45 universities in North America and overseas. Additional information about the foundation is available at grayson-jockeyclub.org.

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Longtime Oaklawn Veterinarian Dr. Lee Cyphers Passes Away

Dr. Lee Cyphers, Oaklawn's longtime Association Veterinarian, passed away Sunday, Sept. 5 following complications from a brain aneurysm. He was a fixture at the Oaklawn starting gate and in the paddock spanning three decades. He was a local Hot Springs veterinarian with a highly successful small animal clinic. However, his training was focused on large animals and his passion was horses.

From Oaklawn President Louis A. Cella:

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the Cyphers family. Dr. Cyphers had been a dedicated member of the Oaklawn team, serving as our Association Veterinarian for over 30 years. He hardly missed a day of races and was at the gate ensuring the safety of our equine athletes more than 15,000 times during his tenure, rain or shine. No matter if the horse was a claimer or a champion like Zenyatta or American Pharoah, Dr. Cyphers gave them the utmost care to ensure they were ready to perform at their best.”

From Arkansas H.B.P.A. President Bill Walmsley:

“Dr. Cyphers was a trusted friend to the horsemen and a very good veterinarian. His top priority was always the safety and well-being of the horses. He will be missed by everyone.”

From Arkansas Racing Commission Chairman Alex Lieblong:

“Dr. Cyphers was liked and respected by everyone. His long tenure at Oaklawn speaks volumes to his dedication and passion for racing and his desire to protect the well-being of every horse. He was always willing to work cooperatively with the state veterinarians, which the Commission always appreciated. He'll be missed.”

Official Obituary:

Louis Lee Cyphers, 66, of Hot Springs passed away on September 5, 2021 with his wife and children at his bedside following a ruptured brain aneurysm on August 3. He was born on August 22, 1955 in El Dorado, AR to the late Peggy and CD Cyphers.

His many accomplishments began with graduating from El Dorado High School in 1973. He then went on to attend Hendrix College finishing with a bachelor's degree in Biology in 1977. Before deciding to attend veterinarian school, he took a few years off to farm tomatoes and soy beans with his dear brother Andy. He graduated from Louisiana State University with a Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine in 1985. He and his first wife Viki (a fellow classmate) married after graduation and moved to Hot Springs. They opened Cyphers Veterinary Hospital together in 1987 at 111 Temperance Hill Road, which they owned and operated until selling the practice in 2011 (now known as Temperance Hill Animal Hospital). Shortly after moving to Hot Springs, Lee began his long tenure with Oaklawn serving as the track veterinarian from 1990 until he died. He loved this job and all of the friends he made there, the best of which was his wife Kristi. They shared a wonderful life together for over 20 years.

Lee enjoyed all things outdoors, especially camping and bass fishing on Lake DeGray with his family and friends. Lee and Kristi loved camping at Lake DeGray so much that they would regularly stay the maximum allowed 2 weeks per month. He loved to fry fish and deer steak for his crowd and was always the life of any party.

He is preceded in death by his parents and two brothers Steve and Chuck Cyphers.

Survivors include his wife and best friend Kristi; children, Morgan Lee (Summer) Cyphers, Margaret “Meggy” Beatrice (Joseph) Boone, the mother of his children, Viki Cyphers, and Scotty (Grace) Casteel; grandchildren, Noah and Emmie Casteel; siblings, Kay (Andy) Cyphers Garison, Andy Cyphers, and Dan (Amy) Cyphers, DDS, and extended family and many friends.

Memorial services will be announced at a later date.

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Oaklawn’s Dr. Lee Cyphers Passes Away

Dr. Lee Cyphers, Oaklawn's longtime Association Veterinarian, passed away at age 66 Sunday, Sept. 5 following complications from a brain aneurysm. He was a fixture at the Oaklawn starting gate and in the paddock spanning three decades. He was a local Hot Springs veterinarian with a highly successful small animal clinic.

He is preceded in death by his parents and two brothers Steve and Chuck Cyphers.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the Cyphers family. Dr. Cyphers had been a dedicated member of the Oaklawn team, serving as our Association Veterinarian for over 30 years,” Oaklawn President Louis A. Cella. “He hardly missed a day of races and was at the gate ensuring the safety of our equine athletes more than 15,000 times during his tenure, rain or shine. No matter if the horse was a claimer or a champion like Zenyatta or American Pharoah, Dr. Cyphers gave them the utmost care to ensure they were ready to perform at their best.”

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Oaklawn To Celebrate Whitmore Day In 2022; Stakes Race, Barn To Be Named For Champion Sprinter

Oaklawn will celebrate the 2020 Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) winner and Champion Sprinter on March 19, 2022, with Whitmore Day highlighted by the $200,000 Whitmore Stakes. Formerly named the Hot Springs Stakes, Whitmore won the six-furlong race four times during his career for trainer Ron Moquett's Southern Springs Stable, Robert LaPenta, and Head of Plain Partners LLC. He also won the Count Fleet Sprint Handicap (G3) three times for a total of seven Oaklawn stakes wins, a record he shares with Swift Ruler.

In another move by Oaklawn to honor Whitmore, the Count Fleet barn, which was Whitmore's winter home for six years, will be renamed the Whitmore barn.

“Whitmore was truly Oaklawn's horse and we're excited to honor his accomplishments with Whitmore Day and the Whitmore Stakes next March,” President Louis Cella said. “It is rare for a horse to compete at the highest level for six straight years and Whitmore did just that, never backing down from a fight. This is why he has such a large following of fans not only in Arkansas but nationwide.”

Whitmore Day will also feature an appearance by the Champion, Whitmore t-shirts, and the first 5,000 fans will receive a commemorative Whitmore baseball card.

The now 8-year-old Whitmore won an Oaklawn allowance race in January 2016 in his 3-year-old debut and went on to place in the track's top 3-year-old stakes, which earned him a spot in that year's Kentucky Derby (G1). He did not race again until December 2016 when he won a six-furlong allowance race at Aqueduct, setting the stage for him to become one of the top sprinters in North America. Whitmore's other top wins included the 2017 Phoenix Stakes (G2) at Keeneland, and 2018 Forego Stakes (G1) at Saratoga. He retired in August with a career record of 15-13-5 in 43 starts and earnings of $4,502,350.

“Oaklawn has always been my home track and it was Whitmore's home track, so it's a huge honor to have a stakes race named for him here,” trainer Ron Moquett said. “He was a hard-knocking horse that a lot of people could easily root for whether they put a bet on him or not. The amount of support we have received since his retirement has been overwhelming.”

The 2021-2022 Oaklawn live meet runs Friday, Dec. 3 – Sunday, May 8. There is no racing Christmas week, Dec. 24 -26, or Easter Sunday, April 17.

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