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Oaklawn Names Dinerman Track Announcer

Oaklawn Jockey Club in Hot Springs named Matt Dinerman as the new track announcer for the upcoming Thoroughbred racing season, which begins December 8, the organization said in a release early Friday morning.

Dinerman, 31, comes to Hot Springs following a six-year stint as the track announcer at Golden Gate Fields in Berkeley, California. He has also served as track announcer at the Sonoma County Fair meet in Santa Rosa, California, for the past two years.

“I'm honored to be selected for such a prestigious role, following in the footsteps of some very talented announcers,” said Dinerman. “Oaklawn has tremendous racing with great field sizes, outstanding connections, top quality horses, and great purses. I look forward to my interaction with an enthusiastic and knowledgeable fan base and being part of the Oaklawn family.”

A native of San Diego and graduate of Chapman University, Dinerman grew up attending races at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club near his home. While in high school, he worked as a stablehand for trainer John Sadler and later served as part of the Del Mar Publicity Department. In 2015, he was hired as the track announcer at Emerald Downs in Auburn, Washington, becoming one of the sport's youngest announcers.

Among his career high points, Dinerman points to his calling of the 2021 El Camino Real Derby at Golden Gate Fields, which was won by the eventual Preakness winner that year, Rombauer.

“We are excited to welcome Matt Dinerman to our racing team at Oaklawn,” said Wayne Smith, General Manager of Oaklawn. “He brings a passion and high-energy style to the announcer's booth that builds anticipation at each turn and reaches an exciting climax down the stretch and across the finish line. Oaklawn fans will be entertained and informed by Matt's style.”

Dinerman has also worked in racing media, having served as a television racing analyst, and as a blogger by posting race analysis, making selections, and offering wagering strategies.

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Oaklawn Boosts Overnight Purses 15 Percent; Allowance Races Up To $110,000

Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark. announced the largest mid-season purse increase in the history of the track on Tuesday. Over the final eight weeks of the season, Oaklawn will pump another $2.5 million into overnight races, including increasing top allowance races to $110,000. The 15% across the board increase also takes maiden special weights to $93,000 and raises the bottom purse to $27,000.

“It's been an interesting year to say the least, but it is very gratifying to announce this purse increase nearly a year after shutting the race meet and casino down to fans because of the Covid-19 pandemic,” Oaklawn President Louis Cella said. “I wasn't sure we'd get here a couple weeks ago with all the bad winter weather, but our horsemen and fans are resilient. February ended with a tremendous weekend of racing and it was exciting to see fans back in the Infield last week. I have no doubt the final eight weeks of racing are going to be exciting, especially with some of our marquee races still to come.”

Saturday's 12-race card will be highlighted by the $1 million Rebel Stakes (G2) for 3-year-olds with Arkansas Derby (G1) and Kentucky Derby (G1) aspirations, as well as the $500,000 Essex Handicap, $350,000 Azeri Stakes (G2), $200,000 Hot Springs Stakes, and $150,000 Temperence Hill Stakes. First post is 12 noon.

“Rebel Stakes weekend has grown to be almost as big as Arkansas Derby Day and we're excited to be able to welcome more fans back just in time for the richest racing in our history,” General Manager Wayne Smith said. “Weather permitting, the Infield will be open every Saturday throughout the end of the meet. The Infield is truly a rite of spring and it was certainly missed last year.”

Oaklawn's 2021 live meet continues through Saturday, May 1.

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Oaklawn Horsemen Hunker Down For Second Hit From Winter Storms

Subzero temperatures and approximately eight inches of snow have caused increasingly difficult conditions for horsemen at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ak. With up to 10 more inches of snow in the forecast and temperatures remaining below freezing for the next 48 hours, grooms and their charges alike have hunkered down to wait out the weather.

The main track has not been open for training or racing since Thursday, Feb. 11, and while some trainers have opted to jog horses in their shed rows, the cold has been so severe that many have elected to simply walk their charges instead.

Racing has been cancelled through Sunday, Feb. 21, with Oaklawn's major graded stakes rescheduled for the week of Feb. 25-28.

“We'll have a little more coming out here in the next couple days on how the dates are going to be shifted in terms of when we're going to run what and on what day,” Oaklawn's general manager Wayne Smith told Horse Racing Nation. “We just don't have that understanding at this point. I mean we're not supposed to get out of the 20s until Friday.”

Not accustomed to this level of winter storm, most of the town of Hot Springs has shut down, according to locals. Some off-track apartments and hotels have lost water access as lines freeze over, so several backstretch workers are relying on friends' places for water access.

At the track, additions to the grooms' regular chores are tasks like breaking open the top layers of ice on water buckets so their horses have access to water, and working to keep the racetrack's water lines from freezing.

One trainer noted: “It's really not that bad if you're dressed and stay working, but standing around is d*** cold real quick!”

Track maintenance workers spent much of Tuesday plowing snow off the track surface itself and around the backstretch, and the general hope among stable staff is that training will be able to resume when temperatures rise above freezing long enough to thaw out the track surface.

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Oaklawn Cancels Presidents’ Day Weekend Racing

With extreme cold temperatures and the possibility of ice in and around Hot Springs, Arkansas, Oaklawn park has cancelled its live racing programs from Saturday, Feb. 13 through Monday, Feb. 15, and will reschedule the three graded and one listed stakes that were set to take place.

“The weather forecast does not look promising this weekend between the ice and frigid temperatures, so out of consideration for the safety of the horses, our horsemen and fans, we wanted to make this call as soon as possible,” Oaklawn General Manager Wayne Smith said. “We appreciate the cooperation we have received from our horsemen and Racing Commission. Though we are frustrated Mother Nature has thrown us a curveball, our rescheduled stakes will create a spectacular weekend of racing next week.”

The GIII Bayakoa S., the GIII Razorback H. and the GIII Southwest S. have been pushed back to Saturday, Feb. 20, while the Dixie Belle S. and Downthedustyroad S. will now run Sunday, Feb. 21. Entries for the Feb. 20 program will be taken Sunday, Feb. 14. The track will stage 11 live races Feb. 20 and 10 races Feb. 21.

Oaklawn is expected to conduct live racing Thursday and Friday, Feb. 11 and 12, with post time at 1 p.m. CT each day. The casino and simulcast racing will remain open all weekend. No reservations will be required for seating in the simulcast area for this weekend only and will be on a first-come, first-served basis.

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