Kinnon LaRose Takes Over Tom Amoss Stable at Oaklawn Park

At 28, Kinnon LaRose stepped into one of the most accomplished operations in the sport when he saddled My Noble Knight as trainer of record for the first time at Oaklawn Park on Tuesday. The $50,000 starter allowance at 1 1/8 miles, the second race on Oaklawn's April 1 card, was a quiet but consequential beginning: LaRose now holds day-to-day authority over a stable that Tom Amoss built into roughly $132 million in career earnings across 4,278 wins and 58 graded stakes victories.

Amoss, who transitioned to an advisory role at the end of March, made the succession intentional and public. "I wanted to give back and to be able to help a very talented horseman get his start," Amoss told Daily Racing Form. He plans to run one additional horse in late April to preserve eligibility for Oaklawn trainer incentives, but the operational decision-making now belongs to LaRose entirely.

The new trainer arrives with six years inside Amoss's barn, having joined as an assistant in 2020 following a career as a collegiate basketball player. The more relevant credential is the trust accumulated from Amoss and the stable's owners, who watched LaRose manage stakes-caliber horses well before he held a head trainer's license. His early stakes book as trainer of record already reflects that confidence: Oscar's Hope is entered in the Lafayette Stakes at Keeneland, a graded target tied to some of racing's most prominent spring action.

LaRose operates within a structure Oaklawn helped calibrate for the transition. The track adjusted its first post time to 12:45 p.m. Central for the remainder of the 2026 spring meet, a scheduling shift confirmed by Zack Gillham, the track's vice president of racing and wagering. The change supports live multi-race wagering pools, including a $52,482 pick-six carryover that was in play on LaRose's debut day.

The scale of what he inherits is not incidental. Amoss built his record across 17,530 career starts, a volume that reflects owner relationships, agent pipelines, and farm connections assembled over decades. LaRose now navigates those same channels while establishing his own standing with the people who fund the campaigns. Amoss's endorsement provides genuine social capital in an industry where reputation moves carefully in both directions.

The next 60 to 90 days will test the handover in ways a single starter allowance cannot measure. Stakes entries, owner communications, and the daily rhythms of a high-volume barn will say more than any debut. LaRose cleared the first race; now comes the rest of the meet.