Oaklawn Park sets earlier 2026-27 meet, approves jockey fee hike proposal

Oaklawn Park is set to start next season earlier, pay riders more and reshuffle its winter rhythm in a way that could reach all the way to field size and wagering quality.

The Arkansas State Racing Commission approved the track’s 2026-27 race dates at its May 21 meeting in Little Rock, with Oaklawn scheduled to open Nov. 27 and close May 1, Kentucky Derby day. The plan keeps the meet anchored by Friday-through-Sunday racing through February, adds a one-week break from Jan. 11-17, and includes a Presidents’ Day card on Feb. 15 before the schedule expands in March.

That expansion matters. Oaklawn will add Thursday cards on March 11, 18 and 25, then return to a Friday-through-Sunday pattern in April. The track also will go dark on Easter Sunday and add one Thursday card later in April, giving horsemen a different cadence than the tighter winter run that has defined recent seasons.

The calendar change is not just about dates on paper. Oaklawn President Louis A. Cella has said the earlier start is intended to help horsemen with training and with bringing in jockeys, and that is where the meeting’s other major decision comes in. The commission also began drafting rules for a higher minimum jockey mount fee on a sliding scale tied to purses, with the losing fee rising from $95 to $110 if the proposal is adopted. Horsemen and the Jockeys’ Guild pushed for the change, and the added cost will land with owners and trainers while giving riders a clearer financial incentive to ride through the meet.

For Oaklawn, the bet is that a better-timed schedule and better rider compensation can support deeper fields and a stronger wagering product. The 2025-26 meet offered a big benchmark: 627 races over 62 race days, $430,167,353 in handle and $54,477,160 in purses, with an average of 8.81 starters per race. Those numbers came in a season that featured 85 jockeys, 196 trainers and Ramon Vazquez winning the riding title with 76 victories.

Oaklawn’s calendar has been evolving for years. The track extended its season into May in 2019 and began opening in December in 2021, and Arkansas law still caps the meet at 68 live racing dates. With January weather disruptions having cost the track more than 10 training days during the 2024-25 period, the earlier 2026-27 start gives Oaklawn a clearer attempt to place its best racing in better conditions and keep the regional schedule moving toward the first Saturday in May.