Oaklawn Park, which has lost six full race cards because of weather since the beginning of the meet, will increase the number of daily races from nine to 10 beginning with its Feb. 10 program.
Post times will remain 1:30 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays, and 1 p.m. Saturdays.
“It is not unusual for us to run 10 races once the days get longer, and in this instance it will allow us to make up for some of our losses,” said David Longinotti, Oaklawn's assistant general manager of racing. “We have a full barn area of over 1,500 horses, so we also want to do our best to accommodate our horsemen who are here and ready to run.”
Weather forced Oaklawn to cancel its opening day card Jan. 14, as well as programs scheduled for Jan. 20 and Feb. 3–6. The six cancellations equal the record for most cards lost in a single season, most recently in 2003.
The $100,000 Essex Handicap, which was originally scheduled for Feb. 5, will now be part of the 10-race card Feb. 13.