LITTLE ROCK — In the two weeks since it was announced the Race for the Ages was on, the wheels have been turning to make sure every detail has been properly sweated over.
Oaklawn honchos meet regularly anyway, and more regular now.
The Hot Springs Chamber of Commerce is meeting with local merchants and citizens.
There is much to get done to ensure the majority who attend the Apple Blossom on April 9, as well as the Arkansas Derby the following day, leave with a good taste in their mouth about Oaklawn, Hot Springs and Arkansas.
Media from coast to coast are trying to get budgets approved that will allow them to be on hand when two of the greatest female thoroughbreds in history meet in what will be remembered as the greatest race for distaffers in racing history.
Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta headline the 10-horse field that features a $5 million purse.
Understand that anything can happen between now and April 9.
If one of the headliners gets a head cold, the race could be off.
For all their beauty and their majestic style of running, thoroughbreds can be fragile. One wrong step can mean a month of missed workouts, which obviously would mean they wouldn’t be running on the second Friday of April.
Still, the excitement about this event, which is generating interest internationally, seems to grow by the day. And with each swelling moment, there seems to be a new rumor.
One of the most popular has been that a sheik tried to book all the rooms in a Hot Springs hotel, but when he found out many rooms were already reserved, he just bought the entire hotel and canceled the reservations.
Other rumors include people renting their boxes for $10,000 for the day and that homes are being rented for $20,000 for a week.
None of those can be substantiated, but they do indicate how much interest there is in the race.
On a personal level, three sports writing buddies from the Northeast have called to find out if rooms in Little Rock would be less expensive and how far the drive is.
Seems airfare is high out of Newark and Boston, and it was suggested they check about flying into Memphis.
Of course, they asked what the estimated crowd was going to be, and that’s something no one can really estimate.
Weather will dictate if the infield is open.
Still, Oaklawn is working closely with city officials, the chamber of commerce and the tourism department.
All the rumors led Eric Jackson, general manager of Oaklawn Park and a Hot Springs native, to send an email this week discussing attendance.
Incidentally, general admission will still be $2.
Jackson pointed out that a big Arkansas Derby day would be 60,000, and that’s on a Saturday, not a Friday, when most people still have to work.
He recalled that one year (1979) Oaklawn attracted Alydar for the Oaklawn Handicap, which ran on the final Friday of the meet and was not on TV, and that brought 50,000 through the turnstiles.
Already people are having to find rooms in Little Rock and North Little Rock, and about the only way to get a reserved seat for either of the final two days is through someone who knows someone who knows someone who has an extra seat.
In just two weeks since the race was announced, Oaklawn and Hot Springs have embraced what will become known as the greatest sporting event in Arkansas history.
Sports, Pages 17 on 02/25/2010