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Thumb_mary Mary Rampellini , Oaklawn Park , 09/08/2021 - DRF Live Posted : Sep 8, 2021, 4:03 PM

Champion Whitmore to be honored by Oaklawn

Champion Whitmore, who has been retired from an outstanding racing career in which he won the Breeders' Cup Sprint and earned more than $4.5 million, will be honored by Oaklawn Park on March 19, the track announced Wednesday.

Whitmore Day will feature the $200,000 Whitmore Stakes, the former Hot Springs Stakes won a record four times by Whitmore. Oaklawn also has renamed the Count Fleet barn the Whitmore, as it is the barn that served as his winter base for the past six years, according to the press release. Whitmore raced for trainer Ron Moquett, Robert LaPenta, and Head of Plain Partners LLC. 

“Whitmore was truly Oaklawn’s horse and we’re excited to honor his accomplishments with Whitmore Day and the Whitmore Stakes next March,” Lou Cella, president of Oaklawn, said in a press release. “It is rare for a horse to compete at the highest level for six straight years and Whitmore did just that, never backing down from a fight. This is why he has such a large following of fans not only in Arkansas but nationwide.”

Whitmore also plans to be in attendance for his big day. There will be T-shirts featuring the champion, and the first 5,000 fans will received a commemorative baseball card.  

 “Oaklawn has always been my home track and it was Whitmore’s home track, so it’s a huge honor to have a stakes race named for him here,” Moquett said in a release. “He was a hard-knocking horse that a lot of people could easily root for whether they put a bet on him or not. The amount of support we have received since his retirement has been overwhelming.”

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