Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark., handled $4,263,019 on its nine-race card from all sources Friday, the first card of the meet. Track officials said it was the highest opening day handle since 2013. The entire card Friday went into Southern California, said Wayne Smith, general manager of Oaklawn. He also noted field size averaged 11 starters per race. Another factor Oaklawn benefited from Friday was the cancellation of the last seven races at Aqueduct. 

Attendance ontrack Friday at Oaklawn was an estimated 13,500 on a sunny afternoon in the 30s. 

"Arkansas fans do what they always do for Oaklawn, they showed up," Smith said. 

Smith credited the team at Oaklawn for a "flawless" opening day from an operations standpoint.