Hot Springs’ hotels were full, the weather was beautiful, and shop and restaurant owners couldn’t help wondering whether business would have been even better if Zenyatta had run against Rachel Alexandra at Oaklawn Park.
The champion thoroughbreds were to have raced Friday for $5 million in the Apple Blossom. But Rachel Alexandra’s owners backed out, and Oaklawn dropped the purse to
its original $500,000 for the 1 1/8-mile race for older fillies and mares.Hot Springs’ hotels were full, the weather was beautiful, and shop and restaurant owners couldn’t help wondering whether business would have been even better if Zenyatta had run against Rachel Alexandra at Oaklawn Park.
The champion thoroughbreds were to have raced Friday for $5 million in the Apple Blossom. But Rachel Alexandra’s owners backed out, and Oaklawn dropped the purse to its original $500,000 for the 1 1/8-mile race for older fillies and mares.Custom for Carlos usually has the need for speed, but he showed a new dimension on Friday, rallying from slightly off the pace under a clever ride by Mike Smith to win the Grade 3, $150,000 Count Fleet Handicap for older sprinters at Oaklawn Park.
Custom for Carlos ($3.40), the favorite, was third while along the inside during the early going of the six-furlong race, was able to work his way to the three path heading into the stretch, then needed the entire length of the stretch to catch front-runner Chief of Affairs, who set a brisk pace and went down stubbornly. Custom for Carlos won by a neck over Chief of Affairs, who finished 2 1/2 lengths clear of third-place Riley Tucker.
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