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The Arkansas Derby is an American Thoroughbred horse race held in April at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Arkansas.
The Arkansas Derby is open to three-year-olds willing to race one and one-eighth miles (9 furlongs) on the dirt. A Grade II stakes race, it offers a purse of $1,000,000.
The inaugural Arkansas Derby in 1936 offered a total purse of $5,000. The first winner was Holl Image, owned and trained by Jack Carter.
Past winners have gone on to win American Classic Races such as 1980 winner Temperence Hill and 1998's Victory Gallop who both went on to capture the Belmont Stakes, plus Sunny's Halo won the 1983 Kentucky Derby, and Elocutionist (1976), Tank's Prospect (1985), and Pine Bluff (1992) all won the Preakness Stakes. The 1994 winner, Concern, won that year's Breeders' Cup Classic. The 2004 winner, Smarty Jones also won the 2004 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes.
Oaklawn Park officially opened on February 24, 1905. More than 3,000 people attended as a holiday had been declared in Hot Springs. During these early years the track only ran six races a day, similar to British cards. Political problems in the state forced the closure of Oaklawn in 1907. During this time of closure, the track was sold to Louis Cella as the original business partners had both died. The track reopened in 1916 under the auspices of Business Men's League of Hot Springs.
The track consists of a one mile dirt oval. There is no turf course at Oaklawn Park. The track buildings have undergone many renovations and are considered to be very nice. The track also has stabling for a large number of horses in state of the art barns.
Born and raised in St. Louis where he still makes his home, Charles J. Cella studied at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia, graduating with a B.A. degree in political science. He was a nationally ranked squash player and is a Life Member of the United States Squash Racquets Association.
Charles J. Cella is the third generation to head the Cella family's Oaklawn Jockey Club Inc. which owns and operates Oaklawn Park racetrack in Hot Springs, Arkansas. He had to take over as its president in 1968 on the death of his father, John G. Cella. An innovator, under Charles J. Cella the business achieved even greater success, experiencing growth unequaled by any other racing facility in the United States.
Oaklawn Park is a member track with the Thoroughbred Racing Association and Charles J. Cella served as the association's president in 1975-76.
Charles J. Cella also owns racehorses, most notably Northern Spur who was racing in France when he purchased the colt in 1994 from his Japanese owner, Tomohiro Wada. Conditioned in the U.S. by Racing Hall of Fame trainer Ron McAnally, Northern Spur won the 1995 Breeders' Cup Turf.
In 2005, the Cella Family and Oaklawn Park received the Eclipse Award of Merit.
Charles J. Cella is chairman of the Knowlton Awards for Excellence, Barnes Hospital, St. Louis, Missouri and is an Honorary Trustee of the Schepens Eye Research Institute, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School and the largest independent eye research Institute in the world.
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