Oaklawn will offer the highest stakes purses for both fillies and colts on the road to Kentucky for the upcoming 2025-2026 racing season.
The purse for Oaklawn's Fantasy Stakes (G2), which launched the campaign of 2024 Horse of the Year Thorpedo Anna, will increase to $1 million, and the Honeybee Stakes (G3) increases for the second consecutive season, from $500,000 to $750,000. Oaklawn's first qualifying race for the Kentucky Oaks (G1), the Martha Washington Stakes, offers a $300,000 purse, bringing the total stakes purses available for 3-year-old fillies with Kentucky Oaks aspirations to more than $2 million.
"The increase to our Fantasy Stakes by itself makes a very strong statement," Oaklawn's president Louis Cella said. "This will be the first time in the history of North American racing that 3-year-old fillies will have an opportunity to run for a seven-figure purse prior to the Kentucky Oaks (G1). When you factor in the Honeybee at $750,000 and Martha Washington at $300,000, it's clear Oaklawn continues to be the nation's best track to condition 3-year-olds."
Oaklawn's road to the Kentucky Derby remains the nation's richest path, with the $250,000 Smarty Jones Stakes kicking off the series Jan. 3, followed by the $1 million Southwest Stakes (G3) on Jan. 31, the $1 million Rebel Stakes (G2) on March 1 and the $1.5 million Arkansas Derby (G1) on March 28.
In all, Oaklawn will offer a record 62 stakes races during the 64-day racing season. Stakes purses alone will exceed $18.3 million, more than double the total from the 2019 season. Total purses for the 2025-2026 season are projected to remain at last year's level, nearly $1 million per day.
In an Oaklawn first, the 2025-2026 season introduces a three-week gap in its schedule. A "Holiday Meet" runs Dec. 12 to Jan. 4, with at least one stakes race per day. A four-day schedule will resume Jan. 30 to May 2.
In another Oaklawn first, the Rebel Stakes card—which also features the Honeybee—is scheduled for Sunday, March 1, which will mark the first time the premier race is intentionally set for that day of the week.
Six new overnight stakes have been added throughout the season, including "The Coach" Overnight Stakes, honoring Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas.
The first condition book for the 2025-2026 racing season is now available at www.oaklawn.com.
This press release has been edited for content and style by BloodHorse Staff.
