HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Oaklawn Park has moved the date of the Grade 3, $800,000 Southwest Stakes to Feb. 3 because ongoing freezing temperatures that have already led to the loss of four races dates and five days of training. The track announced the new date for the race and some of its other stakes on Thursday. The Southwest, which is a points race for the Kentucky Derby, was originally scheduled for Jan. 27. The new date puts it on the same Saturday as the Grade 3 Withers at Aqueduct, Grade 3 Robert B. Lewis at Santa Anita, and Grade 3 Holy Bull at Gulfstream in a blockbuster round of preps. The winner of each race will earn 20 points for the Kentucky Derby. Oaklawn also announced Thursday that the three undercard stakes supporting the Southwest – the $250,000 Martha Washington that offers points for the Kentucky Oaks, the $150,000 American Beauty, and the $150,000 King Cotton – also have been rescheduled for Feb. 3. “We’re doing some moving around of the stakes schedule with the weather that’s impacted us,” said Jason Milligan, vice president of racing for Oaklawn. “It’s the best thing for all the equine athletes.” Oaklawn, which was forced to cancel racing for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, is moving the $150,000 Fifth Season to Jan. 27. The race had been carded for this Saturday, Jan. 20. The Fifth Season will be redrawn, Milligan said.  The other stakes schedule change involves the Grade 3, $250,000 Bayakoa, which will be moved to Feb. 2. The original date was Feb. 3. The new date puts the race on a Friday card. Nominations close this Saturday, Jan. 20.  :: Bet the races with a $200 First Deposit Match + FREE All Access PPs! Join DRF Bets. The Southwest Day card will be drawn Sunday, Jan. 28, Milligan said. Aside from the four stakes, the track intends to offer horsemen the same races that were originally listed in the condition book for Southwest Day. Oaklawn hopes to card 11 races, with a special first post of noon Central, said the track’s racing secretary, Pat Pope.  “That was always planned,” Pope said. The move of the Southwest is not unprecedented. Oaklawn faced the same situation in February 2021, when a snowstorm led the track to move the date for the Southwest and its undercard stakes. The track also had to juggle some other stakes due to lost cards.  The new date for this year’s Southwest, which is the second leg of Oaklawn’s series for 3-year-olds, comes 21 days ahead of the Grade 2, $1.25 million Rebel on Feb. 24. The same card will host the next race in the track’s series for 3-year-old fillies, the Grade 3, $400,000 Honeybee. The final leg in the 3-year-old series is the Grade 1, $1.5 million Arkansas Derby on March 30. Racing at Oaklawn is scheduled to resume Friday, Jan. 26.  Equine exerciser a hit Oaklawn houses a covered equine exerciser, or Equi-ciser, and 162 horses utilized it on Thursday, said Paul Holthus, a board member of the Arkansas Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association. Holthus said the exerciser had been averaging about 100 horses a day earlier in the week. It’s been a key means to move horses with the track being closed for training since Sunday. Holthus said the fees horsemen pay to use the exerciser go to the Arkansas Thoroughbred Retirement and Rehabilitation Foundation. It was installed by the Arkansas HBPA and turned over to the foundation. The exerciser was introduced last season and this is the first round of usage during severe weather, Holthus said. It’s similar to a walking machine, but has separate compartments that enable horses to move freely while the speed of their exercise is controlled. The exerciser operated from 5 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Central on Thursday, Holthus said. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.