HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Kavod is a stakes veteran looking for his first win at that level Friday in the $150,000 Advent, a race for 2-year-olds that serves as the opening-day feature at Oaklawn Park. The earlier start to the meet has enabled the track to run juvenile races for the first time since 1973. There are three on the card, with the six-furlong Advent drawing a field of 10 that includes notable maiden winners Cairama, Higher Standard, and Sonnyisnotsofunny. B Sudd, another promising sort, was to scratch due to a cough, according to his trainer, Dallas Stewart. “We’ll get ’em next time,” he said. Kavod has made five stakes appearances, with his best effort a runner-up finish in the Tremont in June at Belmont Park. He was a $50,000 claim in his most recent start Nov. 20 at Churchill Downs. Kavod was a three-length winner of the six-furlong race, and was taken by the Oklahoma-based partnership of James Rogers and Michael Robinson. :: DRF Bets players get free Daily Racing Form Past Performances and up to 5% weekly cashback. Click to learn more. “We thought he was worth the $50,000,” trainer Chris Hartman said. “I had been in the claim box every day over there, struggling to get things [done]. We got some, but there was a whole lot of shaking going on. We thought this horse looked all right. He’d been keeping pretty good company.” Kavod, who is a son of Lea, was a maiden special weight winner in April at Belmont. He’s the co-winningest horse in the Advent alongside Charter Oak, who is cross-entered in a Saturday allowance route at Oaklawn. Both horses have won two races. “We just entered him in this race,” Hartman said. “He seems like he sort of fits. I don’t think he’s [outclassed]. It’s an early-meet type of deal. It doesn’t look like there’s any standouts. Why not take a stab at it? I think he’s a sprinter. We’ll take our chances. We’re hoping it will work out.” Francisco Arrieta has the mount from post 2. “It appears he’ll probably be a stalker,” Hartman said of Kavod. Kavod and Cairama are the lone horses in the field with graded stakes experience. Cairama exits the Grade 3 Nashua, a mile race at Belmont Park in which he finished fifth on Nov. 7. “We’re cutting back in distance,” said Steve Asmussen, who trains Cairama. “Hopefully, he’s sharp enough. He’s got plenty of talent. “It’s a nice, competitive race. How he gets away from there will be very important.” Ricardo Santana Jr. has the mount from post 9. Cairama won his career debut on the lead, in a maiden special weight over 6 1/2 furlongs in September at Belmont. Ruggs was a debut winner Nov. 15 at Remington Park. He’s a son of Gun Runner and the mare Brazen Persuasion, who won the Grade 3 Schuylerville at 2 at Saratoga. “He’s by a sire that we’ve seen throws quality out of a mare that was stakes-quality,” trainer Ron Moquett said. “We bought him with hopes he’ll run to his pedigree and his looks.” The forecast for opening day is partly cloudy skies, a high of 74 degrees, and a 15 percent chance of precipitation, according to The Weather Channel.