2025.11.25 Oaklawn Racing Updates

Racing Updates
Compiled by Robert Yates

Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2025

High-percentage trainer Armando Hernandez returns to Oaklawn in 2025-2026 with a bigger stable and bigger aspirations.

The Illinois-based Hernandez had a string at Oaklawn for the first time in 2024-2025, finishing with four victories from 32 starts. Hernandez has 16 stalls for 2025-2026, six more than last season.

“I’m glad to be back,” Hernandez said while watching his horses train Sunday morning at Oaklawn. “I want to be competitive, hopefully. I was definitely happy (with 2024-2025). The idea is to better last year.”

Hernandez’s barn again features several hard-knocking older horses, including eight-time Oaklawn winner Devil’s Tower. A 7-year-old gelded son of Into Mischief, Devil’s Tower has a 20-8-2 record from 48 lifetime starts and earnings of $657,060.

Devil’s Tower has finished first or second in six of nine starts this year, launching his 2025 campaign with a starter-allowance sprint victory in January at Oaklawn.

Devil’s Tower tackled stakes company two starts later at Oaklawn, finishing sixth in the $500,000 G3-Count Fleet Sprint Handicap. The well-traveled gelding has made subsequent starts in Iowa (Prairie Meadows), Illinois (Hawthorne) and Ohio (Thistledown).

Devil’s Tower returned to the work tab Sunday morning at Oaklawn, covering a half-mile in :49.60 over a fast track.

“I’m going to see if I can get him in a starter-allowance race here before the year’s over because he still qualifies,” Hernandez said.

Devil’s Tower (four victories) was the co-winningest horse at the 2021-2022 Oaklawn meeting for trainer Chris Hartman. The gelding has won 10 races since Hernandez, on behalf of owner Antonio Donato, claimed the gelding for $40,000 out of a fourth-place finish May 26, 2023, at Churchill Downs.

Devil’s Tower originally raced for his breeder, Arkansan John Ed Anthony (Shortleaf Stable), the winningest owner in Oaklawn history. After previously being claimed, the gelding won eight races for Hartman, Oaklawn’s leading trainer in 2015, and two for trainer Tom Amoss.

“He’s just always a hard-trying horse,” Hernandez said.

Empire Builder, another older starter-allowance standout, has won six races for Hernandez, including a first-level allowance on opening day of the 2024-2025 Oaklawn meeting. In his last start Empire Builder finished second, beaten a head by Happy Strike, in a one-mile starter allowance Sept. 19 at Prairie Meadows. Happy Strike made his next start in the Claiming Crown’s $200,000 Jewel Nov. 15 at Churchill Downs. The Claiming Crown is the Breeders’ Cup for former claiming horses.

“We nominated Empire Builder to the Claiming Crown, but there was so much speed there that day, in that race, we just opted not to go,” Hernandez said. “We’re going to look for a spot here for him.”

Empire Builder won two races at the recently concluded Hawthorne meeting, including a 16 ¾-length romp for $25,000 claimers in June.

Hernandez, winning at a robust 26-percent clip, finished with 31 victories at Hawthorne to narrowly miss his first career training title. Chris Block and Larry Rivelli shared the title with 32 victories.

“I’ve got six different horses that weren’t here last year,” Hernandez said. “I’m hoping we can claim better horses here, try to play the claiming game a little more starting off, as soon as the meet starts.”

Hernandez has 164 career victories, with more than 80 percent (135) coming in his native Illinois. He has 88 career victories at Hawthorne. Hernandez worked 13 years for an equine veterinarian in Chicago before starting his first horse in 2019. He has won 21 percent of his 765 career starts.

Finish Lines

Nominations for the $150,000 Advent Stakes for 2-year-olds, $150,000 Ring the Bell Stakes for 3-year-olds and up and $135,000 Astral Spa Overnight Stakes for 2-year-old fillies are due Monday, Dec. 1. The Advent, to be run Friday, Dec. 12, is at 5 ½-furlongs. The Ring the Bell (Saturday, Dec. 13) and Astral Spa (Sunday, Dec. 14) are run at six furlongs. An Oaklawn record 62 stakes racesare scheduled to be run in 2025-2026. Entries will be accepted and post positions drawn Dec. 5 for Oaklawn’s Dec. 12 opening-day program. The 64-day split season ends May 2. Oaklawn’s Holiday racing season is Dec. 12-Jan. 4. The Classic racing season is Jan. 30-May 2. … Agent “Big Steve” Krajcir of Hot Springs said he will represent jockeys Joseph Bealmear and Jane Elliott in 2025-2026 at Oaklawn. Bealmear (19 victories) was Oaklawn’s champion apprentice rider in 2023-2024. Elliott (seven victories) was the winningest female rider at the 2024-2025 Oaklawn meeting. Krajcir represented both riders last season at Oaklawn. … Jockey Walter De La Cruz enters 2025-2026 with 199 career Oaklawn victories. … Oaklawn will have abbreviated training hours Thursday in observance of Thanksgiving. The track will be open from 7 a.m.-9:30 a.m. (Central). Normal training hours at Oaklawn are 7 a.m.-11:15 a.m. (Central), with surface renovation breaks at 8:15 a.m. and 9:45 a.m.