2025.12.18 Oaklawn Racing Updates

Racing Updates
Compiled by Robert Yates

Contact: Chris Ho Vice President of Marketing

cho@oaklawn.com, 501-623-4411 ext. 420

Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025

The promising Zero Sugar recorded his second workout this season at Oaklawn, covering five furlongs in 1:02.40 Wednesday morning for trainer Cipriano Contreras and co-owner Staton Flurry of Hot Springs.

Flurry said the lightly raced Zero Sugar, a 3-year-old son of Twirling Candy, could resurface during the next few weeks in an allowance race. Zero Sugar finished second, beaten a half-length, in his comeback spot, the Zia Park Derby for 3-year-olds at 1 1/16 miles Nov. 25 at Zia Park.

“Man, he was so close,” Flurry said. “You hate losing when they’re that close. But to be off as long as he was, we were just super, super proud.”

The Zia Park Derby marked Zero Sugar’s first start since breaking his maiden at 1 1/8 miles March 29 at Oaklawn. Flurry said Zero Sugar had a chip taken out of a knee following the victory. In his only other start, Zero Sugar ran second to fellow debuter Cornucopian last February at Oaklawn. The Bob Baffert-trained Cornucopian clocked the fastest six-furlong time in Oaklawn history for a 3-year-old maiden (1:09.02) in winning by 5 ¾ lengths.

“We’ve known the horse is talented,” Flurry said, referring to Zero Sugar. “First race, we hook Cornucopian. Then, we come back on the stretch out to a mile and an eighth in the second start. He ran huge then. Gave him the summer to get back going. We were kind of up in the air whether to go to Zia or wait for here. But you would always rather run against straight 3-year-olds if you have the opportunity. He really impressed us out there. We knew we would be in the mix. We hoped we’d be in contention and he showed up.”

Zero Sugar worked five furlongs in 1:03 Dec. 10 at Oaklawn. Flurry was Oaklawn’s leading owner in 2023-2024.

Frost Free Returns Friday

Grade 3 winner Frost Free is scheduled to make his comeback in Friday’s fourth race, a $117,000 allowance for 3-year-olds and up at six furlongs.

Trained by Brett Creighton, Frost Free hasn’t started since an 11th-place finish in the Woody Stephens Stakes (G1) for 3-year-olds in June 2024 at Saratoga. Creighton said Frost Free’s long layoff was triggered by the removal of knee chips following the Woody Stephens.

Creighton had originally planned to run Frost Free in last Saturday’s $150,000 Ring the Bell Stakes, but decided against it after Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1) starters Banishing and Skelly were entered, as well as multiple Grade 3 winner Roll On Big Joe.

“I thought it came up a little tough,” said Creighton, who trains privately for Danny Keene, Frost Free’s owner. “We’ve been off so long and I just wanted to do the right thing.”

Following the initial physical setback, Frost Free returned to the work tab last December at Oaklawn. He had four more published workouts in 2024-2025 at Oaklawn, the last coming Jan. 27, before being shelved again with heat in his other knee, Creighton said.

Frost Free has had five published workouts this season at Oaklawn, including three consecutive half-mile bullets (Nov. 15, Nov. 22 and Dec. 3).

“Everything’s going good,” Creighton said. “We’ll try to get this one and go from there.”

Ramon Vazquez, Oaklawn’s co-leading rider, has the call on Frost Free (8-1 on the morning line). The projected nine-horse lineup also features multiple stakes winner Minnesota Ready, the 2-1 program favorite, and 20-time winner Devil’s Tower, the 5-2 second choice.

The speedy Frost Free, a 4-year-old gray son of Frosted, has a 3-1-2 record from nine career starts and earnings of $306,720.

In 2024, Frost Free won an allowance race at Oaklawn before capturing the Chick Lang Stakes (G3) in May at Pimlico. The Chick Lang represented the first career graded stakes victory for Creighton, who started his first horse in 1989, according to Equibase, racing’s official data gathering organization.

Frost Free has never faced older horses. Probable post time for the fourth race is 1:55 p.m. CDT.

Finish Lines

Racing resumes Friday at Oaklawn. The 10-race card begins at 12:30 p.m. CDT and features a Classix Pick 6 carryover of $45,113 which begins in the fifth race. … Kalahari Dreams is the 5-2 program favorite for Friday’s inaugural $135,000 Silks Overnight Stakes for 3-year-olds at six furlongs. Trained by Phil Bauer, Kalahari Dreams has finished first or second in 8 of 12 career starts. The Silks Overnight is for horses that haven’t won a stakes race, other than state-bred. The Silks Overnight is the ninth race, with probable post time 4:20 p.m CDT… Apprentice jockey Amanda Poston recorded her sixth career victory, and fourth at Oaklawn, in Sunday’s fifth race aboard Cosmic Chic ($74.80) for owner/trainer Burl McBride of Hot Springs. … Jockey Eswan Flores is scheduled to make his Oaklawn debut in Friday’s 10th race aboard Guadalajara for trainer Joe Petalino. Flores rode 69 winners at the recently concluded Woodbine meeting in Canada.