And it seems like he wasn’t quite like a top 3-year-old in the nation going longer, although he tested several of those stakes here last year.

“I think he loves Oaklawn, first, but he won that sprint stakes here last year, which kind of entices you to keep sprinting him. “He will stay long from now on,” McPeek said. He was exiting a lackluster ninth, beaten 17 ¾ lengths, in the six-furlong $300,000 Steel Valley Sprint Stakes Nov. 31, 2022, at Oaklawn.įrosted Departure’s subsequent racing journey included multiple Kentucky Derby graded stakes preps around two turns at Oaklawn and a graded turf sprint stake in Kentucky. Frosted Departure hadn’t won since the inaugural $150,000 Renaissance Stakes for 2-year-olds at 6 furlongs Dec. Frosted Departure snapped a nine-race losing streak. The allowance race, Frosted Departure’s first start against older horses, marked a happy homecoming for the 3-year-old gray son of Frosted.

The well-traveled Frosted Departure delivered the most eye-catching score, rolling home by 7 ¼ front-running lengths Dec. McPeek, who has approximately 40 horses on the grounds, already has three victories through the first five days of the 2023-2024 meeting that began Dec. Trainer Kenny McPeek is off to a fast start at Oaklawn.

Oaklawn racing casino resort hotel