The Arkansas Press Association honored Louis Cella, president of Oaklawn Jockey Club, as its 2019 Headliner of the Year Friday during its annual convention, which concludes today in Hot Springs.
Cella, who took the Oaklawn helm in late 2017 following the death of his father, Charles Cella, was selected by APA for his visionary leadership and Oaklawn's economic impact in Arkansas, according to a news release. At Friday's Headliner of the Year Luncheon, held at The Hotel Hot Springs & Spa, the racetrack's president said he was surprised to learn he had been chosen for the honor.
"I really was surprised," Cella told The Sentinel-Record. "In fact, after about the first six weeks and I hadn't heard anything, I really did think someone was pranking me and I had to reach out and say 'Look, is this thing for real?' Once they said it is for real, it's very humbling. It is a great honor and Oaklawn -- we're very excited to be honored in this capacity."
The award was presented by Rex Nelson, a senior editor at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, who noted Cella's disbelief "in the face of the amazing things that he and his organizations are accomplishing here show the grace, the humility and the perspective that makes this president of the Oaklawn Jockey Club worthy of our 2019 Headliner of the Year Award."
"The great thing about the Cella family, for those of us who love the sport of thoroughbred racing, is that they have not only been committed to Oaklawn, they have been committed to the sport here in Hot Springs," Nelson said.
"And this comes at a time where in many places the gaming comes first, the racing comes second. The racing continues to come first here at Oaklawn even with all of the changes that you have seen," he said.
"The Cella family demonstrated their commitment to our state back in 1904 when they became part owners of the track, again in 1920 when they took over the full ownership, and now through four generations of management of the Oaklawn Jockey Club. Oaklawn, you may know, is the No. 1 tourist attraction in the state of Arkansas. ... There's nowhere better to be on an early March weekend with a corned beef sandwich in hand to watch thoroughbreds and jockeys vie for the winner's circle -- a real winner's circle, I might add, since Louis brought that to Oaklawn for the 2019 racing season."
In thanking members of the association gathered in attendance, Cella said among the list of past recipients of the award, all have a common interest -- making decisions they feel are in the best interest of the state of Arkansas.
"The announcements Oaklawn has made over the past couple of years were made in hopes to not only grow the Hot Springs tourism industry but also the entire state's tourism industry," he said. "We are confident that more and more people will come to the state because of the decisions that we have made and they just might never leave like so many of us today."
Cella said Oaklawn is in rare company, celebrating its 115th anniversary and making it not only one of the oldest companies in Arkansas, but one of the oldest family owned sports franchises in America.
"Although we've had our share of friction with local industry over the past century, today we have created the industry standard of how to run a racetrack in modern times," he told the association.
Cella told The Sentinel-Record that "literally coast to coast," organizations in the thoroughbred racing industry look to Oaklawn and Arkansas for an example of how to best practices.
"We do some innovative things that are unheard of in racing, for instance picking up the track surface -- no other track does that," he said. "Actually putting and spending money into the grandstand -- no other track does that. Building all these 15 barns -- no track does that, and that's just part of it. Most tracks don't even put an extra coat of paint on, much less do these kinds of capital improvements.
"We focus on our fans. That's what makes the sport go and we focus on our horsemen because without the horsemen and the quality of horses, it's not going to work."
In November 2018, Oaklawn announced a more than $100 million expansion which includes a high-rise hotel, event center, and 28,000-square-foot gaming floor expansion among other additions. Cella said Friday the project, which broke ground May 6, is moving along.
"We have two shifts working six days a week," he said. "We've got a really tight deadline, but we've been planning on this for a while so we knew that deadline was going to be very tight. We have every anticipation of meeting it."
Cella noted in his acceptance of the award that because of Oaklawn's success, the organization is able to give more than $1.5 million annually to the Oaklawn Foundation, which it created to benefit the local community's education, wellness and socioeconomic efforts.
"None of this could have been done without you, the Arkansas Press Association," he said. "Without your stories, without your coverage, your honesty, your impartiality, none of these exciting events would gain the national attention that we have received."
Cella said "with the help of our horsemen, with the help of our regulators, together we're always evolving for the sole purpose of creating a unique racing environment for all generations to enjoy and no racetrack, no state in America can say that."
Local on 06/29/2019