“What about that?” said Cella. “That was a little shot out of the dark that surprised me, but I was very honored. A little bit about my skis. But when you’re in a category with D. Wayne Lukas, you gotta check your heart rate and see what the heck is going on.”
Cella has served as Oaklawn’s president since December 2017, succeeding his father Charles Cella, who died earlier that month. Under Louis Cella’s leadership, Oaklawn has become a tourism, entertainment and racing destination after completing a reported $100 million expansion in 2021, culminating in a 198-room luxury resort hotel overlooking the track’s first turn and a 1,500-seat events center.
Additional space for full-fledged casino gaming has pushed Oaklawn’s average daily distribution to more than $900,000, the highest of any winter circuit.
Oaklawn has been owned by the Cella family for over 100 years. Charles Cella, who became president of Oaklawn in 1968, was inducted into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame in 2008.
Louis Cella
Lucas was an industrial giant.
Lukas was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1999 and has racked up 4,953 career Thoroughbred victories (the ninth-highest total in North American history), including 15 Triple Crown events. Lukas, once a basketball coach, was Oaklawn’s top trainer in 1987 and 2011 and is the eighth-winningest trainer in history with 384 victories, the last of which came just over two months before his death on June 28. He was 89.
Oaklawn will honor Lukas’ memory with Friday’s inaugural $135,000 “The Coach” Overnight Stakes for 4-year-olds at 1 1/16 miles.
The ASHOF induction ceremony was held at the Statehouse Convention Center in Little Rock, Ark., before Oaklawn pulled the event in 2025. Cella said he was recently informed of his selection by Steven Riffle, the new executive director of the ASHOF.
“It was nice when I got the call from the executive director,” Cella said. “I said, ‘I’ve been to about 10, but I’ve never been to one in Oaklawn because we started it last year.’ He started laughing and said, ‘I’ve never been there either, because I only started three months ago.'”
The Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place April 10 at the Oaklawn Event Center.
This press release has not been edited by BloodHorse. If there are any questions, please contact the organization that produced the release.
#Cella #Lukas #selected #Arkansas #Sports #Hall #Fame