After bettors expressed frequent interest in the pools for the $1 Pick 4 at Oak Grove Racing, Gaming & Hotel, the southern Kentucky track lowered the takeout on the wager for the 2026 meet, and the bet immediately showed improved returns.
The Tuesday, March 25 Pick 4 pool brought in nearly double the handle compared to opening day and went the way of one ticket holder for $2,784.82 after mapping a sequence that had winners of 6-1, 1-5, 9-1 and 17-1 odds. And because the takeout on the Pick 4 this meet was reduced to 15 per cent, nearly $300 more was in the payoff of the correct combination.
Only three favourites found the winner's circle on the 13-race card on Tuesday, and the card received a 3.8 per cent bump in handle year-over-year with one more race contested this year compared to last.
Ronnie Wrenn Jr., a new face to the Oak Grove colony, led all drivers for the week with a pair of hat tricks on Monday and Tuesday. Brandon Bates bagged four wins through the week while Wyatt Avenatti, Andy Shetler and last year's leading driver Marvin Luna each scored two wins. Ron Burke led all trainers with three wins — all piloted by Ronnie Wrenn Jr. — while five different trainers managed doubles in the week: David Avenatti, Tony Dinges, Walter Haynes Jr., Andy Shetler and Melanie Wrenn. Of note, Avenatti won with two of three starters this week while Melanie Wrenn, sending a pair of odds-on favourites to the gate, won with both her starters.
Oak Grove will host harness racing on a Monday-Tuesday rotation with a single exception for the $500,000 USD Oak Grove Trotting Derby card, which will take place on Preakness Day, Saturday, May 16. Stakes racing at Oak Grove will begin on Monday, April 27 with the opening preliminary of the Kentucky Sire Stakes for four-year-olds.
Live racing at Oak Grove resumes on Monday, March 30 with first-race post time at 1:10 p.m. CDT.
(Oak Grove)