He backed into the fence or hit the fence every day, turning in. I can remember (trainer James Eckrosh) parking in that one spot and hitting the fence every day. I was trying to envision where the (track) kitchen was exactly. “What was in this actual spot, where this hotel is? That’s where the old gap was. “I stayed in the hotel last night and was trying to think what was here,” Albarado said after galloping Swiss Skydiver Thursday morning at Oaklawn. Albarado, who is back in Hot Springs as the regular rider of champion Swiss Skydiver in the $1 million Apple Blossom Handicap (G1) for older fillies and mares Saturday at Oaklawn, was a guest of the hotel Wednesday night.
Oaklawn, as part of a multi-million expansion, is opening a seven-story, 200-room hotel overlooking the first turn. A lot has changed since jockey Robby Albarado was Oaklawn’s leading rider in 19, particularly lately.
