“As for racing, it has always been the life blood of Oaklawn and we are happy to offer the horsemen an avenue for racing their horses in these challenging times. “As for the nearly 1,000 team members we have on staff during this live racing season, including all year round and seasonal team members, we will continue to pay their salary and benefits during this two-week period.
“As good community citizen, we felt this was the right thing to do for public health,” Oaklawn President Louis Cella said. The racing operations will continue without spectators during this same time period. This includes Silks Bar and Grill, Bistro 2705 and the Sports Book. With the unfortunate announcement Sunday afternoon that two people have tested positive for Covid-19 (Coronavirus) in Garland County, Oaklawn has made the decision to voluntarily close the casino for two weeks effective Monday, March 16 at 8 am through March 30. The Saracen Resort is in Pine Bluff, where a cluster of coronavirus cases have been linked to an infected patient at Jefferson Regional Medical Center. The other Arkansas casinos appear to be operating as normal.
