Spraker Still Learning the Trade at Oaklawn

Another year completed at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark., another job completed by Larry Spraker.

Spraker, still going strong at 77, spent the 57-day meeting that concluded May 2 working in the test barn. The same Larry Spraker was Oaklawn's leading rider in 1962, rode the winner of the 1965 Arkansas Derby, trained the winner of the 1975 Arkansas Derby (G2), and was the agent for two of the winningest jockeys in North American history.

"I love the game," Spraker said as he walked the Oaklawn backside in late April. "Got a foothold in there now working in the test barn. That's something I've never done before. Actually, I've had a lot of trouble because I've never experienced that type of work, medication and all that stuff. I'm learning a lot."

Originally from Houston, Spraker said he started riding match races when he was 8 and launched his professional career in the late 1950s at Ruidoso Downs in New Mexico after turning 16.

Spraker's love affair with Oaklawn began in 1962 when he won 45 races during the 43-day meeting. He rode winners for future Hall of Fame trainers Henry Forrest and Marion H. Van Berg; William Hal Bishop, the country's winningest trainer that year; and the colorful Doug Davis Jr., who topped the Oaklawn trainer standings in 1969, 1970, and 1975.

Spraker's 1962 meet was highlighted by a five-win day—two for Van Berg—March 21.

"There were some good riders back then, probably better than they are now," Spraker said with a laugh. "We had to get down on horses. Now, they stand up all the way around the racetrack. It looks bad to me. I don't know."

At the 1965 Oaklawn meeting, Spraker won four races aboard Swift Ruler for trainer Gin Collins, including the Hot Springs Handicap, Rebel Handicap, and the Arkansas Derby. Swift Ruler later represented Spraker's only Kentucky Derby (G1) mount, finishing seventh.

"I did well," Spraker said when asked about his career.

Spraker said he always fought his weight and was forced to retire from the saddle in the late 1960s. He turned to training, working as an assistant under Johnny Hart and Jim O'Bryant, before striking out on his own in the mid-1970s.

"I got some knowledge from them," Spraker said. "Johnny Hart was the best horseman I've ever been around in my life. He was an expert. He'd look at a horse and tell you if he could run or not."

As a trainer, Spraker reached the 3-year-old mountaintop again at Oaklawn in 1975 when Promised City won the Southwest Handicap, Rebel Handicap, and the Arkansas Derby. Promised City, who stood approximately 17 hands, was Spraker's only Kentucky Derby starter as a trainer. Like Swift Ruler, he also finished seventh in the Run for the Roses.

"I thought he was a pretty good horseman," said longtime Oaklawn head clocker Jim Hamilton, who broke Promised City and galloped the horse for Spraker. "He was not very hard on his horses. I thought he did a good job. He was a good rider, too. He's the only one that ever won the Arkansas Derby as a rider and a trainer."

Spraker quit training in the late 1970s to become an agent. He represented two-time Oaklawn riding champion John Lively (1972 and 1973), David Whited, Austin Lovelace, and the still-active Bryan McNeil, among others. Lively, best known for capturing the 1976 Preakness Stakes (G1) aboard Arkansas Derby champion Elocutionist, rode 3,468 winners. Whited finished with 3,795, including the 1975 Arkansas Derby aboard Promised City. Whited's total ranks 92nd in North American history, according to Equibase, racing's official data-gathering organization. Lively is within shouting distance of the top 100.

"I never carried over 10 head of horses—that was my limit," Spraker said. "I did well with what I had, but I knew if I was going to stay in the game, I would have to have a bigger outfit, and I didn't want that much help involved. Parts of it I didn't like. John Lively offered me a job, and I took it. We were very successful. Didn't ride very long. Didn't train very long."

Asked what he did best—rider, trainer, or agent—Spraker said the story is still unfolding because of his latest equine pursuit, Oaklawn's test barn, which involved collecting urine samples of designated horses following races.

"I'm still learning about the test barn, so you're going to have to wipe that out," Spraker said. "The jockey and the training, I enjoyed both."

Spraker said there are no plans of retirement from Oaklawn or leaving Hot Springs, a place he and his wife, JoVaughn, a former Oaklawn racing official, have called home for parts of the past 54 years.

"Just probably one of the best guys on the racetrack," said trainer Mike Johnson, an Arkansas native and Oaklawn regular who has known Spraker for more than 30 years. "I love him to death. Good guy. He's a staple. That guy, he's a fixture on the racetrack."