In the wake of the recent 18-1 odds Kentucky Derby win by Arkansas-owned Mystik Dan, a run of special trading cards will be printed and distributed by Visit Hot Springs. The organization plans to send out 30,000 cards for the historic win, according to a press release.
Becoming the 150th winner of the famous race, his victory came down to a photo finish between him and two other horses, Sierra Leone and Forever Young. He took the lead in the stretch and held it as the two competitors closed in on him. Paying $32.22 to win with a final time of 2:03:34 for the one-and-one-fourth miles, he won by a nose.
“We have done a series of Hot Springs trading cards over the years,” Visit Hot Springs CEO Steve Arrison said Tuesday. “We did a whole series highlighting Hot Springs as the place where President Bill Clinton grew up. Then we did a series of four cards showcasing the great racing at Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort. We did a card for Smarty Jones and cards highlighting American Pharoah and Zenyatta. Our last card honored jockey Calvin Borel on the occasion of his 5,000th victory. They have been among the most successful Hot Springs marketing items we have ever done, with hundreds of thousands distributed free around the globe.”
The horse joins the likes of several other iconic moments and people that have been commemorated in such a way, including cards connected to the city’s World’s Shortest St. Patrick’s Day Parade and Hot Springs’ Sister Cities program with Hanamaki, Japan. There was also a run of Spanish-language cards previously.
The card not only celebrates Mystik Dan but also his owners Lance and Bobbi Jo Gasaway, Daniel and Lisa Hamby, Brent and Sharilyn Gasaway and Scott and Katie Hamby. The Gasaway family is from Star City/Gould while the Hambys have deep roots in the Spa City. The horse’s trainer, Dan McPeek, also has a residence in Hot Springs.
The two families called themselves “ordinary Arkansans” while Mystik Dan is a “working class” horse.
According to Arrison, the cards are to be printed in the next few days with distribution plans still being ironed out. The format of the cards will match that of the earlier ones, which contain a color photo on the front and text information on the back along with information about visiting Hot Springs.
“We had thousands of people line up for the Bill Clinton cards,” he said, “and we want to make sure we work out a way for fans of Mystik Dan and the Gasaways and Hambys to get this one. We’ll have an announcement when we decide how best to distribute these.”
Mystik Dan raced three times in the most recent live racing meet at Oaklawn: Taking a fifth place finish in the Smarty Jones Stakes, winning the Grade 3 Southwest Stakes, and coming in third in the Arkansas Derby.
“This is a Cinderella story and we want to do something to celebrate this amazing victory for Arkansas and Hot Springs,” said Arrison. “Mystik Dan’s photo-finish win in the Derby and the fact that his owners are Arkansas people, and the fact that the horse is closely connected to Oaklawn made us think that we just had to do something to spread the word.”
For more information, call Steve Arrison at 501-321-2027.
READ ALSO: THE LEROY: ICONIC UARK BOWL TO OPEN AS NEW ENTERTAINMENT VENUE
