"THE COACH" Overnight Stakes Recap 2026
Compiled by Robert Yates
Contact: Chris Ho, Vice President of Marketing, cho@oaklawn.com, 501-623-4411 ext. 4201
Friday, Jan. 2, 2026
Photo Credit: Coady Media
TAP INTO THIS - "THE COACH" Overnight Stakes - 1st Running
$135,000 "THE COACH" Overnight Stakes
Stretching out from seven furlongs to 1 1/16-miles, Douglas Scharbaeur’s Tap Into This ($4.20) used every bit of the extra room to run down First Division in the shadow of the wire to win Friday’s $135,000 The Coach Overnight Stakes at Oaklawn by half a length.
Run in honor of the late Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas, the race was restricted to 4-year-olds who had yet to win an open stakes race.
Tap into This, a son of Tapit and a $525,000 auction purchase, won for the fourth time in 10 career starts to go along with three seconds and three thirds. The $78,975 winner’s share of the purse increased his earnings to $378,145.
Ridden by Hall of Fame jockey Joel Rosario and the even-money favorite in the six-horse field, Tap Into This was content to settle into last place in the early running of the race as Zero Sugar and Amarosa dueled through quick fractions of :46.77 for the opening half-mile while 5 ½-lengths clear of the stalking First Division. Fourth after the initial six furlongs in 1:11.96 but still five lengths behind, Tap Into This began his surge entering the stretch and made up two lengths in the final 1/8th of a mile. Final time for the race was 1:43.28.
First Division, who led at midstretch, held on for second, 2 ½-lengths clear of third-place finisher Amorosa. Zero Sugar, Bestfriend Rocket and Royal Bro completed the order of finish.
Racing resumes at Oaklawn Saturday with an 11-race card that begins at 12:00 CST. The day is highlighted by the $250,000 Smarty Jones Stakes for 3-year-olds as well as the $150,000 Renaissance Stakes and the $135,000 Commodore Overnight Stakes. The first of four prep races on the Oaklawn calendar, the Smarty Jones offers 21 points (10-5-3-2-1) toward qualifying for the Kentucky Derby.
