ART

The Arkansas Arts Council’s 37th annual “Small Works on Paper” exhibition opens Friday and remains up through July 26 at the Arts & Science Center for Southeast Arkansas, 701 S. Main St., Pine Bluff. The traveling exhibition showcases two-dimensional artwork no larger than 18-by-24 inches by artists who are members of the Arkansas Artist Registry. Hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday. Admission is free. Call (870) 536-3375 or visit artx3.org.

Spa City gallery

Paintings by Steven Wise, nature-based sculptures by Elizabeth Weber, landscape paintings by Dolores Justus and paintings, drawings and sculpture by Mark Blaney are on display, starting with a Gallery Walk reception, 5-9 p.m. Friday and up through July 31, at Justus Fine Art Gallery, 827A Central Ave., Hot Springs. Admission to the reception and the gallery is free. Hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday and by appointment. Call (501) 321-2335 or visit justusfineart.com.

MUSIC

Symphony string camp

The Delta Symphony Orchestra holds its annual Summer String Camp, open to string students (violin, viola, cello, bass, harp and piano) age 8-15, 9 a.m.-noon Monday-Friday at 701 S. Main St. in Jonesboro. Campers meet daily from for group and sectional instruction sessions with orchestra musicians as instructors, culminating in a friends-and-family recital performance. Cost is $60 with tuition waivers for those in financial need. Space is limited. To register or for more information, visit deltasymphonyorchestra.org/string-camp.

THEATER

‘Footloose’: Pay what you can

The Arkansas Repertory Theatre, 601 Main St., Little Rock, is offering up to 100 “pay what you can” tickets to Tuesday’s 7 p.m. preview performance of the musical “Footloose,” on a first-come, first-served basis, starting at 10 a.m. Saturday at the theater box office. Call (501) 378-0405 or visit TheRep.org for more information.

DANCE

Community cast auditions

Ballet Arkansas has opened registration for the “community casts” for four of its 2024-25 productions — “Carmen,” “Nutcracker Spectacular” and “Romeo & Juliet,” Aug. 17-18 at Shuffles & Ballet II, 1521 Merrill Drive, Little Rock, and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” Aug. 25 at Ballet Arkansas’ studios, 520 Main St., Little Rock.

Registration fee is $30 per audition plus processing fees. There is a production and costume fee of $140-$170 per production for all cast members who receive/accept a role.

Performance dates for “Carmen” are Oct. 11-13 at the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts; for “The Nutcracker,” Dec. 12-15 at Little Rock’s Robinson Center Performance Hall; for “Romeo & Juliet,” Feb. 13-16 at Robinson; and “Midsummer Night’s Dream,” April 26-27 at the museum.

Deadline to submit registration forms and fees is Aug 15, except for “Midsummer Night’s Dream,” which is Aug. 23.

Details on audition requirements, audition times based on age range, rehearsal schedules, acceptance and casting criteria and dress codes are available at balletarkansas.org/community-cast-auditions.

TICKETS

Comedian Danae Hays

Comedian and country music parodist Danae Hays, billed as “equal parts ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic, Andy Samberg and Carol Burnett,” performs at 8 p.m. Oct. 5 at Little Rock’s Robinson Center Performance Hall, 426 W. Markham St. at Broadway. Tickets are $30.50-$50.50, with $100.50 VIP packages that include a meet-and-greet. Visit Ticketmaster.com.

As renewals of the Delaware Handicap (G2) go, 2023 will long be remembered. Juddmonte’s Idiomatic  won the historic race in a stretch duel, overcoming stumbling at the start to catch front-running Classy Edition .

That victory was followed by three consecutive grade 1 victories to close out the season by the Brad Cox trainee, the last of which came in the Nov. 4 Breeders’ Cup Distaff (G1) at Santa Anita Park. Months later, she earned an Eclipse Award as the champion older dirt female of 2023.

The 2024 renewal of the $500,000 Delaware Handicap, contested at 1 3/16 miles July 7, does not appear to have a starter of Idiomatic’s quality, but Cox is again participating by starting Godolphin’s Wet Paint .

Under Sunday’s handicap conditions, she carries the top weight at 123 pounds, spotting the opposition from 2-9 pounds. Graded winners Honor D Lady  and Morning Matcha  are second and third high weights at 121 and 118 pounds, respectively.

Wet Paint, a 4-year-old daughter of Blame  , is winless in four starts since winning the Coaching Club American Oaks (G1) last summer at Saratoga Race Course. She travels to Delaware Park from her spring base at Churchill Downs, where she finished third in the Shawnee Stakes (G3) in her second start of the year June 1.

Last year as a 3-year-old, she won three other races in addition to the Coaching Club American Oaks—rattling them off to begin the year at Oaklawn Park in the Martha Washington Stakes, Honeybee Stakes (G3), and Fantasy Stakes (G3). She streaked into the Kentucky Oaks (G1) at Churchill Downs and started as the betting favorite.

However, she would run fourth in the Oaks, and the late-running filly would fail to catch Hoosier Philly  and Randomized  in slow-paced stakes later in the year. Wet Paint has yet to win outside of her age group.

Regular jockey Flavien Prat returns in the irons.

Jose Ortiz in For The Mount on Honor D Lady

Another 4-year-old, Honor D Lady, won the Remington Park Oaks (G3) last fall in her top achievement from her 3-year-old year. Later in the final start of her 3-year-old season, she would finish third in the Comely Stakes (G3) at Aqueduct Racetrack.

She is proven outside the 3-year-old ranks, taking the Royal Delta Stakes (G3) at Gulfstream Park in February. Since then, she ran ninth in the April 13 Apple Blossom Handicap (G1) in a race in which come-backing Wet Paint was sixth. Honor D Lady was most recently second to the grade 1-winning 3-year-old filly Candied  in the June 8 Lady’s Secret Stakes at Monmouth Park.

Jose Ortiz rides Honor D Lady for trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. and owners Final Furlong Farm and Madaket Stables.

LC Racing, Cash is King, and Gary Barber’s Morning Matcha ran third in the Delaware Handicap last year. She heads into Sunday’s race off a troubled seventh-place finish in the June 15 Bed o’ Roses Stakes (G2) at Aqueduct.

“I really did not think she had a fair shot in her last race,” said trainer Robert “Butch” Reid. “She was blocked almost the whole trip, but she came out of the race great and she had a beautiful breeze Saturday morning, so we are ready to go.”

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