Texas

Sam Houston Race Park set a record for handle during its 10-race Houston Racing Festival card Sunday, Jan. 31. Besides the $300,000 GIII Houston Ladies Classic S. and $200,000 GIII John B. Connally Turf Cup S., the fixture also featured the $200,000 Texas Turf Mil S., $100,000 Pulse Power Turf Sprint S., the $75,000 Stonerside Sprint S. and the $75,000 Jersey Lilly Turf S. A record total of $5.3 million was wagered at the Houston-area track. "We are thrilled with the success of this year's Houston Racing Festival and setting...

With Retama Park opting to race only Quarter Horses in 2021, Sam Houston Race Park (46 dates) and Lone Star Park (42 dates) will make up the bulk of the Thoroughbred schedule in Texas next year. The Texas Racing Commission (TRC) approved the changes and granted the requested slate of race dates at its Sept. 29 meeting. Retama had switched its schedule to exclusively Quarter Horses this season, swapping out Thoroughbred dates to other tracks in deference to the COVID-19 pandemic. It will continue that format into 2021. Sam Houston's...

Officials at Lone Star Park have announced the track's richest stakes schedule in a decade, topped by the inaugural running of the $300,000 Texas Derby (May 25) and the state's only graded race, the $300,000 GIII Steve Sexton Mile (Apr. 26). In total, Lone Star will play host to a dozen added-money events worth a combined $1.425 million, up $300,000 from 2019 and richest since 2011. Minor stakes races that previously offered $50,000 in purse money have all increased by 50% to $75,000 for 2020. "We are super excited about...