Lone Star Park

At 271 head, one of the largest catalogs in its history, the Texas Thoroughbred Association's (TTA) single-session Yearling Sale will be held Monday, Aug. 28 at 10 a.m. (CT) at Lone Star Park Sales Pavilion. The 2022 edition, which reported a buy-back rate of 24%, saw 161 yearlings out of 211 sell for a total of $3,416,000--up almost 6% from the previous year when 177 out of 228 grossed $3,229,600. Growth was also seen in last year's average of $21,217, an increase from $18,246 in 2021, while the median was...

A new purse structure, approved by the Texas Thoroughbred Association, Texas Horsemen's Partnership, Sam Houston Race Park and Lone Star Park, will increase minimum purses for maiden special weight and allowance races. For 2024, Texas-bred maiden special weight and allowance races will carry a minimum purse of $40,000 at Sam Houston and Lone Star Park. This is being accomplished by reconfiguring the allocation of funds provided by the TTA to the tracks from the Texas Horse Industry Escrow Account (HIEA). The minimum purse of $40,000 for these races is a...

Third Street (Yoshida {Jpn}), co-owned by Shawn Davis and Bill Carnes and trained by Davis, became the first winner for his freshman sire with a romping 7 1/4-length victory at Lone Star Park Tuesday night. The bay gelding, who was fifth over a sloppy track in his five-furlong debut June 8, was sent off at 6-1 while adding an extra half-furlong in this second outing. He went straight to the early lead and took the field through fractions of :22.22 and :45.87. He extended his advantage into the lane and...

Santa Anita will play host to three Grade I races, while Grade III action features the return of a champion at Churchill Downs and a talented Louisiana-bred attempting to make the grade at Lone Star Park during holiday stakes action Monday. The GI Shoemaker Mile S. at Santa Anita is set to be the first of 41 Breeders' Cup Challenge series races in North America this year. A field of 11 goes postward seeking the winner's share of the $500,000, as well as an automatic berth in the GI Breeders'...

Like rival boxers primped and posturing, proponents of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) and the Texas Racing Commission (TXRC) have taken to their respective corners during the unfolding legal fight over the law and have remained un-budged. At stake is the lucrative business of nationally beaming Texas's simulcast wagering signal. The TXRC initially took the stance that it is legally prohibited from permitting Texan tracks to export their signals. Then at the start of February, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals sent the congressionally amended version of HISA...

If proponents of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) get their wish, July 1 will be a day of cautious celebration-the law's first official birthday, and a time when its drug control program would also be more than a month old, barring any further last-minute legal interventions. In that event, most of the country will be operating under a federal racetrack safety and medication control framework for the first time in the sport's history. Texas almost certainly will not be in on the party. When HISA's racetrack safety program...

James Sills's No Mas Tequila (Northern Afleet) was named the Texas Thoroughbred Association's 2022 Horse of the Year. The now 6-year-old mare, who amassed four wins on the grass last year, all in Texas-bred stakes races at Lone Star Park and Sam Houston Race Park, was also named the state's champion older filly or mare. No Mas Tequila's dam, Foxy Boss (Street Boss), was named the 2022 Texas Broodmare of the Year and her breeders, Ronald and Margaret Ellerbee, were named the Texas Thoroughbred Association's 2022 Breeder of the Year....

The Texas Thoroughbred Association will hold its 2023 Texas Summer Yearling Sale Aug. 28. The sale will be held at the sales pavilion at Lone Star Park. "We're fresh off the successful 2023 Texas 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale, so now we turn our attention to our yearling sale," TTA sales Director Foster Bridewell said. "We've already had a lot of interest from our owners and breeders about our 2023 Texas Summer Yearling Sale." The 2022 Texas Summer Yearling Sale set records for the TTA Sales company. No fewer than 161...

A filly by Tapwrit turned in the fastest furlong breeze of :9 4/5 during the under-tack show for the Texas 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale at Lone Star Park Monday. Cataloged as hip 167, the filly is consigned by Pike Racing, agent, and was bred by H. Allen Poindexter. She is out of the winning Sky O'Blue (Henny Hughes) and is a half-sister to two winners from as many to race. "It's not every year in Texas we get a :9 4/5 breeze and she did it the right way," TTA...

Veteran track announcer Vic Stauffer will take the microphone when Lone Star Park opens its Thoroughbred season Apr. 13 in Grand Prairie, Texas, the track's Brandon Leigh confirmed in a phone call Thursday. Stauffer was let go by Oaklawn Park earlier this month, a position he held since 2017. Lone Star's regular voice Jim Byers replaced him in the booth in Hot Springs, but is expected to return to Grand Prairie when Oaklawn's meet closes on Kentucky Derby Day. Stauffer will also join Rick Lee, morning-line oddsmaker and Rodney Nelson,...

Veteran racing official Mike Acton has been hired as Sam Houston Race Park's track's Racing Secretary. He assumed the role on Feb. 3 and will serve in the same capacity at Retama Park and Zia Park during their respective meets this year. "Mike is an experienced racing professional who has deep connections in our region that will serve the industry well," Sam Houston Vice President and General Manager Dwight Berube said. Acton most recently served as the Racing Secretary at both Remington Park and Lone Star Park. "I am going...

A catalogue featuring 186 horses has been released for the 2023 Texas 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale, the highest number cataloged for a 2-year-old sale in Texas Thoroughbred Association (TTA) sales history. The sale will be held Apr. 5 at Lone Star Park with a breeze show scheduled for Apr. 3. Last year's edition of the sale was topped by Free Drop Maddy (Free Drop Billy), who was consigned by Carl Deville and brought $200,000 from Mansfield Racing. The now-sophomore has since won four black-type events, including the Texas Thoroughbred Association...