12th RUNNING OF THE CLARENCE SCHARBAUER JR TEXAS STALLION STAKES
Weather permitting, Lone Star Park will conduct the 12th running of the Clarence Scharbauer Jr. Texas Stallion Stakes, with the Got Koko division for 3-year-old fillies and the Stymie division for 3-year old colts/geldings going a mile over the main track. Each division carries a $75,000 purse.
In race #5, Infectious (Valid Expectations – Red Cell), saddled by Danny Pish, is the 4/5 favorite. The W. S. Farish homebred is seeking to add another stakes win to boost her career record of 7-2-1-2 with $70,219 in earnings. She finished second in the Two Altazano division of the Texas Stallion Stakes on Valentine’s Day and won the Bara Lass Stakes in January, both at Sam Houston Race Park.
Trainer Bret Calhoun will send out Santacafe (Early Flyer – Cafe Pacific), bred by Clarence Scharbauer Jr. and owned by his son, Douglas. Santacafe finished second to Infectious in the Bara Lass Stakes in January, and is coming off an allowance win on April 10th.
Completing the field are Tea For Two (Valid Expectations – Bridal Tea), Special Rockstar (Special Rate – Buckstar), and Youaremyconnection (Uncle Abbie – Atti Girl Fergie).
The 7/5 favorite in the colt/gelding division, Supermason (Grasshopper – Folksy), was a memorable front-running, 14-length winner of the most recent race in the Texas Stallion Stakes series in February at Sam Houston, earning a career-high 91 Beyer Speed Figure. Trained by Bret Calhoun, the gelding was bred in partnership by W. S. Farish and is owned by Brad Grady. He boasts a career record of 10-3-2-1 with $98,755 in earnings.
Henry Witt’s homebred, Witt’s Tax Day (Drums of Thunder – Bill Collector) has been given odds of 9/5. The gelding is trained by Amanda Barton.
Rounding out the field for the 7th race are Dustin E (Uncle Abbie – Expectawinner), Man of Stature (My Golden Song – Final Trick), Witt Six (Drums of Thunder – Taitt Hill), Flying Frenchman (Early Flyer – Aquascalientes), and Justaphonecallaway (Jet Phone – Pleasuretohave).
ANNUAL MOTHER’S DAY DIAMOND DIG AT LONE STAR PARK
Treat your mother to a day at the races for Mother’s Day at Lone Star Park, with an opportunity to win a Diamond Solitaire valued at over $2,500. Women, 21 years of age and older, that enter the Grandstand Admission Gates before 2 p.m. will receive an entry form to be deposited in designated entry bins by the 2 p.m. entry deadline. Ten lucky contestants will be selected and brought to the winner’s circle, following the last live race, to pick their “Designated Digger”.
This year these lucky moms can kick back, sip champagne and watch someone else do the digging! No purchase necessary; must be present to win.
PURSE ENHANCEMENT BILL HEARD BY HOUSE WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEE
HB 3667 (Alonzo), the industry’s “purse enhancement bill”, was heard by the House Ways and Means Committee on Tuesday. The bill would allow track owners to use their own money to increase purses over their 2014 level, becoming eligible for a tax refund, capped by the amount of specific taxes remitted by the track.
Testifying in favor of the bill were TTA President Ken Carson, Lone Star Park CEO John Elliott, horse owner/breeder Monica Williams, and TQHA Race Director Rob Werstler. Rob Kohler, consultant and lobbyist for the Christian Life Commission of Texas Baptists, testified in opposition to the bill, although he stated that his clients did not believe the bill was “an expansion of the footprint of gaming”.
The bill was left pending in committee and should receive a vote within the next few days. If the bill receives a favorable vote, it will be sent to the Calendars Committee to be scheduled to be debated and voted on by the full House.
To view the hearing, copy and paste the link below into your browser. You may wish to fast forward to the 5:38 mark on the video:
http://tlchouse.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php…
NOTES: Congrats to the Lone Star Park 2015 Thoroughbred Meet leaders (through May 3 based on wins): jockey C. J. McMahon with 25 wins, 33% of starts; trainer Karl Broberg with 21 wins, 40% of starts; and owner Danny Keene with 10 wins, 24% of starts…Retama Park has a new racing and promo calendar available at http://www.retamapark.com/live13.html … Former Texas Horse of the Year Worldventurer is entered to run Saturday in a maiden race at the Iroquois Steeplechase in Franklin, Tennessee…Attendance at this year’s GI Belmont Stakes willl be capped at 90,000… A bill that would in effect prohibit the slaughter of horses in the U.S. as well as the export of horses for slaughter, such as to Canada or Mexico, has been introduced in Congress…Though there was a slight decline in the number of races run in April, wagering and purses rose 5.86% and 4.92%, respectively, in the United States when compared with April 2014, according to the racing economic indicators from Equibase…. A handle report to be presented to the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission on May 6 documents that wagering on historical racing in the state surpassed $1 billion in handle in March. Since its launch in 2011, historical race wagering has generated $9.1 million for Kentucky purses and $653,107 for the Kentucky Thoroughbred Breeders’ Incentive Fund… When American Pharoah won the Kentucky Derby last Saturday it was the first time in the 140-year history of the race that the winner wore the No. 18 saddle towel.