LONE STAR THOROUGHBRED MEET BEGINS TONIGHT
Lone Star Park opens its 2019 Thoroughbred Racing Season on Thursday, April 18 for a 44-day run and has 13 stakes races on the schedule worth a combined total of over $1.1 million dollars.
The stakes action will kick-off with the featured $50,000 Bluebonnet Stakes for Texas-bred fillies & mares, 3-year-olds & up going 6 ½ furlongs. There is a competitive field of 9 for the race, carded as #7 with a post time of 9:38pm. Eight of the nine competed on Texas Champions Day at Houston in March.
Scott Gelner will saddle 8-5 favorite Shes Our Fastest (Oratory – Dawali) for Mark Norman and Norman Stables LLC. Bred by Eureka thoroughbred Farm, the 4-year-old filly won the $50,000 Yellow Rose Stakes at Houston.
Ima Discreet Lady (Discreet Cat – Ima Three Blinger) won the $50,000 Bara Lass Stakes. Bred by Larry S. Huntsinger, she is trained by Karl Broberg for Raymond Todd White and Duane Coker and has odds of 5-2.
Listed at 9-2 is Billy Clevenger’s homebred Zarelda (My Golden Song – Tiz Tiz) who finished second in the Yellow Rose. She is trained by Beverly Burress.
Completing the field are Averys Miss (Interactif – Itisi), Cark Desert Wine (Daaher – Lady Countdown), Sexy Dance (Voyagers Quest – Sexy Saint), Sing Prada Sing (Sing Baby Sing – Kimbell’s Prada), True Confession (Broken Vow – Ruby’s Big Band), and Witt’s Town (Drums of Thunder – Fortunistic).
Gates open at 5:00pm with first post at 6:35pm.
MAILBOX MONEY
ATB awards for the recently concluded Thoroughbred meet at Sam Houston Race Park are in the mail, so be checking your mailbox.
Award amounts are based on the amount of Accredited Texas-Bred award monies available for the pay period divided by the purse money earned by accredited Texas-breds finishing first, second or third in any race at this track.
Based on this formula, award totals were calculated as follows:
Breeder Awards: 9.10091% of 1st/2nd/3rd purse money earned
Owner Awards: 11.33805% of 1st/2nd/3rd purse money earned
Stallion Awards: 5.5471% of 1st/2nd/3rd purse money earned
The total amount of awards paid out for Owner, Breeder and Stallion Owner Awards for this period of racing at Sam Houston Race Park is $274,700.28. By law, 40% ($109,880.11) is paid for Breeders Awards, 40% ($109,880.11) is paid for Owners Awards and 20% ($54,940.06) for Stallion Owner Awards.
Please note that for awards calculation purposes, all individual purses are capped at $75,000.00. There are no ATB Owners Incentive Awards paid on restricted stakes, as the purse already contains added money from the ATB Program.
Also, if your horse placed first, second or third in an open company race during this meet, you will receive an Owner’s Bonus award totaling 27.45854% of purse money earned. The first 25% of total ATB Awards is allocated to the Owner Bonus Fund, which equates to $124,900.09 for this meet.
NOTES: House Bills 1995 (TRC funding) and 3366 (removing ATB funds from the TRC budget) passed out of the House on April 16 and have been referred to the Senate Water and Rural Affairs Committee. House Bill 2463 (purse bill) should be scheduled soon to be heard on the House floor…The TTA office will be closed on April 19 in observance of Good Friday.