News and Notes for July 2, 2015

ACCREDITED TEXAS-BREDS IN STAKES ACTION THIS WEEKEND
Promise Me Silver (Silver City – Uno Mas Promesa) will face five foes in the $150 Gr. 3 Victory Ride Stakes at Belmont on Saturday.  The 3-year-old filly trained by Bret Calhoun is seeking to return to her winning ways after a troubled trip in the Gr 1 Acorn Stakes on June 6.  Running for her breeders Robert & Myrna Luttrell, Promise Me Silver has career stats of 9-8-0-0 with $435,915 in earnings.

David Davis’ homebred A M Milky Way (Elusive Bluff – Actress E) will compete in the $150,000 Gr. 3 Carry Back Stakes at Gulfstream Park on Sunday.  The 3-year-old colt is trained by Karl Broberg.

JULY 4 RACING IN TEXAS
This weekend is one of the busiest horseracing weekends in Texas with 3 of the 4 tracks having racing.  Gillespie County Fair will conduct both Quarter Horse and Thoroughbred racing on Saturday and Sunday with a 1pm post time.

Quarter Horses will race at Retama Park on Friday and Saturday, with a post time of 6:45pm.

Thoroughbreds at Lone Star Park will have a 3-day racing weekend, starting at 6:35 on Friday, 5:00 on Saturday and 1:35pm on Sunday.  Additionally, the track will host its annual fireworks show on Saturday, the Lone Stars & Stripes Celebration, sponsored by North Texas Ford Dealers and 99.5 The Wolf.

All guests, 21 years of age or older, who enter the admission gates before 7:25 p.m. will receive an official entry form for a chance to win a brand new 2015 Ford Mustang.  Ten (10) finalists will be chosen and given a key to try and unlock the Mustang’s door. The person with the key that unlocks the door will be the Grand Prize winner!

ROSES TO RIBBONS OLD FASHIONED HORSE FAIR
Make plans to attend the next Roses to Ribbons Old Fashioned Horse Fair, scheduled for 11:00 – 1:00 on Saturday July 11 at Lone Star Park.

Sponsored by The Paddock Foundation, the fair serves as an opportunity to showcase Thoroughbreds ready for their second careers.  There will also be vendor tables, artists, a tack swap and sell, concessions and more. With free admission, the event will be held in the saddling paddock area.

For more information, go to https://www.facebook.com/events/882040998536161/  or https://texasthoroughbred.com/paddock-foundation/roses-to-ribbons/

REMINDER – TTA MEMBER ALERT
The Texas Racing Commission (TRC) recently voted to post the repeal of rules governing par-mutuel wagering on historical races in the Texas Register for public comment, and your immediate action is needed. Please send an e-mail or a letter to the TRC in support of keeping the HRT rules in place.

Letters may be sent via email to info@txrc.texas.gov, fax to 512.833.6907, or via regular postal mail to Texas Racing Commission, PO Box 12080, Austin, TX 78711 or Texas Racing Commission, 8305 Cross Park Dr. #110, Austin, TX 78754.

Sample letters are available in the second paragraph of the TTA Member Communications page at https://texasthoroughbred.com/about-us/tta-member-communication/.

The active involvement of all horsemen in such issues is imperative to protect our industry.

TEXAS HORSE RACING HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES ANNOUNCED
The Texas Horse Racing Hall of Fame will once again honor individuals who have enriched the tradition and sport of horse racing in Texas on Saturday, September 12, at Retama Park in Selma, Texas. The celebration will be held before and during the races starting at 5 p.m. and will include hors d’oeuvres, valet parking, cocktails, a gourmet buffet dinner, cigar roller, induction of the honorees, silent auction and live Thoroughbred races.

All proceeds from the gala, which is open to the public, will benefit the Saddle Light Center; Groom Elite; and the Race Track Chaplaincies at Lone Star Park, Sam Houston Race Park and Retama Park.

The 2015 Inductees into the Horse Racing Hall of Fame include former Texas Senator Ken Armbrister, former TTA Director Stanley Beard (deceased), Lukin Gilliland, Sr. (deceased),
former TRC Deputy Director Sammy Jackson (deceased), Dan (deceased) and Jolene Urschel, Thoroughbred horse No Le Hace, and JoAnn Weber Distinguished Service Award winner Ben Hudson. Serving as MC will be Dave Appleton, a former superstar on the professional rodeo circuit. In 1988 he became the first Australian and first non-American to win a world rodeo championship when he was named the “World Champion All-Around Cowboy.” Dave has been inducted into the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame and the Australian Rodeo Hall of Fame.

For more information or to purchase tickets for the gala at $125 per person, visit www.txhorseracingmuseumandhalloffame.org, or contact Ryan Grammer at 210-651-7045 or txhorseracinghof@gmail.com.

LONE STAR PARK LEADER BOARD
Jockey C. J. McMahon remains the leading jockey for the Thoroughbred meet  with 84 wins; Karl Broberg tops the trainers list with 59 wins and owner Danny Keene leads with 33 trips to the winners circle.

EARLY FLYER TOPS LIST
Texas stallion Early Flyer, who stands at Valor Farm, already has eight 2-year-old winners this year to lead all North American sires (no other stallion has more than five). Daily Racing Form reports that two of his Texas-bred sons, He’s Comin in Hot and Bravura, are being considered by trainer Bret Calhoun for the Grade 3 Sanford Stakes at Saratoga on July 25.

NOTES:  Congrats to TTA members Robert and Myrna Luttrell, TOBA members of the month for June…Congratulations to Texas-bred He’s Comin in Hot on winning last week’s Gr. 3 Bashford Manor at Churchill Downs. He is a son of Valor Farm stallion Early Flyer…The next meeting of the Texas Racing Commission is tentatively scheduled for August 11 in Austin…The TTA office will be closed on Friday, July 3 for the holiday weekend.