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TEXAS HORSEMEN SHARE VIEWS ON PROPOSED 2011 DATES WITH CLASS 1 OFFICIALS
Texas owners, trainers and other interested licensees met in late morning on July 1 in the Texas Thoroughbred Sales Pavilion at Lone Star Park with key officials of the state’s Class 1 tracks to share their views on a proposed consolidation of 2011 Thoroughbred racing dates.
Before approximately 150 attendees, including several Texas Thoroughbred Association directors, Drew Shubeck, president of Lone Star Park, Andrea Young, COO of Sam Houston Race Park, and Bryan Brown, CEO of Retama Park, made their case for a schedule of 60 dates from April to July at Lone Star with an average daily purse structure of $230,000 per day, and 24 racing dates in the fall at Retama Park with purses averaging $80,000 per day. Mixed racing opportunities were also offered during the proposed summer Quarter Horse meet at Sam Houston and in the first part of the Retama Thoroughbred season until the late-September start of the fall Quarter Horse meet at Lone Star.
Track operators cited the continued decline in handle on the live product on track, the simulcast import offerings and especially the simulcast export of the live product. Sam Houston reported a 23 percent decline in simulcast export handle from its most recent Thoroughbred meet, and Lone Star’s simulcast export wagering for the current meet is now down more than $18,000,000 and 28 percent from the 2009 meet. Several owners and trainers pleaded their respective cases for additional Texas racing opportunities than were being proposed in order to preserve continuity and maintain their operations without the need to ship out of state, cut back or go out of business.
The plan being suggested is for one year to improve the quality of the Texas product being offered in and out of state and make it competitive within the region with the daily purses distributed at Oaklawn Park, Remington Park and Sunland Park. During 2011, the impact of the Texas horse industry, including racing and non-racing activities, will be at the forefront of legislative initiatives calling attention to the declines in horse population and activity as neighbor states have enjoyed an infusion of revenue from gaming sources that Texas does not enjoy.
A guarantee of racing dates equivalent to those run at Texas tracks in 2002 is one of several beneficial provisions in draft legislation to be introduced in the 2011 session of the Texas Legislature.
TEXAS-BREDS TARGET STARS OF TEXAS DAY AT LONE STAR PARK ON JULY 10
Lone Star Park’s richest day of racing for Texas-breds, Stars of Texas Day, is on tap for Saturday, July 10, with a full slate of Texas-bred or Texas-sired races including the first races in the Texas Stallion Stakes Series for foals of 2008, renewals of the $75,000 Assault Stakes and the $50,000 Valor Farm Stakes, and the two newly created $25,000 starter allowance races.
The two divisions of the Texas Stallion Stakes will be run for the 9th time for 2-year-olds as the Pan Zareta Division for fillies and the Staunch Avenger Division for colts and geldings over 5 ½ furlongs with each having a $100,000 purse.
The Assault is the longest race of the day at 1 1/16 miles for 3-year-olds and older. The Valor Farm is carded at 6 furlongs for fillies and mares 3-year-olds and older.
The starter allowance races are programmed at 5 furlongs on turf and will be the shortest sprints of the afternoon.
TEXAS H.O.R.S.E, TEXAS TRACK REPRESENTATIVES TESTIFY BEFORE STUDY GROUP
Jimmy Eller, operator of Granada Farm near Bryan-College Station, testified on behalf of Texas Horse Organizations for Racing, Showing and Eventing (Texas HORSE), and Andrea Young, COO of Sam Houston Race Park, spoke on behalf of Texas racetrack interests in support of legalizing slot machines at Texas tracks during the June 30 meeting of the Legislative Study Group at the Capitol in Austin.
Representative Garnet Coleman (D-Houston), chairman of the Group, termed the purpose of calling the meeting a Gambling 101 course to provide fellow House members and legislative staffs with an opportunity to learn about gaming options that may be considered during the 2011 session of the Texas Legislature. Representative Jim Dunnam (D-Waco), chair of the House Democratic Caucus, participated in the latter part of the hearing during the testimony of Jack Pratt, representing casino interests. Other House members attending all or part of the 2 ½-hour hearing included Representative Donna Howard (D-Austin), Representative Lon Burnam (D-Fort Worth), Representative Norma Chavez (D-El Paso), Representative Yvonne Gonzalez Toureilles (D-Alice) and Representative Abel Herrera (D-Robstown). Representatives of the Baptist Christian Life Commission, two Texas Indian tribes and bingo interests also testified.
OOPS!!! SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT ON OKLAHOMA CLASSICS AT REMINGTON
In the June 15 first issue of SureBet Racing News published in a newspaper format, there were a couple of errors in my coverage of the Oklahoma Classics, which will comprise 8 stakes for nominated Oklahoma-breds and carry $1.1 million in estimated purse and breeders’ awards when run on Friday, October 22. The Oklahoma Thoroughbred Association owns the Classics and purses were boosted to seven figures for the 2010 renewal as a result of an agreement with the Thoroughbred Racing Association of Oklahoma. The October 10 date referenced is the date of the Oklahoma Derby at Remington Park.
Fast furlongs...Retama Park’s condition book for the pending 16-day fall Thoroughbred meet, pending TRC approval of the amended schedule, is available in print and online...2009 Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra will return to Monmouth Park, where she defeated male rivals in the Haskell Invitational last year, for her next start in the Lady’s Secret Stakes on July 24 after officials at the Jersey shore track raised the purse from $125,000 to $400,000...New Jersey’s General Assembly has unanimously approved a bill to legalize exchange betting and the measure now moves to a Senate committee for consideration...The New York Senate has passed a bill which could lead to full casinos at four of the state’s harness tracks, but there is no companion bill on the Assembly side...A conference committee of Massachusetts Senate and House members must resolve significant differences between bills passed in both chambers to bring casinos and racetrack slots to the Bay State and they must do so by July 10...The economic decline has reached out far enough to affect Keeneland’s prestigious fall meet with total purses cut more than $1 million, including $850,000 from the stakes program and two stakes from the 19 run in 2009...The House Licensing and Administrative Procedures Committee has a scheduled meeting in the Capitol Extension in Austin starting at 8am on July 8 and Texas HORSE is an invited participant...The Texas Racing Commission will meet in Austin on July 7 to consider changes in ownership and location for Longhorn Downs, to designate a committee to Study the State of Horse and Greyhound Racing and Breeding in Texas as directed in Governor Rick Perry’s veto of House Concurrent Resolution 252 in 2009, to designate an application period for 2011 race dates, to consider Retama Park’s request to reduce its fall Thoroughbred meet from the 30 days allocated to 16 days, to hear progress reports by inactive racetrack license holders on preparations to begin live racing, and also consider several other items.