Sam Houston Race Park closed the curtain on its 50-day Thoroughbred live racing season on Saturday, April 9.
The northwest Houston racetrack will usher in its 2022 Quarter Horse meet with a respected industry veteran as the new Director of Racing. Bart Lang has accepted the position and will oversee the racing operations for Sam Houston Race Park, Retama Park in Selma, Texas, and Zia Park in Hobbs, New Mexico. Each of the three racetracks are owned by Penn National Gaming. Inc.
Born in Timonium, Md., Lang's first job was working for Bonita Farm, grooming, hot walking and learning the essentials of horse care and training from the highly respected Boniface family.
He had tenures in the racing offices of Oaklawn Park, Arlington Park and Hawthorne early in his career prior to becoming the first racing secretary at Lone Star Park. He was on board in the Fall of 1996 throughout the completion of the Grand Prairie racetrack's inaugural season in 1997. Lang directed all racing operations at Lone Star Park for both the Quarter Horse and Thoroughbred meets, through May, 2020. Most recently, he has served as the stakes coordinator at Oaklawn Park.
Lang, 53, will be based at Sam Houston Race Park, beginning May 16.
“I'm excited about joining the team,” said Lang. “I have over 20 years in the Texas racing industry and know these horsemen and women very well. My tenure at Oaklawn Park has been very rewarding and it has been a pleasure working with many of the most prominent connections in the country.”
He will succeed James C. Leatherman who has accepted a position as a Texas state steward.
Having a racing director to oversee each of the three Penn Gaming tracks has been a goal for the organization and Dwight Berube, Sam Houston Race Park's Manager, looks forward to Lang joining the company.
“Bart is a respected racing director with a solid history in Texas racing,” said Berube. “He will also play a key role in attracting top connections to our 2023 Houston Racing Festival.”
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