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Sam Houston Increasing Overnight Purses: All Main Track Races Get $7,000 Boost

Sam Houston Race Park in Houston, Texas, announced on Sunday that overnight purses have been increased for the remainder of the 2021 Thoroughbred meet. The adjustment will be implemented on Wednesday, Feb. 17 and will continue through the conclusion of the racing season on April 3.

All main track overnight purses will be increased by $7,000 and turf purses will be boosted by $2,000. The increases reflect the strong start of the current meet in which Sam Houston Race Park has seen a handle increase of 40%. This was bolstered by a record-setting handle of $5.3 million on its Houston Racing Festival card on Jan. 31.

Frank Hopf, Sam Houston Race Park's senior director of racing operations, credits the support of horsemen as well the nation's horseplayers, who enjoy the industry-low takeout of 12% on multi-race wagers.

“This increase would not be possible without the ongoing support from our horsemen,” said Hopf. “We welcomed back a solid number of barns and received stall applications from many new outfits this year. Additionally, we had tremendous interest from nationally prominent trainers for our six Houston Racing Festival stakes. Racing fans continue to respond to our racing product and comprehensive wagering menu.”

There will be no changes to the stakes schedule, which offers $2.4 million in purses, up from $1.8 million in 2020. Texas Preview Night is set for Saturday, Feb. 20 with six stakes for Texas-breds. On Texas Champions Day, which will take place on March 20, all seven stakes races on Texas Champions Day have been increased from $75,000 to $100,000.

The 46-day Thoroughbred season, which began on Jan. 8 will conclude on April 3 with live racing each Wednesday and Thursday at 4:00 p.m. CT and Friday and Saturday night card beginning at 6:45 p.m.

Sam Houston Race Park is Houston's premier racing and entertainment facility, located just 15 miles from downtown Houston. The Park offers a variety of attractions including a Suite Level featuring luxurious suites overlooking the racetrack, The Pavilion Centre, and award-winning dining options at the Winner's Circle Restaurant and the Jockey Club. For more information on upcoming live racing, shows, events and tickets, please visit www.shrp.com.

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Thawing Out: Oaklawn Rearranges Feb. 20-21 Stakes Schedule

With the area under a winter storm warning and temperatures not forecast above freezing until Friday, Feb. 19, officials at Oaklawn in Hot Springs, Ark., have rescheduled five stakes next weekend, including several that already had been postponed from the Feb. 13-15 Presidents Day holiday weekend when racing was cancelled.

Citing the prospects of warmer weather on Sunday, Feb. 21, officials have moved three stakes to that date: the Grade 3, $750,000 Southwest Stakes (a Kentucky Derby qualifying points race offering 18 points),the Grade 3, $600,000 Razorback Handicap for older horses, and the Grade 3, $250,000 Bayakoa Stakes for fillies and mares.

The Razorback was originally scheduled on Feb. 13, while the Southwest and Bayakoa were to be run on Presidents Day, Feb. 15. All three were moved to Feb. 20 after the weekend cancellations but will now be run on Feb. 21.

The $150,000 Dixie Bell Stakes, originally scheduled on Feb. 13 and then moved to Feb. 21, will now be run on Saturday, Feb. 20. The $150,000 Downthedustyroad Stakes will be run on Feb. 20 as originally scheduled.

The weather forecast currently calls for snow on Monday, freezing temperatures through Thursday (with the prospect of snow showers on Thursday morning), and clearing on Friday with highs in the upper 30s. Saturday's long-range forecast projects a high of 45, with temperatures on Sunday expected to reach 50 degrees.

Because of freezing temperatures, the Oaklawn track has been closed to training from Feb. 12-14.

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NYRA Offering Spring And Summer Incentives For Fair Hill, Oaklawn-Based Horses

The New York Racing Association (NYRA has announced the return of a shipping incentive program at Aqueduct Racetrack and Belmont Park for horsemen based at Fair Hill Training Center and Oaklawn Park.

Horses stabled in Fair Hill, in Elkton, Md., who register an official start during the Aqueduct spring meet, from April 1 through April 18, or during the Belmont spring/summer meet [from April 22 through July 11] will see their owners credited with an $800 shipping stipend, excluding stakes races.

A first-time starter must have their previous three workouts at Fair Hill to be eligible. NYRA reserves the right to determine eligibility for qualified starters, with each prospective horse needing to demonstrate a pattern of works at Fair Hill in order to ensure eligibility.

The Fair Hill incentive is complemented by “Ship & Win” programs for horses based at Oaklawn in Hot Springs, Ark.

Horses that made their previous start at Oaklawn may be able to take advantage of a “Ship & Win” program, which includes a 30 percent purse bonus for their first start for horses who last ran at Oaklawn in 2021 before shipping to New York. NYRA will also provide a $1,500 stipend for a start during either the Aqueduct spring or Belmont spring/summer meets, excluding stakes races, for eligible horses.

First-time starters do not qualify for the Oaklawn Park program. NYRA reserves the right to determine eligibility of qualified starters.

For more information, please contact the racing office at 718-659-4241.

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Tygart: USADA, Cycling Played A Role In Federal Indictments

Speaking on the Thoroughbred Daily News Writer's Room podcast this week, U.S. Anti-Coping Agency CEO Travis Tygart revealed the organization may have had a hand in the federal indictments that rocked the racing world last March.

Tygart revealed that USADA had handled a drug positive case with a cyclist who fell under the organization's jurisdiction and gotten information about the distributor of the drugs the cyclist was using. USADA became aware that the unnamed distributor also had connections to horse racing, and Tygart said the organization subsequently passed that information along to the FBI.

Tygart said USADA is still on a learning curve as it prepares to oversee anti-doping programs in horse racing, but he is confident a lot of the same principles will carry over from the world of human athletics. Like many equine drug testing experts, Tygart said post-competition testing should not be the only tool for an integrity program, and touted USADA's tip line, which it uses to help direct out-of-competition testing. Tests from tip information have a 22% positivity rate, according to Tygart — much higher than the typical rate for post-competition sampling.

Read more and listen to the full interview at the Thoroughbred Daily News

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