Houston Racing Festival

Live racing returns to Sam Houston Race Park Friday, Jan. 6, 2023 with several changes planned for its 43-day Thoroughbred meet. The Thoroughbred meet will feature afternoon racing on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays at 1:00 p.m. CST. Holiday Monday racing, also at 1:00 p.m., will take place on Martin Luther King Day and President's Day. The Houston Racing Festival highlights the stakes schedule and will be contested Saturday, Jan. 28 with a 1:00 p.m. first post. The 2023 edition will offer five stakes races, anchored by the $300,000 GIII Houston...

When the 2019 meet at Sam Houston Race Park came to an end there wasn't much cause for enthusiasm or confidence going forward. The total handle for the night barely cracked the $1-million mark and the purses were some of the worst in the sport. Fast forward to Saturday's card at Sam Houston, the last of the 2021 Thoroughbred meet, and the handle was nearly $3 million and the allowance races that were going for $20,500 in 2019 were now worth more than double, $42,500. As impressive as those numbers...

Sam Houston Race Park set a record for handle during its 10-race Houston Racing Festival card Sunday, Jan. 31. Besides the $300,000 GIII Houston Ladies Classic S. and $200,000 GIII John B. Connally Turf Cup S., the fixture also featured the $200,000 Texas Turf Mil S., $100,000 Pulse Power Turf Sprint S., the $75,000 Stonerside Sprint S. and the $75,000 Jersey Lilly Turf S. A record total of $5.3 million was wagered at the Houston-area track. "We are thrilled with the success of this year's Houston Racing Festival and setting...

Beginning Friday, Jan. 8, Sam Houston Race Park will offer an expanded live racing season with additional stakes added to its 2021 meet. The 46-day meet will offer $2.4 million in purses, up from $1.8 million in 2020. The highlight of the meet, the Houston Racing Festival, will take place Sunday, Jan. 31, and will feature the GIII Houston Ladies Classic and the GIII John B. Connally Turf, as well as four other black-type races. The 2021 season will also feature 14 Texas-bred stakes. In addition, the purses for all...