Tracy Sheffield

The Texas Thoroughbred Association (TTA) will implement a number of changes to racing in Texas for 2026 and beyond, according to a release sent by the organization Wednesday. Dates and locations for the TTA Futurity, Derby, and Oaks will be adjusted, with the Futurity moved from July at Lone Star Park to December at Sam Houston Race Park in order to give 2-year-olds more time to develop. The Derby and Oaks, run at Sam Houston in March in 2025, will again be run in the spring at Sam Houston for...

After Tracy Sheffield, the executive director of the Texas Thoroughbred Association, posted on Facebook late Wednesday that a buyer at this week's annual TTA yearling sale named David O'Dwyer, who is a suspected kill pen purchaser, bought 11 horses at the Lone Star Park auction, in a Thursday message on X Highlander Training Center in Sulphur Springs, Texas reported that all of the yearlings were safe and bought by responsible parties. This story was first reported by The Paulick Report. Highlander's post said, "From communication we have had this morning...

Despite a state auditor's report last summer which found major discrepancies with Texas Racing Commission record-keeping practices, during a scheduled meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 12, the horse racing regulator voted 5-1 to temporarily allow the state breed registries to access their portion of the Horse Industry Escrow Account (HIEA) to channel money to purses. For Thoroughbreds, that means that requests by organizations like the Texas Thoroughbred Association (TTA) will be able to contribute to the current Sam Houston Race Park meeting's purse structure. However, the commission has not sanctioned the...

Sam Houston Race Park, whose Thoroughbred meet just started at the beginning of this month, is rolling out a new partnership with the Texas Thoroughbred Association (TTA) and The Paddock Foundation on Ring The Bell for Thoroughbred Aftercare, the track said in a release on Sunday. Each live racing day, owners and trainers are invited to donate a portion of their purse winnings to The Paddock Foundation, the official aftercare program of the TTA. Fans can also get involved by filling out a form in the winner's circle and handing...

The Texas Thoroughbred Association (TTA) has named Tracy Sheffield as the new executive director effective Jan. 1, replacing Mary Ruyle, who will stay on through July to help with the transition, according to a TTA press release on Thursday. The holder of an Animal Science degree from Oregon State University, Sheffield is the founder and managing partner of T&L Veterinary Business Consulting. She has been a TTA member for more than 20 years and is active with the organization's Paddock Foundation, which helps find second careers for retired racehorses. Sheffield...

A new purse structure, approved by the Texas Thoroughbred Association, Texas Horsemen's Partnership, Sam Houston Race Park and Lone Star Park, will increase minimum purses for maiden special weight and allowance races. For 2024, Texas-bred maiden special weight and allowance races will carry a minimum purse of $40,000 at Sam Houston and Lone Star Park. This is being accomplished by reconfiguring the allocation of funds provided by the TTA to the tracks from the Texas Horse Industry Escrow Account (HIEA). The minimum purse of $40,000 for these races is a...