Sam Houston To Drop Open-Company Stakes

[Wandering Eyes]

With handle expected to fall sharply because of an impasse between the Texas Racing Commission and the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA), horsemen racing at Sam Houston Race Park have been informed that the track will not run any open company stakes races in 2023, including the races that make up Houston Racing Festival.

The news was relayed to horsemen in a text message sent  Wednesday by Marsha Rountree, the controller and executive director of the Texas Horsemen's Partnership.

Horseracing.net was first with the story.

The Texas Racing Commission had ruled earlier that the July 1 adoption of HISA was in conflict with the Texas Racing Act, which, they said, forced their hand when it came to permitting simulcasting. The rule went into effect with about four weeks left in the meet at Lone Star Park, where handle plummeted after out-of-state bettors were shut out.  According to the Daily Racing Form, Lone Star was averaging $1,449,832 a day on its races for the first 33 dates of the meet through the end of June but only $304,612 for the 12 cards run from July 1 and beyond.

The Texas Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse Tracks receive an annual purse supplement of about $17.5 million that comes from sales taxes on horse feed, tack and other horse-related products and services. However, with the forecast calling for a sharp decline in overall handle, Sam Houston, if it had not eliminated the stakes races, would have been faced with having to slash overnight purses.

“In order to run this meet with a daily purse distribution near to 2022 levels, we have to eliminate the open-company stakes races,” Rountree wrote in the text in which she estimated that the purse account will take a $1.4-million hit due to the end of simulcasting.

The Houston Racing Festival had been the annual highlight of the meet. It consisted of six stakes that were worth $1.05 million in 2022. The purse for the GIII Houston Ladies Classic S. was $400,000 and the purse for the other graded stakes on the program, the GIII John B. Connally Turf S. Was $200,000.

Stakes races restricted to Texas-breds will still be held. Purses for those races are funded by the Texas Thoroughbred Association.

While the stakes schedule will take a big hit, Rountree expressed relief that Sam Houston will in fact have a 2023 meet. She informed horsemen that there will be a 43-day meet, beginning Jan. 6. The track will be open on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays and racing will shift to the daytime.

“I understand that losing those big stakes is disappointing, but I have to say that I am both surprised and grateful for the opportunity to run in Houston in January,” she wrote.

“It's not good news for the open-company stakes horses, but the fact that we are still going to be able to run is great news,” said trainer J.R. Caldwell. “We'll be running and, in the meantime, hopefully they can get something figured out when it comes to the Texas Racing Commission and HISA.”

That Sam Houston will have meet and one that will include Texas-bred stakes races was a welcome development for the Texas Summer Yearling Sale, which will be held Monday at Lone Star.

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