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Lone Star Park Announces 2014 Stakes Schedule
Lone Star Park at Grand Prairie announced the track’s spring Thoroughbred season stakes schedule featuring 11 stakes, including two graded stakes, with purses totaling $1 million. The two premier events on the Lone Star stakes calendar are the Grade 3, $200,000 Texas Mile for 3-year-olds and up to be run Saturday, April 26, and the Grade 3, $200,000 Lone Star Park Handicap for 3-year-olds and up at 1 1/16 miles to be run Monday, May 26 (Memorial Day). “We are very pleased to continue to offer an exciting stakes schedule in 2014 that ensures our overnight purse levels are maintained while continuing to offer our traditional graded stakes races,” said Lone Star Park President and General Manager Scott Wells. New this year will be the $50,000 Wayne Hanks Memorial Stakes to be run on Saturday, April 12. The race was formerly run as the JEH Stallion Station Stakes and is named after the longtime Grand Prairie Sports Facilities and Development Corporation member. Hanks passed away in October 2012. Texas-breds and Fasig-Tipton Texas sale graduates will be showcased in four stakes races Saturday, July 12, in the 14th annual Stars of Texas Day. The program will be highlighted by two divisions of the $100,000estimated Texas Thoroughbred Association Sales Futurity (2-yearold fillies and colts and geldings going five furlongs), the $50,000 Assault Stakes (Texas-bred 3-year-olds and up at one mile) and the $50,000 Valor Farm Stakes (Texas-bred 3-year-old and up fillies and mares at six furlongs). The return of the Global Gaming Triple, a three-race series linking the Texas Mile, Lone Star Park Handicap and the $175,000 Governor’s Cup for 3-year-olds and up at 1 1/8 miles at Remington Park in August, seeks to provide horsemen additional incentive to compete in all three stakes. 16
Southern Racehorse • MARCH/APRIL 2014
Global Gaming Solutions, owner of both Lone Star Park and Remington Park, will offer a bonus to be split equally between the owner and trainer of the horse that accumulates the most points in the three stakes. A horse must compete in all three designated races to be eligible for bonus money, and points will be awarded to the Denis Blake first- through third-place finishers on a 5-3-1 basis. Lone Star also announced that the second phase of a two-year, $11 million renovation project will be completed in time for the Thoroughbred meet. The improvements include a new in-house television system, with enhanced graphics and new cameras, and remodeling of 21 group sales penthouse suites. Two larger group sales areas, the Alysheba Room and Dash for Cash Room, have also been renovated, and the former press box area has been converted to a special events room. The backside also received improvements with new paint and barn refurbishing, and the Bar & Book simulcast building has new signage and lighting to make it more visible to the heavily traveled Belt Line Road. The track’s toteboard also received a facelift. Lone Star has scheduled 50 live racing dates in 2014, the same as in 2013. The Thoroughbred season opens Thursday, April 10, and concludes Saturday, July 12. Live racing will be held four days a week with a post time of 6:35 p.m. CDT for Thursday, Friday and Saturday night programs (except Thursday, May 29, when there will be no live racing) and Sundays with a post time of 1:35 p.m. (except Sunday, April 13 and 20; June 22 and 29; and July 6). Live racing will be conducted Monday, May 26 (Memorial Day), with a first race post time of 1:35 p.m. A special twilight program will be held on Thursday, July 4 (Lone Stars & Stripes Fireworks Celebration), with a first race post time of 5 p.m. For more information, visit lonestarpark.com.