Quarter Horse Opening Day
April 21, 2023

News & Updates

On Texas Champions Day at Sam Houston Race Park, Imaluckycharm proved again that she's the champ of her family.

Article By: Hal Lundgren

On Texas Champions Day at Sam Houston Race Park, Imaluckycharm proved again that she's the champ of her family.

Bret Calhoun-trained runners won three of Saturday's seven, $100,000 features.

Texas Champions Day arrives Saturday at Sam Houston Race Park.

Article By: Hal Lundgren

With a lineup of seven $100,000 races, it's SHRP's deepest program of
the year.

Owning a Thoroughbred or two seemed like a good idea to Shawn Farmer.

Article By: Hal Lundgren

  Owning a Thoroughbred or two seemed like a good idea to Shawn Farmer.
  The idea didn't fly with his wife, Tiffany.

Winning 10,000 races required early lessons in work ethic.

Article By: Hal Lundgren

span style="font-style:normal">span style="font-weight:400">span style="orphans:auto">span style="white-space:normal">span style="word-spacing:0px">span style="caret-color:#212121">Winning 10,000 races required early lessons in work ethic.

 

span style="font-style:normal">span style="font-weight:400">span style="orphans:auto">span style="white-space:normal">span style="word-spacing:0px">span style="caret-color:#212121">Steve Asmussen got them free.

 

span style="font-style:normal">span style="font-weight:400">span style="orphans:auto">span style="white-space:normal">span style="word-spacing:0px">span style="caret-color:#212121">His parents, Keith and Marilyn, have operated Laredo's Asmussen Horse Center for six decades. They taught their son that hard work does more than start a day. It must stick around for a career.

The high-school principal's stinging words were meant to put down a teen-age student, J.R. Caldwell.

Article By: Hal Lundgren

"You'll never be anything but a horse trainer," he told Caldwell.

Fear gripped Floyd Wethey, Jr., and he didn't know how to manage it.

Article By: Hal Lundgren

That emotion never hit when he was fearlessly charging around a horse track at 40 mph. It struck more than a decade ago when the then-teen jockey was asked for an interview on Oaklawn Park's regular TV show.

EXCEPTIONAL PERFORMANCES ON TAP IN EACH OF THE FIVE TEXAS PREVIEW DAY FEATURES AT SAM HOUSTON RACE PARK

Breeders Ronald and Margaret Ellerbee Win Two of the Five Stakes

HOUSTON, TX- Sam Houston Race Park hosted Texas Preview Day with five stakes saluting Texas Thoroughbreds. The annual event serves as a preview for Texas Champions Day, which will take place on Saturday, March 25 and the majority of today’s winners are expected to return for the seven Champions Day stakes, which will each be run for a purse of $100,000 again this year. 

Saturday’s Texas Preview Day at Sam Houston Race Park Shows Resolve and Dedication of Texas Horsemen

By Gary West, National Turf Writer

February 13, 2022 – Houston, TX - Despite a precipitous decline in handle caused by the HISA imbroglio, despite bureaucratic indifference, despite all the confusion and uncertainty and anxiety, the show will go on, with five stakes races Saturday at Sam Houston Race Park during Texas Preview Day. The show goes on entirely because of the state’s horsemen, because of their resolve and dedication. As trainer Bret Calhoun explained, most of the owners with horses in his stable are Texans. And they prefer to see their horses race in Texas. This is home, after all. But, of course, beneath the resolve is an awareness that economic imperatives can wash away preferences just as easily as the tide can sweep away sand castles.

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