HOUSTON, TX- Sam Houston Race Park is looking forward to welcoming Texas breeders, owners, trainers, and racing fans of all ages to Texas Preview Day on Saturday, February 15. The first race is set for 1:00 pm (Central) with stakes action beginning in the fourth race of the program.
 
Each of the five Texas Preview Stakes will set the stage for Texas Champions Day, which will be held at Sam Houston Race Park on Saturday, March 22. 

Too Much Action and Gold Pilot Meet Again in the $75,000 David E. Hooper Stakes
The seven-furlong $75,000 David E. Hooper Stakes always attracts some of the top Texas-bred older horses. Several multiple-stakes winners will meet in this edition of the main track feature. Defending champion, Too Much Action, owned by the partnership of Jeff and Penny Scott, Bradley Thoroughbreds LLC, Danielle and Parker Ferguson, will break from post four under Chris Landeros. Bred by Mike Rutherford, he’s the son of Too Much Bling out of the Candy Ride mare Quatre Rose. 
 
Trainer  J. R. Caldwell reports that the defending champion is primed for a good race. He wrapped his 5-year old season winning four of his eight starts and worked a nifty 5-furlong bullet here on February 1 (fastest of 40 workers) in preparation for his return to Houston this Saturday.
 
“He’s doing fantastic and ready to kick off  his  6-year-old campaign,’ said Caldwell. “This is a true racehorse!”
 
2023 champion Gold Pilot can still make his way to the finish line as he kicks off his 8-year-old season. Purchased for $15,000 at the 2018 TTA Yearling and Mixed Sale by prominent Texas owners Wayne Sanders and Larry Hirsch, the son of My Golden Song has a record of 29- 9 -4- 6 with earnings of  $416,566. Trainer Bret Calhoun hopes for similar success this year.
 
“Chronic foot issues have impacted his schedule, but throughout his career, he’s had stretches when he has run well,” acknowledged Calhoun. “Gold Pilot has faced many of these older horses before; it always draws a tough field.”
 
Gold Pilot will be ridden by Jose Alvarez and will have plenty of quality competition from several noted Texas-Breds, including Dust Em, a 7-year-old son of Too Much Bling, bred by Douglas Scharbauer and owned by Carl R. Moore Management, LLC . He ran fourth in last year’s edition of the race and won the Wayne Hanks Memorial Stakes on June 1 at Lone Star Park. Dust Em was previously in the barn of Sarah Delany, a very popular Thoroughbred trainer in Texas and Louisiana. She was critically injured on February 7, 2024  when she was kicked in the neck in a stall accident at Delta Downs. Delany recently alerted her many friends in the industry that her recovery is going well.
 
“We are very happy to have Dust Em and proud of Sarah” said trainer Karen Jacks. “He is the sweetest horse and has worked well for his return. Just yesterday, he was looking out of his stall, ready to run!”
 
Calhoun also trains James Stodola’s Victory for Vets who was purchased for $70,000 at the 2023 Texas 2-Year-Old in Training Sale. The son of Tapiture won the $111,000 Texas Thoroughbred Association Derby here last March and won a prep race here on January 24 for his 4-year-old stakes campaign. 
 
“We always liked him,” stated Calhoun. “He handled the sloppy track here last month in quite a workmanlike effort. He drew well for Saturday; seven furlongs might be his best distance.”
 
Jose Alvarez will ride Victory for Vets, who was named 2024 Texas Thoroughbred Association Champion 3-Year-old Colt/ Gelding. Stodola proudly names his horses in tribute to his service in Vietnam. He was honored with the distinguished Flying Cross and inducted into the Texas Veterans Hall of Fame in 2023. 
 
Sam Houston Race Park renamed the $75,000 H-Town Stakes in 2024 to honor David E. Hooper, who passed away on May 29, 2023, following a courageous battle with cancer. The 88-year-old had an extensive career in the horse racing industry, which included serving as executive director of the Texas Thoroughbred Association from 1997-2012. Hooper was revered for his knowledge, outgoing personality and unsurpassed communication skills with racetrack administrators, breeders and horsemen in Texas and across the country.
 
Half Sisters and Accomplished Turf Mares Imaluckycharm and No Mas Tequila Drew Side by Side in the $75,000 Miss Bluebonnet Turf  
Saturday stakes action will conclude with the running of the $75,000 Miss Bluebonnet Turf. A field of ten Texas-bred fillies and mares will compete at the distance of one mile on the Connally Turf  Course. 
 
Trainer Karen Jacks returns with 2023 champion Imaluckycharm for owner Carl Moore Management, LLC. Bred by Ronald and Margaret Ellerbee the 6-year-old daughter of My Golden Song is out of the Street Boss mare Foxy Boss. She will be ridden by Ernesto Valdez-Jiminez at odds of 3-1.
 
The dark bay mare has an impressive turf record at Sam Houston Race Park, Lone Star Park and Remington Park, winning 11 of her 21 starts, banking $416,75 to date. 
 
Also bred by the Ellerbees, her half-sister No Mas Tequila has been a staple in this race, winning the 2022 edition for owner James Sills, one of ten lifetime victories for the 8-year-old daughter of Northern Afleet, out of  Foxy Boss. She has run 39 times, winning ten times and with any on-the board placing in the Miss Bluebonnet Stakes under jockey Jose Alvarez, will surpass the half-million mark in earnings. Jacks has always been intrigued by the differences in the two horses.
 
“No Mas is small, but tough as nails, while Imaluckycharm is a huge mare,” explained Jacks. 
 
“It’s always a little nerve wracking for Jacks to see two of her stable stars run in the same race, and she has admitted to closing her eyes when the gate opens!
 
“I prefer to see one on the inside and the other further out, but on Saturday, they drew right next to each other,” she said. “There’s not a lot you can do about that; I guess I can say that it’s good and bad; just always hope for the best for both of them!” 
 
Jacks has also entered Turn on the Bling as a main track only entrant, should the feature come off the turf. The 6-year-old mare by Too Much Bling is bred and owned by Ruth Brightbill and has hit the board in three of her six Sam Houston Race Park starts.
 
Other notable contenders include Star Bright Thoroughbreds homebred Sky Rocker who has won her last two turf races for noted turf conditioner Mindy Willis. The 5-year-old Sky Kingdom mare was a gate-to wire winner here on January 24 under rider David Cabrera, who has the return call. Jayde Gelner will saddle Take My Picture, a 4 year-old filly by Demarchelier(GB), who also boasts a turf win here on January 17. 
 
The Miss Bluebonnet will run as the eighth race of the Texas Preview Day card, with an approximate post time of 4:30 pm.
 
Texas Preview Weekend Post Times
Live racing is set for Friday, February 14 at 6:30 pm; Saturday, February 15 and Sunday, February 16 at 1:00 pm.  To make reservations or learn more about the promotions offered this weekend, visit shrp.com.
 
Also, Sam Houston Race Park will be open for President’s Day simulcasting on Monday, February 17, beginning at 10:30 am.
 
The 2025 Sam Houston Thoroughbred meet continues through Sunday, April 6 and the annual Quarter Horse live racing season gets underway on Thursday, April 24.
 
Texas Champions Day Set for Saturday, March 22
Sam Houston Race Park will host Texas Champions Day on March 22 with the following stakes on the program, which will get underway at 1:00 pm:
 
$100,000 TTA Derby                                     3yo C&G- 1 Mile and 70 yards
$100,000 TTA Oaks                                       3yo F- 1 Mile and 70 yards
$75,000 Richard King                                    4yo &up- 1 1/8 Mile (T) 
$75,000 San Jacinto                                        4yo &up F&M- 1 1/16 Mile (T) 
$75,000 Spirit of Texas                                  4yo &up- 6 Furlongs 
$75,000 Yellow Rose Stakes                          4yo &up F&M- 6 furlongs 
$75,000 Star of Texas                                     4yo &up- 1 Mile
 
Further information is available on the Sam Houston Race Park Horseman’s page or by contacting racing secretary Mike Acton at [email protected].

About Sam Houston Race Park
Sam Houston Race Park is Houston’s premier racing and entertainment facility, located just 15 miles northwest of downtown Houston. Owned by Penn Entertainment Inc. (NASDAQ – PENN), the racetrack, which opened in 1994, offers a variety of attractions for businesses, group outings and families during racing and the off-season. The track is best known for its award-winning dining and features multiple areas for fans looking for casual to upscale dining options including its Winner’s Circle Restaurant, Jockey Club, Luxury Suites and Pavilion Centre. For more information or tickets to upcoming live racing, concerts and events, please visit www.shrp.com or follow on: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok or YouTube.

 
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Photos:  Jack Coady Photography