By David Hooper, Executive Director, Texas Thoroughbred Association
AUSTIN, (TTA) – Double-digit handle increases have been recorded for both the live on-track product and the simulcast export signal for the first three weekends of Sam Houston’s 2012 meet compared with the first three weekends of the 2011 season. And that is on top of double-digit increases posted on Friday and Saturday night cards last year compared with the average daily handle on comparable nights in 2010.
Through 11 programs in 2012, handle on Sam Houston’s live racing has been $1,473,495 with $13,812,331 bet on the live simulcast export product for a cumulative total of $15,285,826, an average of $1,389,620 per card. Due to one cancellation in 2011, there were 10 programs in the books for the first three weeks and on-track live handle amounted to $1,071,168, with $10,824,250 bet on the live simulcast export product for a cumulative total of $11,895,418, and an average of $1,189,541. To date, cumulative on and off-track handle on the live product is higher in total by $3,390,408 and on average by $200,080.
Andrea Young, Sam Houston’s president and CEO, commented, “When you believe something will be good for your business and then see it happen, you have to be happy. Posting double-digit increases year to year makes you feel we’ve made some good decisions.”
In addition to the handle increases, Young noted that purses are averaging $164,000 per day, higher than the $160,000 projected, and field size had grown 5% to 8.8 starters per race.
$75,000 CHAMPION ENERGY SERVICES FEATURES TURF SPRINTERS SATURDAY NIGHT
A full field of older turf sprinters will be in the Sam Houston Race Park spotlight on Saturday night when the $75,000 Champion Energy Services goes postward at 10:28pm for a 5-furlong test on the lush Connally Turf course.
Great Mills, owned by Ro Parra’s Millennium Farms, will break from the outside for Steve Asmussen, who will be trying to win a second consecutive Sam Houston stakes. He sent out his own Pleasantly Blessed to win the $50,000 Jersey Lilly last Saturday under Roman Chapa who guided the favorite through an opening on the inside while Jermaine Bridgemohan had to steady and check with runner-up Artemus Kitten in mid-stretch while in the midst of a strong rally.
Great Mills is shipping from the Fair Grounds along with Trelawny, the top money winner in the field with earnings of $311,188, Southern Style and Uno Ducksy. Flat Back will invade from Oaklawn Park and Penney N a Prayer will make the short trip from Delta Downs. There are four locals attempting to defend their Sam Houston turf headed by Solar Charge, winner of the Spirit of Texas Stakes on Texas Champions Weekend for Carolyn Hanak’s H & H Ranch and trainer Karl Broberg, along with Her Man, Great Hope and Winchester Bay.
TRC APPROVES 100% OWNERSHIP CHANGE, LOCATION FOR AUSTIN JOCKEY CLUB
On February 7, during a regularly scheduled meeting in Austin, the Texas Racing Commission approved a 100% change of ownership of the Longhorn Downs license from Austin Jockey Club to KTAGS, whose majority interest is owned by Cliff Thomas, the owner of several Speedy Stop convenience stores. The TRC also approved a change of location to a 148-acre site owned by Thomas in Creedmoor. Both votes were unanimous 8-0 decisions.
In other action, the Commissioners voted the following approvals: designation of the Texas Horsemen’s Partnership as the organization to officially represent owners and trainers in the state for the next two years; a rule change to allow claimed horses to race elsewhere in a stakes after verification of the stewards; and, COO Bryan Brown’s request to be able to adjust breed split percentages for simulcasting and the Escrowed Horse Purse Account to assure adequate purses for both the Quarter Horse and Thoroughbred meets with no negative impact on projections for each meet.
EARLY 2012 TRIPLE CROWN NOMINATIONS INCREASE 8 PERCENT OVER 2011 TO 398
There are 398 early nominations for the 2012 Triple Crown races, an increase of 32 over the number for 2011, and the largest total since 412 early nominations were received for the 2009 Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes.
Whether the increase is due to a healthier economy, or owners’ skepticism over the ability of 2011 2-year-old champ Hansen and runner-up Union Rags to win at Classic distances, is open to debate.
There are two Texas-breds among the nominees and both were bred by Glenda Perryman’s La Bahia Stud Inc. She still owns Lune de Caro, to date an unstarted Cozzene colt trained by Leonard Powell.
The other Texas-bred is Orient Dancer, a gelded son of Orientate who has a win and a second in five starts for Ruth and Martha Knox, with the latter also the trainer.
RACING’S GAMING REVENUE TARGETED IN INDIANA, MARYLAND, PENNSYLVANIA
Gaming revenue dedicated to purses and breed incentive programs in Indiana, Maryland and Pennsylvania has been targeted for redirection to support other programs in bills already filed in Indiana and Maryland, and in Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett’s budget proposal.
The Pennsylvania program’s rapid growth could take the biggest hit of all three states as Governor Corbett proposes to shift as much as $73 million in each of the next three years from the Race Horse Development Fund to pay for other agriculture-related programs. Since the advent of casino operations in the Keystone State five years ago, purses, breed programs and horsemen’s pensions have enjoyed revenue streams totaling more than $1.1 billion with the state deriving $3.1 billion and tracks collecting $4.2 billion. Cuts to the state and track share are not part of Governor Corbett’s proposed changes, which are being strongly opposed by the Pennsylvania Equine Coalition comprising horse groups representing Thoroughbred and Standardbred interests.
In Maryland, a bill has been introduced shifting 7% of video lottery terminal revenue for purses and 2.5% for breed programs generated at casinos to a new school construction fund.
In Indiana, there is a renewed effort to cut the amount horse racing and breeding receive from track slot operations by 57.5% from 97% to 39.5%, with a cap of $27 million per year. The remaining 57.5% would be directed to the state’s general revenue fund.
Fast furlongs…Equibase News Service reported promising economic indicators for the first month of 2012 compared with January 2011 as the $65,827,045 paid in purses reflected a 2.75% increase, and, although the $818,695,886 was down 1.1% there were only 315 racing days in the U.S., 15 fewer days, or 4.55% less than in 2011…The Humane Society of the United States has cautioned the U.S. Department of Agriculture that the agency must comply with a 2007 Washington D.C. District Court ruling that enjoins USDA from restarting horse slaughter inspections without first conducting environmental review of the impacts of such operations…The New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association has renewed its efforts to lease state-owned Monmouth Park and assure the 2012 race meet is held as scheduled…Penn National Gaming, the 50% owner of the three MAXXAM tracks in Texas, reported an 11.4% increase in total revenues from casino and track operations in 2011 over 2010, and announced plans to close Beulah Park near Columbus, Ohio, and build a new horse track in Youngstown…Louisiana native E.J. Perrodin, who was one of the leading riders at Lone Star Park during the inaugural 1997 season and regularly rode on the Bayou State circuit, abruptly retired last Friday at Fair Grounds at age 55 after logging 3,083 wins in his 35-year career…Mona Romero, former executive director of the Louisiana HBPA, received a 13-month prison sentence plus three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $21,562 in restitution for conspiracy to commit mail fraud in the organization’s 2008 election of directors…A bill to legalize table games at Maryland casinos and add a casino in Prince George’s County, home of Rosecroft Raceway, has been introduced…Donnie K. Von Hemel, whose training prowess has gained national attention in the past year thanks to the graded stakes successes of Alternation and Caleb’s Posse, had Pin Oak Stable’s Alternation in terrific shape for a comeback score in $100,000 Essex Handicap at Oaklawn Park last Saturday… Scrimshaw, sire of four stakes horses after the Grade 2 winner ended his career with earnings of $461,842, was bought by Shirley Browne on behalf of R & S Racing for $6,500 at the Fasig-Tipton Texas Mixed Sale last December and the 12-year-old will stand the 2012 breeding season at Double S Thoroughbreds in Poyner, TX, for $1,500…Going Ballistic, winner of the 2007 Super Derby (G2) and $1,195,567 in career earnings racing for Kindred Thoroughbreds, has been retired at age 8 to stand at Victory Rose Thoroughbreds in Vacaville, CA…Breeders Cup Ltd. has received an application from Del Mar Thoroughbred Club to host the 2-day event, but not before 2015…It is interesting to note Delaware Park’s 100-day meet will be conducted on a Monday-Wednesday-Thursday-Saturday schedule in 2012, thereby minimizing live race-day competition in the region with the popular Monmouth Park meet except on Saturdays…HBO’s “Luck” returns for its next segment at 8pm CST on Sunday.
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