Turf stakes added, Handicap dropped

The Lone Star Park Handicap has been replaced by a new turf stakes for fillies and mares as part of a number of notable changes to the track’s stakes schedule announced Friday night.

The Grade 3, $200,000 Lone Star Park Handicap, an open 1 1/16-mile race that had been a staple in May at the Grand Prairie, Texas, track, has been replaced by the $100,000 Lone Star Park Turf Stakes. The new offering, for fillies and mares, will be run May 27 at a mile on grass.

Lone Star opens a 44-date meet April 18. The season will run through July 21 and will offer 13 stakes worth more than $1.1 million.

In a previously announced change, Lone Star boosted the purse of its Grade 3 Steve Sexton Mile from $200,000 to $300,000 and moved the date of the race back a week to April 28. Oaklawn Park, in neighboring Hot Springs, Ark., announced last year plans to run a new race, the $200,000 Oaklawn Mile, on May 3 as part of its extended race meet in 2019.

The last two winners of the Steve Sexton Mile, Bee Jersey and Mor Spirit, have won the Metropolitan Handicap at Belmont Park. The Steve Sexton Mile and the Grade 3, $300,000 Houston Ladies Classic in January at Sam Houston Race Park are the richest Thoroughbred stakes in Texas.

In other schedule changes, Lone Star has grouped four stakes on June 23 that put the spotlight on horses with ties to Texas. There will be two new $65,000 divisions of the Texas Stallion Stakes for 2-year-olds – the Staunch Avenger and the Pan Zareta. The races, for the offspring of nominated stallions, will be run at five furlongs. The card also includes two $50,000 stakes for 3-year-olds and up bred in Texas.

The other state showcase program, Stars of Texas Day on July 14, includes two $100,000 divisions of the Texas Thoroughbred Futurity and two $50,000 stakes for 3-year-olds and up bred in Texas. The main event, the $50,000 Assault, has been moved from a mile on dirt to a mile on turf and has a title sponsor, Highlander Training Center.

A final change relates to the opening-night stakes, the $50,000 Bluebonnet for Texasbreds at 6 1/2 furlongs on April 18. It is now restricted to fillies and mares. Later in the meet, the $50,000 Wayne Hanks Memorial will cater to Texas-bred sprinters. The race for 3-year-olds and up at 6 1/2 furlongs is June 23.