A racing year of mixed results hits the finish line today
Sam Houston Race Park has reached the finish line of its live racing year with mixed results.
The thoroughbred season ended in March. The quarterhorse season concludes Saturday night with $50,000 and $25,000 features carded.
One season highlight was last Saturday when the Kentucky Derbywas held at Churchill Downs. The Derby and a live quarter-horse program drew 13,177, SHRP’s largest turnout for a Derby Saturday.
Season attendance was flat, a major chill for Dwight Berube, the vice president who was elevated to general manager in January.
“I was excited at the start of live racing,” he said. “We had good programs and a lot of excellent promotions. I was disappointed that attendance didn’t grow.”
Asked what might boost turnout when thoroughbred racing resumes next January, Berube said, “I don’t know. But we’ll be meeting with staff members and looking for ideas about how we can improve.”
Berube and his staff can do almost nothing to combat another shortfall — horses.
“Owners and trainers continue to take their horses to border states, where they can earn several thousand dollars more per race,” Berube said.
Casino-type gambling boosts race payouts in the four states bordering Texas.
“We had hoped to run a lot of 10-race programs,” he said. “We had to settle for programs with only eight or nine races.”
SHRP, like every other track, also suffers from star shortage. If a 3- or 4-old excels briefly, it gets detoured to breeding because that option produces more revenue than racing.
One path to developing equine stars would be to extend intervals for Triple Crown races — the Kentucky Derby, Pimlico Preakness and Belmont Stakes. Spreading those three events over eight weeks instead of five would be less grueling for the not-yet-mature animals. Most owners and trainers refuse to squeeze a high-talent colt into the cramped format, which has produced just one Triple Crown winner in four decades. There were three Triple Crown winners in the 1970s, when breeding was less lucrative.
“You hear talk about changing the Triple Crown schedule, but it doesn’t happen,” Berube said.
The thoroughbred season’s Houston Racing Festival, including the $400,00 Houston Ladies Classic and the $200,000 Connally Turf Cup, were among season highlights for Berube. The Kentucky Derby turnout pleased him as well as the many women who wore formal hats to celebrate the event.
“It was like we had a fashion sideshow,” Berube said.
Saturday’s closing program includes a schedule change. The $25,000 Governors’ Cup was moved up to be the 5:55 p.m. opening race. The $50,000 Sam Houston Classic is set for 9:30 p.m. SHRP offers simulcast races 363 days per year.