Contenders eye share of Futurity

An owner or trainer intent on winning one of Texas racing’s richest events — Saturday night’s $440,600 Sam Houston Futurity — needs a fast horse and several extra checks.

Sam Houston Race Park’s quarter-horse season centerpiece required a $200 nomination fee due by Jan. 1. Monthly payments of $400, then $600, plus an $800 entry fee, followed.

Several hundred 2-yearolds started the nomination process, which required a $2,000 total for the 120 runners who completed it. Patriotic Games became the 121st competitor when his belated entry came with a supplemental cost of $7,500.

SHRP has added $100,000 to the nearly halfmillion-dollar jackpot.

By itself, that first $200 check represented a vote of confidence. Prospective entrants are the kindergartners of racing. They do not compete as yearlings before becoming 2-year-olds on Jan. 1.

With the entry process complete, the 121 contenders dashed 350 yards in timed trials. The 10 fastest runners set themselves up for Saturday’s final and a stab at the $176,240 winner’s share.

Morning-line odds list Dominyun Tee Off, Slyng Schott and Cadillac Cash as the most probable Futurity winners.

Horses that finished 11 through 20 in the trials have an appealing consolation prize — the $44,000 Sam Houston Juvenile, one of three graded stakes on the program that begins at 6:10 p.m. Between the Juvenile and Futurity, the track will offer the $192,000 Sam Houston Derby.