Connally Turf Cup lengthened to 1 1/2 miles
The Grade 3, $200,000 Connally Turf Cup at Sam Houston Race Park will be run over 1 1/2 miles when it is renewed Jan. 30, the Houston track announced. The Connally, formerly 1 1/8 miles, will share a card with the $400,000 Houston Ladies Classic. The races highlight a schedule of 20 stakes worth a total of $1.8 million during the Sam Houston meet that opens Jan. 15. The 32-date season will run through March 8.
The Houston Ladies Classic, the richest Thoroughbred race in Texas, will again be for fillies and mares over 1 1/16 miles. It will be supported by the Connally as well as the $75,000 Frontier Utilities Turf Sprint and the $50,000 Space City. The four stakes, worth a total of $725,000, make for the richest program of the season at Sam Houston.
Sam Houston also will group four stakes together Feb. 27, with the card led by the $100,000 Maxxam Gold Cup for 4-year-olds and up over 1 1/8 miles. The track’s stakes schedule launches Jan. 22-23 with seven statebred stakes over the two programs as part of Texas Champions Weekend.
Aside from the Connally, other distance changes include both divisions of the Texas Stallion Stakes for 3-year-olds on Feb. 20 being shortened from seven to six furlongs, while the $50,000 Texas Heritage for 3-year-olds on Feb. 27 will now be run at 1 1/16 miles on turf after being held at a mile on the main track.
| DATE | EVENT | CONDITIONS | DISTANCE | PURSE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fri., Jan. 22 | San Jacinto | F & M, 4YO & Up* | 1 1/16 miles(T) | 50,000 |
| Fri., Jan. 22 | Yellow Rose | F & M, 4YO & Up* | 6 furlongs | 50,000 |
| Fri., Jan. 22 | Bara Lass | F, 3YO* | 6 furlongs | 50,000 |
| Sat., Jan. 23 | Star of Texas | 4YO & Up* | 1 mile | 50,000 |
| Sat., Jan. 23 | Richard King | 4YO & Up* | 1 1/18 miles (T) | 50,000 |
| Sat., Jan. 23 | Spirit of Texas | 4YO & Up* | 6 furlongs | 50,000 |
| Sat., Jan. 23 | Groovy | 3YO* | 6 furlongs | 50,000 |
| Sat., Jan. 30 | Houston Ladies Classic | F & M, 4YO & Up | 1 1/16 miles | 400,000 |
| Sat., Jan. 30 | John B. Connally Turf Cup(Grade 3) | 4YO & Up | 1 1/2 miles(T) | 200,000 |
| Sat., Jan. 30 | Frontier Utilities Turf Sprint | 4YO & Up | 5 furlongs(T) | 75,000 |
| Sat., Jan. 30 | Space City | 3YO | 6 furlongs | 50,000 |
| Sat., Feb. 13 | Sam Houston Sprint Cup | 4YO & Up | 6 furlongs | 50,000 |
| Sat., Feb. 13 | Houston Distaff | F & M, 4YO & Up* | 1 1/16 miles(T) | 50,000 |
| Sat., Feb. 13 | Houston Turf Stakes | 4YO & Up* | 1 1/16 miles (T) | 50,000 |
| Sat., Feb. 20 | Texas Stallion Stakes | 3YO** | 6 furlongs | 75,000 |
| Sat., Feb. 20 | Texas Stallion Stakes | F, 3YO** | 6 furlongs | 75,000 |
| Sat., Feb. 27 | Bucharest | 4YO & Up | 5 furlongs(T) | 50,000 |
| Sat., Feb. 27 | Maxxam Gold Cup | 4YO & Up | 1 1/8 miles | 100,000 |
| Sat., Feb. 27 | Jersey Lilly | F & M, 4YO & Up | 1 1/16 miles (T) | 50,000 |
| Sat., Feb. 27 | Texas Heritage | 3YO | 1 1/16 miles (T) | 50,000 |
*Texas-bred
**Restricted