Houston Ladies Classic centerpiece of souped-up 2021 stakes schedule

The Grade 3, $300,000 Houston Ladies Classic will again highlight the annual Houston Racing Festival at Sam Houston Race Park, the track announced Tuesday.

The Houston Ladies Classic is the richest offering on a $2.4 million stakes schedule for the Sam Houston meet that opens Jan. 8. Last year, the stakes program was worth $1.8 million.

The Houston Racing Festival is set for a special Sunday card, Jan. 31. The program will include six stakes worth a cumulative $950,000. The Houston Ladies Classic, which is for fillies and mares, 4-year-olds and up, is at a mile and a sixteenth. The program also includes the Grade 3, $200,000 John B. Connally Turf Cup for 4-year-olds and up at 1 1/2 miles on the grass; the $200,000 Texas Turf Mile for 3-year-olds; the $100,000 Frontier Utilities Turf Sprint; $75,000 Stonerside Sprint; and $75,000 Jersey Lilly Turf Stakes.

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The second richest card of the meet is Texas Champions Day on March 20. The program will feature seven divisional stakes for Texas-breds worth a cumulative $700,000. Each of the races has been increased in value from $75,000 to $100,000. A card of five stakes Feb. 20 could produce starters for Texas Champions Day. Those restricted stakes are each worth $75,000.

Sam Houston has added three open-company stakes races to its schedule, and they will share a card April 3 on what has been named Houston Showcase Night. Each race is worth $75,000: the Bucharest for 4-year-olds and up at seven furlongs; the Miss Houston Turf for fillies and mares, 4-year-olds and up, at a mile on turf; and the $75,000 Bayou City for 3-year-olds at a mile and a sixteenth on turf.

The card closes out the meet that will run an expanded 46 dates in 2021.

Sam Houston’s deadline for stall applications is Nov. 6. The stable area will begin receiving horses Nov. 28.