Jessica Paquette among announcers at Sam Houston meet

Sam Houston opens a 23-date meet for Quarter Horses on Friday night and will have a series of guest announcers throughout the season, including a rare female voice in Jessica Paquette.

Paquette became the first woman to call a race on the New England circuit in 2014, when the track’s regular announcer was unable to get to the track before the races started.

“There was a tornado through the area and our announcer got stuck in the traffic,” said Paquette, a 36-year-old native of Massachusetts. “I broke into the announcer booth and called the first race.”

Paquette’s call was at the now-shuttered Suffolk Downs, where she was the vice president of marketing and the track’s television host. Earlier this year, she remotely worked as Sam Houston’s racing analyst and handicapper during its meet for Thoroughbreds. Paquette is scheduled to be the Sam Houston announcer the first week in June.

“I’m practicing the best I can,” said Paquette, who added she is taking a “crash course” in Quarter Horses.

In March, Paquette joined the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation as its director of communications and Annual Fund.

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Angela Hermann was the first woman to call a full card of Thoroughbred races in North America, in 2013 at Canterbury Park, according to an article Ted Grevelis wrote for Daily Racing Form. He also noted Dawn Lupul was calling harness races in Canada. Hermann also called a season of racing at Golden Gate in 2016.

Sam Houston’s most recent announcer, Chris Griffin, is now calling at Parx Racing after completing the Thoroughbred season on April 3 at Sam Houston. With the meet for Quarter Horses starting on its heels, Sam Houston lined up a variety of folks to handle the mic for the meet, which runs through June 12. They include seasoned veterans John McGary, John Lies, and Jonathan Horowitz, as well as handicapper Nick Tammaro.

The racing over opening weekend includes an appearance by San Lorenzo, who won a pair of $1 million races in 2020. He will launch his 3-year-old season Saturday night, in trials for the Grade 3, $100,000-added Sam Houston Derby. The finale is May 14.

Sam Houston has 19 stakes scheduled, led by the Grade 2 Sam Houston Futurity on May 28. The schedule includes stakes named for the late horsemen John Buchanan and Jesse Yoakum.

Sam Houston will race Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.