Lone Star cancels Friday races due to tote problem

GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas - Lone Star Park near Dallas canceled the final three races of its Friday night program due to a tote malfunction. The horses were in the paddock for the seventh race when the decision was made to call off the balance of the nine-race card. The tote system experienced technical difficulties when some of the track's phone lines went down.

The tote malfunction began prior to the sixth race that was won by Birdseye ($3.60).

"Since we already had money in the pools for the sixth race, they did everything manually," said Dan Leary, a spokesperson for Lone Star. "They just couldn't do that for the rest of the night. It would be a major inconvenience to the horses and the customers.

"The source of the malfunction is unknown, and we were not sure how long it would take for it to be repaired."

Lone Star did have tote capabilities in its simulcast pavilion and in limited areas of the grandstand. The track will refund all single-race wagers, while patrons with multi-race wagers tied to the seventh, eighth, and ninth races will receive payoffs on all of the horses in those races.

Lone Star expects to race on Saturday, said Leary.