Manor Downs: Meet opens Saturday

Manor Downs in Austin, Texas, will open a Thoroughbred meet on Saturday. The track, which wrapped up a mixed meet for Quarter Horses and Thoroughbreds on April 27, will race Thoroughbreds on Saturdays and Sundays through May 11.

The opening-day stakes is the $35,000 Manor Downs Thoroughbred Futurity at 4 1/2 furlongs, which has attracted a full field of 10.

Other stakes of note include the $25,000 Manor Downs Distaff at a mile May 10, and the $35,000 Tony Sanchez Memorial Mile for Texas-breds on May 11.

Last year, one of the best horses to run at Manor Downs was Halo Cat, who picked up his first career stakes win in the Manor Downs Sprint Classic. He was sold soon afterward, and has developed into a multiple-stakes-winning sprinter in northern California.