Retama Park track report
A pair of $100,000 turf stakes for 2-year-olds will once again highlight the 39-date Thoroughbred meet at Retama Park near San Antonio. The season will open on July 23 and continue through Sept. 18.
The Ketel One El Joven and the La Senorita, for 2-year-olds at a mile on turf, are two of the biggest races of the season at Retama. They top a 14-race stakes schedule worth $930,000. The juvenile stakes will be run on Sept. 4.
The richest card of the meet will be Sept. 18, when Retama presents six restricted stakes worth $470,000 during its annual Texas Hall of Fame Night. The card complements inductions into the Texas Horse Racing Hall of Fame, located at Retama.
The $100,000 Texas Horse Racing Hall of Fame Stakes, a 1 1/16-mile turf race for Texas-breds, is one of the biggest races on Hall of Fame night. There will also be two divisions of the Texas Stallion Stakes for 2-year-olds, with each worth $125,000.
Purses during the Retama meet will average about $100,000 a night, while the minimum stakes purse at the track has been raised from $35,000 to $40,000.
2004 Retama Park stakes schedule
| DATE | EVENT | CONDITIONS | DISTANCE | PURSE |
| Fri.,July 23 | J. R. Straus Memorial Stakes | 3YO & Up | 6 Furlongs | $40,000 |
| Sat.,July 24 | Margarita B.C. Handicap | F&M, 3YO & Up | 1 1/16 miles (T) | 50,000 |
| Sat.,July 31 | Retama Turf Breeders' | Cup3YO & Up | 1 1/16 miles (T) | 50,000 |
| Sat.,Aug. 7 | Lakeway Stakes | 3YO F | 7 Furlongs | 40,000 |
| Sat.,Aug. 21 | Chick Lang Jr. Memorial | 3YO & Up | 7 1/2 Furlongs (T) | 40,000 |
| Sat.,Aug. 28 | New Braunfels Stakes | F&M, 3YO & Up | 6 Furlongs (T) | 40,000 |
| Sat.,Sept. 4 | Ketel One El Joven Stakes | 2YO C & G | 1 Mile (T) | 100,000 |
| La Senorita Stakes | 2YO F | 1 Mile (T) | 100,000 | |
| Sat.,Sept. 18 | Texas Stallion Stakes | 2YO C & G | 6 Furlongs | 125,000 |
| Texas Stallion Stakes | 2YO F | 6 Furlongs | 125,000 | |
| Fiesta Mile Stakes* | F&M, 3YO & Up | 1 Mile (T) | 40,000 | |
| Selma Stakes* | 3YO F | 5 Furlongs (T) | 40,000 | |
| Tejas Stakes* | 3YO | 5 Furlongs (T) | 40,000 | |
| Tx. Horse Racing Hall of Fame* | 3YO & Up | 1 1/16 Miles (T) | 100,000 |
*Restricted to Texas-breds