Sam Houston track report

Tommie Morgan has been a leading trainer on the Texas racing scene for more than a decade, but he has not started a single horse at the Sam Houston Race Park meet. In fact, Morgan has not saddled a horse since Oct. 15 at Retama Park.

It is a rare situation for the horseman, who earlier this year had one of his best meets ever at Lone Star Park.

"I had some medical problems that I needed to tend to, so I needed some time off," said Morgan, 59.

Morgan was in the hospital on Tuesday recovering from surgery. He expected to be released either Wednesday or Thursday.

"I had a carotid artery operated on," he said. "They just opened it up and cleaned it out."

Carotid arteries are the main arteries in the neck, supplying blood to the brain. Morgan said he feels well and intends to return to racing at the Lone Star meet that starts in April.

Most of his horses were turned out after Retama, with four or five being transferred to trainer H.B. Johnson.

"I turned the rest of them out and gave them some time off," said Morgan. "They needed it, and I did, too."

Morgan won 20 races this spring at Lone Star, and developed the stakes-winning 3-year-old War Bridle.

* Seainsky, Twilight Vision and Matched are among the 10 horses who will meet at 1 1/16 miles on turf in the feature race Friday night at Sam Houston. The purse is $19,000.

* Friday night is the last live card at Sam Houston until Jan. 6. The track will take a winter break but will be open for simulcasting daily except for Christmas.