Texas commission approves 2022 racing dates

The Texas Racing Commission on Tuesday approved a state racing calendar for 2022.

The Thoroughbred racing season will open Jan. 6 at Sam Houston in Houston. The meet will run for 50 dates through April 9. The season includes eight dates from Retama Park near San Antonio, which will only conduct a Quarter Horse meet in 2022.

The other Thoroughbred meet in Texas will be a 48-date season at Lone Star Park near Dallas. It will run from April 28 through July 24.

Gillespie County Fair in Fredericksburg will conduct an eight-date mixed meet for Quarter Horses and Thoroughbreds from July 2 to Aug. 28.

Sam Houston will put on a 25-date meet for Quarter Horses from April 22 to June 18. Retama’s meet will run 22 days, from June 30 to Aug. 20. Lone Star’s meet for Quarter Horses next year will span 31 dates, from Sept. 16 to Dec. 17.

Large sales catalog

There are nearly 250 yearlings cataloged to the Texas summer yearling and horses of racing age auction Aug. 30 at Lone Star Park, the Texas Thoroughbred Association announced. The sale begins at 10 a.m. Central.

The TTA also announced plans for a Texas Thoroughbred Sales Derby in 2023, likely with two divisions at Sam Houston.

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The yearling catalog is the largest for the state since 2016.

“We’ve seen some solid growth over the past few years, despite the challenges of the health pandemic, and now we’ve really hit a milestone this year,” Tim Boyce, the sales director, said in a press release. “We have several new consignors for this sale, and the sire power is stronger than I can ever remember seeing here.”

The catalog includes a trio of 2-year-olds as part of the racing age portion.

Mary Ruyle, executive director of the TTA, said the Texas Thoroughbred Sales Derby will be run in 2023 as a complement to the annual Texas Thoroughbred Sales Futurity. The races are written for sales graduates.

The details of the Texas Thoroughbred Sales Derby are still being finalized, but plans are for two divisions with an estimated purse of $75,000 each at Sam Houston. The Texas Thoroughbred Futurity currently offers two divisions with a purse of $100,000 each at Lone Star.

Eight Sam Houston stakes

Sam Houston is putting on a run of Quarter Horse stakes between Friday and Saturday night. The action starts with six Texas-bred offerings during Friday night’s Texas Summer Showdown.

The card Saturday features both the $435,910 TQHA Sale Futurity and the $207,905 Retama Park Derby.