Breeders' Cup Officially Sold Out at
Lone Star Park The 21st Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred
Championships, scheduled for Saturday, October 30 at Lone Star Park in
Grand Prairie, Texas is officially sold out as of Wednesday, September
22. All 51,034 reserved seats at the Dallas Fort Worth area racetrack
have been allocated, marking an advance sales record for horse racing's
foremost international event.
"Texans have embraced the Breeders' Cup, and horse racing fans around
the world are eager to visit the Lone Star State," Breeders' Cup
Limited President D.G. Van Clief Jr. said. "In addition to the earliest
sellout, we were able to offer the most reserved seats in the history
of the World Thoroughbred Championships."
Breeders' Cup Limited and the National Thoroughbred Racing Association
(NTRA) are bringing the Breeders' Cup - a traveling year-end championship
featuring eight races cumulatively worth $14 million - to the Southwest
region for the first time. Lone Star Park, which opened seven years ago
in 1997, is the youngest of nine racetracks in North America to host the
multi-million dollar extravaganza.
"We always knew that a seat to the Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred
Championships would be a hot ticket in a great sports and entertainment
market like the Dallas Fort Worth area," said Corey Johnsen, President
of Lone Star Park. "The general public responded enthusiastically
and we can't wait to showcase Lone Star Park to an international audience
next month."
To accommodate the large audience, Lone Star Park, which has about 12,000
permanent indoor and outdoor seats, is erecting approximately 39,000 temporary
seats with accompanying service structures that include mutuel windows,
concessions, merchandise sales and restrooms. The seating will stretch
from around the far turn, through the homestretch and into the first turn.
All seating on Breeders' Cup Day at Lone Star Park is reserved; there
are no general admission tickets. In addition, parking permits for adjacent
and remote parking are being sold in advance; there will no parking without
a permit on Breeders' Cup Day. "By implementing these policies, it
will enable us to deliver a high level of customer service and hospitality
to the 51,034 in attendance," Johnsen added.
Parking and admission gates will open early at 7 a.m. CT on Breeders'
Cup Day, and the first of 12 live races will be 11:40 a.m. CT. The first
of eight consecutive Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships races
will follow at 12:20 p.m. CT. Three stakes races will follow the $4 million
Breeders' Cup Classic - Powered by Dodge, with the final race of the day
scheduled for 6:15 p.m. CT.
Texans without Breeders' Cup tickets will still be able to wager on the
World Thoroughbred Championships. Lone Star Park, the only wagering site
in North Texas, will offer advance wagering Thursday, October 28 and Friday,
October 29.
|