Gary Allan, Miranda Lambert and Randy Rogers Band will highlight Lone Star Park's 2008 Country Music Concert Series when live horse racing returns to the Grand Prairie, Texas racetrack on Thursday, April 10 for its 65-date Spring Thoroughbred Season.

MCA Nashville recording artist Gary Allan, whose single "Watching Airplanes" is No. 7 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart, and two-time Grammy nominee Miranda Lambert will headline opening weekend concerts on Friday, April 11, and Saturday, April 12, respectively.

Randy Rogers Band, whose major label debut Just a Matter of Time produced hit singles "Kiss Me in the Dark" and "One More Goodbye", is scheduled to perform Friday, June 13.

Another concert featuring a Texas country music act has been scheduled for Friday, July 11. That artist will be announced in late April.

All concerts at Lone Star Park - Texas' premier horse racing venue - will follow live racing. The Friday night concerts will begin at approximately 11 p.m., with the lone Saturday show scheduled for 6:30 p.m.

General admission to each concert is just $3 for those who arrive early for live racing. However, the price will increase to $15 after 9 p.m. for the Friday concerts (grandstand admission gates open at 5 p.m. with the first live race scheduled for 6:35 p.m.) and to $15 after 5 p.m. for Lambert's April 12 concert (gates at 11:30 a.m. and the first race at 1:35 p.m.). Texas country artist Johnny Cooper will open for Lambert.

The stage for each concert will be situated outdoors just outside the racing surface in front of the sun-shaded Courtyard of Champions. The lawn area is first-come, first serve, and there is limited patio table seating in the Courtyard. Blankets and folding chairs are permitted outdoors.

A limited number of VIP preferred concert viewing area tickets will be sold for each concert (details to be announced at a later date). Reserved seating for Lone Star Park's indoor Grandstand go on sale Monday, March 10. Packages for groups of 20 or more, including luxury penthouse suite rentals, are already being sold (call the group sales department at 972-237-5118 for more information).

Lone Star Park has often mixed horse racing and live music with great success. Top acts such as Willie Nelson, Pat Green, The Beach Boys and Cross Canadian Ragweed have performed before large crowds after the races. In 2005, country-rockers Cross Canadian Ragweed lured the largest post-race concert crowd in Lone Star Park history when 23,656 passed through the turnstiles for live racing and music.

Lone Star Park, whose 16-week Spring Thoroughbred Season runs April 10-July 27, is located 12 miles west of Dallas and 20 miles east of Fort Worth one-half mile north of Intersate-30 off Belt Line Road in Grand Prairie at 1000 Lone Star Parkway. For more information, call (972) 263-RACE or visit lonestarpark.com.

ABOUT GARY ALLAN

Gary Allan, the California-born performer influenced by the Bakersfield outlaw country movement, is currently touring in support of his seventh studio album Living Hard, which peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard 200. His single "Watching Airplanes" is currently No. 7 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart. Last spring, Allan released a 15-track "Greatest Hits" collection that included two new songs including crossover hit "A Feelin' Like That." The album debuted at the top of Billboard's country charts, giving him back-to-back No. 1s after 2005's Tough All Over, and recently reached gold status.

On Jan. 18, Allen's concert at a Louisiana casino drew 4,100 fans, which broke an attendance record formerly held by Lynyrd Skynyrd. The concert promoter said he also broke food and beverages and merchandise sales records. Allan is about to join the Kenny Chesney's 2008 Poets & Pirates tour for 10 of the 14 large stadium dates, and will make his Late Show With David Letterman debut on Wednesday night (Jan. 30).

ABOUT MIRANDA LAMBERT

Miranda Lambert, a 24-year-old Lindale, Texas native, exploded onto the national scene in 2003 as a finalist on the TV show Nashville Star. Her popularity led to a major record deal and the platinum-selling 2005 debut Kerosene, featuring hits "Me and Charlie Talking", "Bring Me Down", "Kerosene" and "New Strings".

Like Kerosene, her follow-up 2007 release Crazy Ex-Girlfriend debuted at No. 1 and was critically acclaimed by New York Times, USA Today, Associated Press, Rolling Stone, Entertainment Weekly and iTunes - just to name a few. Her performance for "Famous in a Small Town" led to a second Grammy nomination for Best Female Country Vocal Performance and the winner will be announced Feb. 10. Last May, Lambert won Top New Female Vocalist at the 2007 Academy of County Music Awards.

Johnny Cooper, the 19-year-old Arizona native who'll open for Lambert, had a pair of Texas chart topping songs in 2007 - "Texas To You" and "Let It All Go" - from his first studio release Ignition.

ABOUT RANDY ROGERS BAND

Randy Rogers Band is currently one of the hottest acts on the Texas country music scene as they tour in support of their major-label album debut, Just a Matter of Time. The Mercury Nashville Records release charted two singles on the Billboard Hot 100: "Kiss Me in the Dark" and "One More Goodbye".

Before Just a Matter of Time was released, Randy Rogers Band released four other independent albums, including 2004's Rollercoaster and Live at Billy Bob's Texas. Both releases featured Billboard Hot 100 hits "Tonight's Not the Night (For Goodbye)" and "Down and Out".

Led by vocalist, rhythm guitarist and Cleburne, Texas native Randy Rogers, the band performed for the first time at Lone Star Park on July 16, 2005, opening for Charlie Robison and Jack Ingram. They stood on their own June 16, 2006, and helped lure a crowd of more than 9,100 on a rainy Friday night.

CONCERT LISTINGS

GARY ALLAN April 11 at Lone Star Park at Grand Prairie. Gates at 5 p.m. First live race at 6:35 p.m. Outdoor concert starts after final live race at 11 p.m. $3 before 9 p.m. $15 after 9 p.m. (972) 263-RACE or lonestarpark.com.

MIRANDA LAMBERT and JOHNNY COOPER April 12 at Lone Star Park at Grand Prairie. Gates at 11:30 a.m. First live race at 1:35 p.m. Outdoor concert with Johnny Cooper after final live race at 6:30 p.m. Miranda Lambert to perform at 8 p.m. $3 before 5 p.m. $15 after 5 p.m. (972) 263-RACE or lonestarpark.com.

RANDY ROGERS BAND June 13 at Lone Star Park at Grand Prairie. Gates at 5 p.m. First live race at 6:35 p.m. Outdoor concert starts after final live race at 11 p.m. $3 before 9 p.m. $15 after 9 p.m. (972) 263-RACE or lonestarpark.com.

[ARTIST TO BE ANNOUNCED IN LATE APRIL] July 11 at Lone Star Park at Grand Prairie. Gates at 5 p.m. First live race at 6:35 p.m. Outdoor concert starts after final live race at 11 p.m. $3 before 9 p.m. $15 after 9 p.m. (972) 263-RACE or lonestarpark.com.

LONE STAR PARK'S MOST ATTENDED POST-RACE CONCERTS

1. 23,656, Cross Canadian Ragweed, June 17, 2005
2. 23,091, Willie Nelson, April 5, 2002
3. 21,157, Pat Green, June 15, 2001
4. 21,049, Willie Nelson, April 4, 2003
5. 20,302, Willie Nelson, April 16, 2004
6. 19,195, Cross Canadian Ragweed, June 11, 2004
7. 15,199, The Beach Boys, April 17, 2004
8. 14,928, Cross Canadian Ragweed, Jason Boland & The Stragglers and Django Walker, July 12, 2002
9. 14,038, Cross Canadian Ragweed, June 13, 2003
10. 13,524, Charlie Robison, Jack Ingram and The Randy Rogers Band, July 16, 2005

Note: A crowd of 26,318 attended Lone Stars & Stripes which featured post-race fireworks and a Charlie Robison concert on July 4, 2003. One day earlier on July 3, 2003, 20,138 attended for post-race fireworks and a .38 Special concert.