A $50,000 stakes race for 2-year-old fillies at six furlongs has been added to the Breeders' Cup week of events at Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie, Texas.

The addition of the inaugural Lone Star Park Juvenile Fillies on Thursday, Oct. 28 - the same day as the International Jockey Championship - brings the number of stakes to be run at the 19-date meeting to 26 cumulatively worth $15.825 million.

For the first time in track history, Thoroughbred racing will be staged at Lone Star Park in October. The Fall Breeders' Cup Meeting for Thoroughbreds begins Friday, Oct. 1 and continues each Thursday through Sunday until the end of the month. All of the action leads to the 21st running of the Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships on Saturday, Oct. 30 - the first time the event has traveled to the Southwest region.

The Breeders' Cup, horse racing's foremost international event, will showcase eight championship races with prizes and awards totaling $14 million. Twelve races, headed by the $4 million Breeders' Cup Classic - Powered by Dodge, will comprise that day's racing program. In addition to the eight Breeders' Cup races, where will be four $100,000 stakes on the undercard.

A quartet of $100,000 stakes that could produce Breeders' Cup participants will be staged on opening weekend.
The Silver Spur Breeders' Cup Stakes at one mile, to be run as the first race on opening night, serves as a prep for the $1 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies.

The Alysheba Breeders' Cup Stakes at six furlongs on Saturday, Oct. 2 is the final chance for 3-year-olds to race against their own age group before challenging older foes in the $1 million Breeders' Cup Sprint.

On Sunday, Oct. 3, two-year-old colts and geldings will be featured at one mile in the Middleground Breeders' Cup Stakes, while fillies and mares contest 1 1/8 miles on turf in the Yellow Rose Breeders' Cup Stakes. Those events serve as preludes to the $1.5 million Bessemer Trust Breeders' Cup Juvenile and the $1 million Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf, respectively.

Other highlights include Stars of Texas Day on Saturday, Oct. 23, the International Jockey Championship on Thursday, Oct. 28 and the Walmac Lone Star Derby on Friday, Oct. 29.

The fourth annual Stars of Texas Day is one of the richest days in the Lone Star state as Texas-breds will be showcased in 10 races cumulatively worth more than $400,000 one week before the Breeders' Cup. Four stakes events highlight the card, topped by the $100,000 Assault Stakes for 3-year-olds and up at 1 1/16 miles.

Lone Star Park's popular Jockey Championship is being taken to a new level in 2004. Billed as the International Jockey Championship, nine of the best race riders from around the globe will do battle in three races - two on turf and one on the main track. Points will be awarded for finishing first, second, third and fourth as the riding greats compete from more than $220,000 in prize and purse money.

One day before the Breeders' Cup, a stakes tripleheader will be staged with one of the track's signature races, the Grade III, $250,000 Walmac Lone Star Derby for 3-year-olds at 1 1/16 miles, serving as the headliner. Also on the program is the $150,000 Stonerside Stakes, a seven-furlong sprint for 3-year-old fillies, and the Grade 1 Refrigerator Handicap. The 440-yard Refrigerator will mark the first time that a host Breeders' Cup track will stage a Quarter Horse race the day before the Breeders' Cup. The winner will earn a berth in the Grade 1 Champion of Champions at Los Alamitos in December.

The day after the Breeders' Cup is closing day, and the Sunday, Oct. 31 card will be headlined by the $100,000 Bluebonnet Stakes, a 1 1/16-mile turf race for fillies and mares.

In total, horsemen will compete for more than $18.7 million at Lone Star Park this fall, or $239,000 daily (which excludes Breeders' Cup Day purse money). More than 1,200 horses will be stabled on the grounds for the abbreviated meeting, which features 187 races.

Each of the top 10 conditioners from Lone Star's Spring Thoroughbred Season, including the power-packed duo of Steve Asmussen and Cole Norman, will be stabled at Lone Star Park this fall. New outfits include Wayne Catalano and Gammy Vazquez. Chicago-based Catalano is the private trainer for Turf Express Inc. while Vazquez is a conditioner for Michael Gill, the nation's top owner in races won this year.

The first live race on most Thursdays and Fridays is 6:35 p.m. Weekend action, as well as the Thursday, Oct. 28 and Friday, Oct. 29 programs, will begin at 1:35 p.m. On Breeders' Cup Day, Saturday, Oct. 30, the first live race will be 11:40 a.m.