Officials from Manor Downs announced today that they will be adding money to the purses that they will pay out during the upcoming Thoroughbred meet. Howard Phillips, Manor Downs' CEO, stated that the increase is due to better-than-expected handle. "We are delighted to be raising our purse for the inaugural thoroughbred meet in Austin, Texas," he said.

Purses under the new structure will be approximately $58,000 per day for the five-week meet. Highlighted in the meet will be a $40,000 added futurity for two year olds. Manor Downs has tailored its races to attract accredited Texas-breds, and they are going to offer several large races for them with purses in excess of $30,000.

Manor Downs sought the advice of the Texas Horsemen's Partnership (THP) and the Texas Thoroughbred Association (TTA) when determining how to apply the increases into the existing purse structure. Phillips commented that he "appreciated the input and assistance we (Manor Downs) received from Dave Hooper of the TTA and Tommy Azopardi of the THP on how much money we would have available to pay out and where it would do the most good." Phillips contined, "We are really looking forward to having Thoroughbreds at Manor Downs this year, and we hope the fans will find it rewarding."

Manor Downs' first day of live thoroughbred racing will be Saturday, April 27, with a post time of 1:30 p.m.

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