Retama Park wrapped up its 50-day Thoroughbred meet on Saturday, October 27. Though on-track handle was down 7.8%, a sharp rise in wagering on the track's simulcast signal resulted in an 11% increase in total handle as compared to the 2000 Thoroughbred meet.

Average daily on-track handle decreased from $127,124 for the 2000 Thoroughbred meet to $117,263 at this year's corresponding meet. On-track handle also slipped slightly (0.5%), with average daily attendance this year of 3,192, versus 3,209 last year. Total handle from all sources this year amounted to $60,393,991, versus a total of $55,519,044 last year for a meet with one more day.

Average field size for this year's meet was 9.18, which represented a 4.5% increase over average field size of 8.78 in 2000.

"The numbers from this meet show that our combination of full fields and better overall quality racing was well received both locally and nationwide," said Bryan Brown, Retama Park's chief executive officer.

Danny Pish earned the leading trainer title at the meet, while Leland Cook was leading owner and Steve Bourque was the leading jockey.

Thoroughbred racing in Texas will now shift from San Antonio to Houston as Sam Houston Race Park will begin its 2001/2002 Thoroughbred meet on Thursday, November 1. The 82-day meet will conclude on March 30, 2002.

Live racing will be held every Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday evening at 7:00 p.m. every week with the exception of Thanksgiving Day.

Among the highlights of the meet will be Texas Champions Day, which will be held on Saturday, December 1. The race card that night will feature nine stakes races worth $650,000 in purses for Texas-bred horses.

SHRP will also host the Texas Champions Day Equine Expo on Friday, November 30 and Saturday, December 1, in the Pavilion Centre from 1:00 to 9:00 p.m. The expo will include a diverse array of booth exhibitors displaying equine merchandise, services and products geared towards all equine-related activities.

Horsemen who would like a copy of the Winter/Spring Thoroughbred meet stakes schedule and first condition book should contact the SHRP Racing Office at 1-800-807-RACE.