Live Thoroughbred racing will return to Sam Houston Race Park on Friday, October 28 and will continue through Sunday, April 9, 2006. Post time for opening night is 7:00 p.m. with ten races and ticket giveaways for the Texas Renaissance Festival throughout the evening.

On Saturday, October 29, Sam Houston Race Park will host a special card featuring 11 live Thoroughbred races, as well as the simulcast of the Breeders’ Cup World Thoroughbred Championships from Belmont Park. The year-end, premier event will showcase the most remarkable Thoroughbreds of 2005 in a competition of eight stake races. Several big wagers will be offered to handicappers, including the Dodge Ram Mega Cab Pick 6. The Pick 6 will begin with the fifth race and continue through the Breeders’ Cup Classic.

Sam Houston Race Park will run its first race at 4:15 p.m. followed by the $4 million Breeders’ Cup Classic. The remaining ten races will follow, including the running of the first stakes of the 2005/2006 Thoroughbred meeting, the $40,000 Houston Chronicle Stakes.

Special activities on Saturday include the $2,000 Breeders’ Cup Day Handicapping Contest and a free Breeders’ Cup World Thoroughbred Championships handicapping seminar. The seminar will take place at noon on the Club Level of the Grandstand with Sam Houston Race Park handicappers, Martha Claussen and Michael Chamberlain.

The schedule of events is as follows:

Saturday, October 29 Breeders’ Cup World Thoroughbred Championships
9:00 a.m. Gates Open
11:00 a.m. Handicapping Contest registration
12:00 p.m. Handicapping Seminar
12:20 p.m. First Breeders’ Cup race at Belmont Park
3:00-5:00 p.m. PlayStation2/XBOX competition
4:15 p.m. First live Sam Houston Thoroughbred race
4:35 p.m. Post time for Breeders’ Cup Classic
4:55 p.m. Live Thoroughbred racing continues, including the running of the $40,000 Houston Chronicle Stakes.

To make dining reservations in the Winner’s Circle Restaurant, or book a luxury suite for your private party of ten or more, call 281-807-8750. For more information, call 281-807-8760 or visit www.shrp.com.

Advanced Breeders’ Cup Wagering at Sam Houston Race Park on Friday

Sam Houston Race Park will conduct advanced wagering for the entire Breeders’ Cup World Thoroughbred Championships card on Friday, October 28. Gates will open for simulcasting at 10:30 a.m. and racing fans can make wagers on the entire Breeders' Cup card throughout the day as well as during live racing on Friday evening.

Experience New PlayStation2/XBOX Game at Sam Houston Race Park

NTRA and Bethesda Softworks have teamed together to create the new Breeders’ Cup World Thoroughbred Championship PlayStation2/XBOX game.

The exciting new game features ten racetracks across North America, including Houston’s Sam Houston Race Park. The game offers several modes, catering to the different levels of gaming desired. Involvement ranges from a Quick Race, where the player races selects the horse and the conditions of the race, such as weather, track surface and the actual racetrack; Day at the Races in which the player is a spectator at the races and places wagers; Challenge a Champion allows the player to race past champions such as Seabiscuit and Man O’ War; and Career Mode calls for complete involvement where the player controls everything from naming the stable to breeding the horse to the actual racing.

Sam Houston Race Park will offer a great opportunity to preview the new game and compete in an onsite tournament. The tournament will be held from 3:00-5:00 p.m. on the Club level of the Grandstand on Saturday, October 29. The winner will receive a $500 Best Buy gift card. Patrons may also register to win one of ten PlayStation2/XBOX consoles.

For more information call 281-807-8760 or visit www.shrp.com <http://www.shrp.com>.

Nominations Close for the $40,000 Houston Chronicle Stakes at Sam Houston Race Park

Sam Houston Race Park’s 82-day meeting will feature 27 stakes races with more than $1.6 million in purses. The first stakes of the season is the $40,000 Houston Chronicle Stakes which will be run on Saturday, October 29, 2005. The mile-and-one-sixteenth stakes for fillies and mares will be contested over the Connally Turf Course.

Five-time Sam Houston Race Park leading trainer, Steve Asmussen has nominated two mares for the inaugural running of the Houston Chronicle Stakes, Paz Ciudadana and Voz De Colegiala. Paz Ciudadana, a Chilean-bred 5-year-old, has won her last three for Asmussen, with her most recent victory in the $40,000 Corncopia Handicap at Louisiana Downs on October 9. Both mares are owned by prominent Texas oilman and Thoroughbred owner, Nelson Bunker Hunt. Trainer Michael Stidham has nominated Lost Bride and Melody Maiden and Ralph Irwin is pointing Stormin Gold for the first stakes of the 2005/2006 Thoroughbred Meeting.

The draw for the $40,000 Houston Chronicle Stakes will take place on Wednesday, October 26.

Live Racing Schedule at Sam Houston Race Park for November and December, 2005

The 2005/2006 Sam Houston Race Park Thoroughbred meeting begins on Friday, October 28. The live racing schedule and post times are as follows:

Friday, October 28 Opening Night First live race - 7:00 p.m

Saturday, October 29 Breeders’ Cup Day First live race - 4:15 p.m

Following opening weekend, live racing continues each Wednesday - Saturday evening at 7:00 p.m. in November and through Friday, December 23. There will be no live racing on Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, November 24.

Texas Champions Day, one of the premier days of the meeting, is set for Saturday, November 19 at 7:00 p.m.