Retama Park's 51-day Thoroughbred meeting opened last Friday and Saturday with very encouraging early numbers. On-track attendance and handle were up significantly, with overall handle up sharply as compared to the corresponding two days last year.

Combined attendance for Friday and Saturday was 9,543. That number was a 5.4% increase over the 9,132 patrons on the first two days of last year's Thoroughbred meeting.

Correspondingly, on-track handle for the two days was $442,319, up 6 3/4% over last year's first two-day total of $412,498.

Overall handle for the first two days of the meet rose a steep 27% as compared to the first two days of last year's Thoroughbred meeting. Both days produced a total handle exceeding $1.2 million, which is an all-time Retama Park record. A total of $2,522,722 was wagered over those days, versus $1,851,688 for the corresponding two days in 2000.

Retama Park's daily average purses for the 2001 Thoroughbred meeting exceed $100,000 for the first time in the track's history. That is believed to be a significant factor in generating interest in the meet and increased wagering on Retama's races.

Retama Park's 2001 Thoroughbred meeting runs from August 3 through October 27. In August, race days are Thursdays through Saturdays (post time 6:45 p.m.) and Sundays (post time 5:30 p.m.). In September and October, race days are Wednesdays through Saturdays (post time 6:45 p.m.).

There will be no racing on Monday, September 3, Labor Day. There will also be a special 5:00 p.m. post time on Saturday, October 27, Breeders' Cup Day.