(Grand Prairie, Texas - Thursday, November 4, 2010) - The Painted Pitchfork’s Special Sign, trained by Dee Keener, has been made the 8-5 morning line favorite by track oddsmaker Rick Lee for the 5th running of the Grade 1 $62,500 Lone Star Park Paint & Appaloosa Futurity, to be run at 350 yards, on Friday night at Lone Star Park.

A winner of five of six career starts and $29,106 in earnings, the sorrel son of Special Leader will be ridden by Lone Star Park’s current leading rider Ricky Ramirez.  Special Sign recorded the fastest qualifying time with Ramirez aboard in the Futurity Trials at Lone Star Park on Oct. 21.

Other contenders of note in the Lone Star Park Paint & Appaloosa Futurity are Roddy Mac Sorley, also trained by Keener, who was beaten a half-length by Special Sign in the Futurity Trials, and Northernette, trained by Robert Touchet, who reported home in third behind Special Sign and Roddy Mac Sorley in the Trials, beaten less than a length.

The field from the rail out, with jockey and morning line odds listed in parenthesis, consists of:  Prize Jive (Adalberto Candanosa, 8-1), Valdarama (G. R. Carter, Jr., 8-1), Flashing Memories (Tony Ray Bennett, 12-1), Roddy Mac Sorley (Jesus Salazar, 9-2), Country Strummer (Gaspar Garcia, 30-1), Northernette (David Alvarez, 6-1), Country Marauder (Jose Alvarez, 20-1), Special Sign (Ricky Ramirez, 8-5), Rockin to First (Rodrigo Vallejo, 4-1) and The Cock of the Walk (Kenny Muntz, 15-1).

Scheduled as race seven on the 10-race program, the Lone Star Park Paint & Appaloosa Futurity has an approximate post time of 8:59 p.m.