(Saturday, October 26, 2002) - Turfinator, a 6-year-old gelding by Runaway Winner, ran away a winner Saturday night, winning the $25,000 Restricted Grade 3 Classic Chevrolet Heartbeat of America Handicap, for older horses at 350 yards, by a half-length over heavily favored Rare Fasteroid at Lone Star Park.

Turfinator’s winning time of 17.34, aided slightly by a light tailwind, was a stakes record and tied the track record for 350 set by Quarterloom just two weeks ago.

Trained by Jesse Yoakum, owner Kathleen Matey’s Turfinator broke alertly and led all the way under Jerry Lee Yoakum, unlike his last start, a third in the opening night B.F. Phillips Jr. Handicap that was hindered by a rough start.

“When he leaves like that, there’s not many horses that can beat him,” Jerry Lee Yoakum said. “He ran a heck of a race.”

Rare Fasteroid, easy winner of the B.F. Phillips Jr., bobbled at the start and ran well to get up for second. Third went to Boogie Booster, followed by Coastal Memories, Eyes Onde Strawberry and Prince of Toys.

With the $15,750 winner’s share, Turfinator raised his career earnings to $146,705. A $2 win bet returned a generous $19.20.

LSP Attracts Record Crowd on Breeders' Cup Day

Racing fans in North Texas came out to Lone Star Park in record numbers for the Breeders’ Cup World Thoroughbred Championship on Saturday. A total of 9,807 people attended the races, eclipsing the previous Breeders’ Cup Day mark of 9,224 set in 1997, the first year of racing at the Grand Prairie oval.

All-sources handle on racing from across the country, including the Breeders’ Cup races at Arlington Park and a special 12-race live program featuring five stakes races at Lone Star Park, was also up over recent years. Total handle on Saturday was expected to surpass $3.1 million by the time simulcast wagering ended at 11 p.m. and was already above the $3 million mark as of 10 p.m. Last year’s total was $2,924,901.

On just the Breeders’ Cup, fans wagered $1,488,356 on the eight championship races, an increase of almost 9% from last year’s $1,336,074.