HOUSTON, TX—APRIL 8, 2021—Sam Houston Race Park enjoyed a 28 percent increase in average daily handle during the just completed 43-day Thoroughbred meet that closed Saturday.

The Houston, Texas racetrack handled an average of $2,242,808 per day on its races from all sources. With 424 conducted compared to 337 in 2020, the track conducted more races in 2021.

The average handle per race was $227,500, up from $182,244 at the corresponding meet in 2020, according to a press release. The average field size was 8.02 horses.

"The 2021 Thoroughbred season was a culmination of the blueprint we set into place in 2019," Frank Hopf, senior director of racing operations for Sam Houston, said in a press release. "The success of the 2021 meet is a credit to the tremendous support Sam Houston Race Park received from the owners, trainers, horseplayers, hard-working staff, and partners. We will build upon this meet and continue to improve moving forward."

Sam Houston's Thoroughbred meet opened in January with record purses due to a Texas law passed in 2019 that sets aside a portion of tax revenues from select horse goods and services for the racing and breeding industry in the state. There were $12.6 million in purses paid out at the Sam Houston meet for Thoroughbreds in 2021. The racetrack's Quarter Horse meet will open Friday, April 23 with trials for the Sam Houston Derby(G3) to be conducted on Saturday, April 24.

Quarter Horse purses are expected to be up significantly from 2019 when Sam Houston Race Park was unable to run their Quarter Horse meet due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The increases will be prominent from the claiming level through stakes races, with Texas-breds running for $3,000 more than open competition in maiden special weights.

• Maiden special weights for Texas-breds will run for $27,000 compared to $9,000 in 2019; open-bred purses will be increased to $22,000
• Allowance races will start at $24,000 compared to $10,000 in 2019
• Texas-bred purses will be increased by $5,000 for all conditions

Nineteen stakes will be contested, including the running of the $150,000-added Sam Houston Futurity (G2) on Friday, May 28.

Racing will take place Thursday at 4:00pm, Friday and Saturday at 6:45 pm (Central) with special post times of 1:00 pm for Kentucky Derby Day on Saturday, May 1; the Preakness Stakes on Saturday, May 15 and the Belmont Stakes on Saturday, June 5.

A complete list of the 2021 Quarter Horse schedule is available on shrp.com.