Sam Houston Race Park starting gate fills as runners break sharply from the gate ahead of the upcoming “Sam Houston Stakes & Cosplay Weekend,” set for May 21–23 at Sam Houston Race Park in Houston, Texas.

© Jack Coady Photography

By Emily Paulk, StallioneSearch

HOUSTON, TX–MAY 20, 2026– Sam Houston Race Park will feature an action-packed weekend of stakes trials and fan entertainment from Thursday, May 21, through Saturday, May 23, with live racing beginning nightly at 6:30 p.m.

The three-night program opens Thursday with trials for the Grade 2, $74,900 Colors of Houston Futurity and $20,000-guaranteed Juvenile, followed by trials for the inaugural running of the $176,250 Sam Houston Oaks and the Grade 3, $234,050 Sam Houston Derby.

Friday’s card continues with a full evening of Quarter Horse racing highlighted by holiday weekend entertainment and promotions for fans attending the races.

Saturday’s feature program centers around ten trial races for the Grade 2, $655,100 Sam Houston Futurity. The evening will also include Character Derby at the Races, the Cosplay Market, and Character Foot Races, blending live racing with cosplay entertainment, specialty vendors, food trucks, and family-friendly activities.

Fans attending in costume will receive free admission and can participate in a talent show offering cash prizes for top performers. CLICK HERE for more details.

Grade 2, $74,900 Colors of Houston Futurity and $20,000-guaranteed Juvenile
20 juveniles will compete in two 300-yard trial heats, scheduled as races 2 and 3 on Thursday night. The ten fastest qualifiers will advance to the futurity final, while the next ten fastest will return in the Juvenile.

Jvm Hot Victoria headlines the opening trial as the 2-1 morning-line favorite. The Texas-bred dual-registered filly began her career at Remington Park in March, winning her debut in a three-way finish by a neck before shipping to Sam Houston, where she finished second against Quarter Horses in the Texas Breeders’ Futurity Trials.

Owned by Juan Luis Leon, Jvm Hot Victoria has compiled a 1-1-0 record from two starts, earning $9,140. The daughter of Chilitos is out of the Gol To Go mare Victoria Camila. Wendy Alejandra Garcia trains the filly and will saddle her from post two with her son, Rosendo E. Pina-Garcia, named to ride.

The third race and final trial heat features Miss Chilitos as the 7-5 morning-line favorite. The filly debuted in the Louisiana Downs Futurity Trials, where she encountered trouble in her first outing before rebounding impressively at Sam Houston, breaking her maiden in commanding fashion, drawing clear to win by 1 ½ lengths.

Thursday will mark her first start against Paint competition. Miss Chilitos, who was entered as a supplement by owner Edgar Rivera Hernandez, was purchased for $13,500 at the TQHA Yearling Sale. The Texas-bred daughter of Chilitos is out of the Stoli mare Tahiti Evening and was bred by Connie Nobles. Jose Ivan Martinez conditions the filly from post seven with Oliver E. Martinez aboard.

$176,250 Inaugural Running of the Sam Houston Oaks Trials
The 400-yard race for fillies drew 33 contenders across four trial heats, carded as races four through seven. The ten fastest qualifiers will advance to the Oaks final.

Political Looker heads the seventh and final Oaks trial as the 2-1 morning-line favorite. She placed third in the $186,000 Big Easy Futurity during her 2025 campaign and has a record of 3-1-2 from eight starts with $42,257 in the bank. The filly closed out her juvenile season with an allowance victory and prepared for her sophomore campaign with a pair of 220-yard workouts at Retama Park before shipping to Sam Houston.

Political Looker races for The Cowboys, who purchased her for $37,000 at the Heritage Place Yearling Sale. The filly is by Corona Cartel and out of the Apollitical Jess mare Looks Political. She was bred in Utah by McColee Land & Livestock, LLC. Jose U. Lopez trains the filly and will saddle her from post four with Leonardo Rodriguez set to ride.

Bludz Valiant Policy leads the field as one of the top three-year-olds in the trials, bringing the highest earnings among the 28 contenders with $50,720 for owner Three Bar T Quarter Horses. The Dash For Cash Futurity-G2 finalist has finished on the board in four of five career starts and will break from race four under jockey Luis Vivanco.

Grade 3, $234,050 Sam Houston Derby Trials
The 400-yard races will feature 28 sophomores competing in races eight through ten. The ten fastest qualifiers will advance to the June 13 final.

Eagle On A June Bug is a top contender as the even-money morning-line favorite in the tenth race and final trial. The talented gelding made his three-year-old debut earlier this season in the Grade 2 Eastex Stakes at Remington Park before returning to Sam Houston, where he rallied to win an open allowance by a neck.

Eagle On A June Bug returns to Sam Houston Race Park as the even-money morning-line favorite in the final trial for the Grade 3 Sam Houston Derby after rallying to win an open allowance earlier this meet.© Ann Switalski

Owned by Sergio Jimenez and Enrique Santollo, Eagle On A June Bug has won five of nine starts with two runner-up finishes and earnings of $270,456. The gelding was purchased for just $20,000 at the TQHA Yearling Sale. His top performances include second-place finishes in the TQHA Futurity-G1 and Louisiana Downs Futurity-G2, as well as a fifth-place finish in the Texas Classic Futurity-G1 last season.

Texas breeder Robert T. Moudy III bred the son of Eagles Fly Higher, while Sergio Jimenez and Enrique Santollo own him. Trainer Victor Oviedo will saddle Eagle On A June Bug from post three with regular rider H. Javier Hernandez named aboard.

Another horse to be on the lookout for with 7-2 early odds is Di Kvn Waven. He heads into the Derby trials as the leading money earner among the 28 starters with $285,084 from seven career starts for owner Refugio Alvarado. Trained by Jose Ivan, the son of Kvn Corona, has compiled a record of four wins and two seconds and will be ridden by Oliver Martinez in race nine, the second Derby trial heat.

A multiple stakes winner, Di Kvn Waven captured both the Louisiana Downs Futurity-G2 and TQHA Sires Cup Futurity-RG2 last season. The $24,000 TQHA Yearling Sale graduate returns from a seven-month layoff following a fifth-place finish in the Dash For Cash Futurity-G2 and drew post four after posting the fastest workout of 21 on April 22.

Grade 2, $655,100 Sam Houston Futurity & Juvenile Trials
Saturday’s futurity attracted 99 two-year-olds across ten trial races. Of the 99 entrants, 81 remain maidens, including 22 first-time starters. Eighteen entrants are already winners, while only four have competed in stakes finals.

Dk Bonita Jess and Mister Sinatra both earned black-type credentials with runner-up finishes earlier this season, while Coronas First Cowboy and JJ Kiss were finalists in major futurities.

A total of 48 different stallions are represented in the futurity trials, with 19 sires having multiple starters. Flying Cowboy 123 leads all stallions with 14 entrants, followed by Apollitical Jess with six. Favorite Cartel and This Is An Eagle each have five starters.

Dk Bonita Jess enters the trials as the leading contender. The filly is a full sister to multiple Grade 2 winner Dk Marney Jess, earner of $590,704. Bred in Mexico by leading breeder Cuadra La Presita, the daughter of Apollitical Jess is out of champion mare Marney Jo by Corona Cartel.

Dk Bonita Jess headlines the Grade 2 Sam Houston Futurity Trials on Saturday night at Sam Houston Race Park after finishing second in the Grade 2 Louisiana Downs Futurity earlier this season.© Ann Switalski

The CH Horse Racing, LLC-owned filly finished second in the Grade 2 Louisiana Downs Futurity earlier this season after breaking her maiden in the trials. Purchased for $120,000 at the Ruidoso Select Yearling Sale, Dk Bonita Jess has earned $56,211. Nestor Duran will have the riding assignment in the eighth trial of the evening.

Mister Sinatra, the only other black-type runner in the trials, will compete in race seven. The son of second-crop sire Dulce Sin Tacha finished second in the Laico Bird Stakes-RG3 at Remington Park earlier this season and enters with one win from two starts and earnings of $22,675.

Trainer Zack Stinebaugh conditions the $35,000 Heritage Place Yearling Sale graduate for Jamco Dreams, LLC. Bryan Candanosa has been named to ride.

Coronas First Cowboy will compete in race two with Luis Vivanco aboard. The son of Flying Cowboy 123 has won two of three starts while earning $33,490. Trained by Marc Jungers for owner Antonio Mercado, the $62,000 TQHA Yearling Sale graduate finished fifth in the $541,000 Texas Breeders Futurity.

Duran will also ride JJ Kiss in race four. The son of Kiss My Hocks was a finalist in the Grade 2 West Texas Futurity and has one win from two starts with earnings nearing $16,000. Purchased for $55,000 at the TQHA Yearling Sale, the chestnut colt races for Gisela Davila Perez and is trained by Bobby Muniz Pena.

The Weekend Trials Set Stage For June Stakes Finals
The ten fastest qualifiers from the Grade 2, $74,900 Colors of Houston Futurity trials will return for the June 6 final. That evening will also feature the Grade 2, $30,000-added Colors of Texas Paint Maturity and the $20,000-guaranteed Colors of Houston Juvenile for the next ten fastest qualifiers.

Finalists from the $655,100 Sam Houston Futurity-G2, $50,000 Sam Houston Juvenile, $234,050 Sam Houston Derby-G3, and the inaugural running of the $176,250 Sam Houston Oaks will return for their respective finals on June 13.

The closing night stakes program will also include the Willie Hickman Memorial Stakes-G2, Jesse Yoakum Memorial 870 Stakes-G3, Governors Cup Marathon-G3, Sam Houston 550 Stakes-G3, Miss Sam Houston Stakes, and the Sam Houston 250 Stakes to conclude the Quarter Horse season at Sam Houston Race Park.

About Sam Houston Race Park
Sam Houston Race Park is Houston’s premier racing and entertainment facility, located just 15 miles northwest of downtown Houston. Owned by Penn Entertainment Inc. (NASDAQ – PENN), the racetrack, which opened in 1994, offers a variety of attractions for businesses, group outings, and families during racing and the off-season. The track is best known for its award-winning dining. It features multiple areas for fans looking for casual to upscale dining options including its Winner’s Circle Restaurant, Jockey Club, Luxury Suites and Pavilion Centre. For more information or tickets to upcoming live racing, concerts and events, please visit www.shrp.com or follow on: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok or YouTube.

*******************

Would you like more industry news delivered directly to your inbox? Click here to sign up.