Texas Racing Faces Fight

I was nine years old when I first set foot at Lone Star Park. It was the first time I witnessed stunning Thoroughbred athletes competing against each other to the sound of pounding hooves and the roar of the crowd. I had loved and ridden horses all my life, but this was something different – something special.

As I grew older, Lone Star became my happy place. Horse racing developed into my passion – so much so that, at a very young age, I decided that I wanted to have a career in the industry. This decision made Lone Star a necessary destination multiple times a year for me; as a one-hour drive, it is the closest racetrack to my home. The track has offered me many chances at hands-on experience within the racing industry, giving me the opportunity to meet horsemen and track officials, enjoy live racing, and simply learn more about the sport while making connections. I was aware throughout these years that the quality of Texas racing was not up to par in comparison to many states, but I enjoyed it just the same, as it was my chance to be around racehorses "at home."

However, the decline of Texas racing only continued to become more sickeningly apparent. When I first began attending the races at Lone Star, the Grand Prairie (near Dallas) track hosted a total of five graded stakes within its annual spring Thoroughbred meet. The meet's highlight was Lone Star Million Day - an event held each Memorial Day that featured six stakes – including three graded – whose purses totaled more than $1,000,000. These races attracted horses like Kentucky Derby-Preakness winner Real Quiet, Hall of Famer and Horse of the Year Skip Away, multiple grade one winner Congaree and countless other top-notch Thoroughbreds.

As recent as 2004, Lone Star Park even hosted one of the biggest international events in horse racing – the Breeders’ Cup World Championships. The best racehorses from around the world flocked to the Texas track to compete in the various races of the prestigious event, including future Hall of Famer Ghostzapper, eventual Preakness and Belmont winner Afleet Alex, and two-time European Horse of the Year Ouija Board. A crowd of 53,717 people showed up to witness these star athletes, making it the biggest day in the history of horse racing in Texas.

Now, Lone Star Park hosts only two graded stakes for Thoroughbreds – the Grade 3 Texas Mile and the Grade 3 Lone Star Park Handicap. Lone Star Million Day is long gone. Most of the purses at each of the Texas tracks have fallen – so much so that purses of some claiming races at other tracks such as Belmont and Saratoga offer more money than many Texas stakes.

It is obvious that Texas racing has been on a downward spiral, but both historical and recent evidence of the success of Texas-breds exists to indicate that the quality of racing in the Lone Star State could certainly be on par with that of other states. Texas has been the birthplace to a pair of Kentucky Derby winners – Assault (1946) and Middleground (1950). The former, of course, was racing’s seventh Triple Crown winner – a title only twelve Thoroughbreds in history have achieved. Other notable horses bred in Texas include Hall of Famers Pan Zareta and Stymie, as well as Eclipse champion Groovy.

Texas-breds have made national headlines in recent years, as well. 2014 Texas Horse of the Year Fiftyshadesofgold impressed outside of the Lone Star State when romping in the Debutante Stakes at Churchill Downs as a two-year-old before returning to the twin spires the following year on Kentucky Oaks Day to capture the Grade 3 Eight Belles Stakes on one of racing’s biggest stages. Promise Me Silver followed in her footsteps, winning both of those Churchill stakes races, as well as several other out-of-state stakes. Earlier this year, another Texas-bred filly – Thegirlinthatsong – took the Grade 2 La Canada Stakes at Santa Anita. The ill-fated Pure Tactics also found much success at top tracks around the nation, including wins in open stakes at the Southern California tracks Santa Anita and Del Mar.

And that is just Thoroughbred racing alone. Texas has been home to some of the finest Quarter Horse racing in the nation. Lone Star, Retama and Sam Houston host a plethora of graded stakes for Quarter Horses each year, including seven grade ones at the Grand Prairie track. Quarter Horse racing provides Texas racing with the richest horse race in the state – the Grade 1 $1,000,000 Texas Classic Stakes at Lone Star Park.

As far as breeding for Quarter Horse racehorses goes, Texas is at the top of the industry. Three of the American Quarter Horse Association’s 2014 champions were Texas-bred, including the end-of-the-year World Champion JRC Callas First. Of the top twenty current AQHA sires in terms of 2015 earnings, four are standing in Texas.

It is clear that Texas horse racing is a significant part of not only the state’s horse industry, but the industry as a whole. Agriculture is a billion-dollar industry in Texas alone, and the horse industry accounts for a noteworthy portion of that business. Reportedly, the horse racing industry provides approximately 36,000 jobs in the state.

But all of those jobs are at risk. In 2014, the Texas Racing Commission adopted rules to introduce historical racing machines to tracks and betting facilities in Texas. Although these machines appear to be like video lottery terminals or slot machines, they are described as an extension of pari-mutuel betting, for they simply allow users to wager on previously-contested races. As a form of gambling that has boosted revenue, crowds and purses at tracks in states such as Arkansas and Kentucky, racing officials believe that the implementation of historical racing would benefit the struggling Texas racing industry.

However, a court ruling in November of last year decided that the Texas Racing Commission did not possess the authority to install these machines. Many legislators view historical racing as a form of casino-style gambling, which is illegal in Texas. Recently, the TRC voted not to repeal historical racing – a decision that played the role of a catalyst when a decision for the funding of the TRC needed to be made.

A provision to the TRC budget in June required that the commission request $750,000 from the Texas Legislative Budget Board. Texas’ fiscal year ended on Aug. 31 and by midnight, the LBB could not reach a decision, thus shutting down Texas racing and simulcast operations. This shutdown lasted for only a day, as the TRC was given an extension to receive funding for the next 90 days. However, at the conclusion of those three months, the TRC will face the same dilemma.

With such a large impact on agriculture and related industries, as well as employment, it is blatant that the eradication of Texas racing would take a large toll on the Texas economy. One could go on and on listing the negative impacts the shutdown of Texas racing would have on the state’s economy, the horse industry and horsemen themselves, but let’s not forget how it would affect the sport of horse racing – economic impact aside.

To take Texas racing away would be robbing Texans of a significant factor in developing them into racing fans. Coming from personal experience, trips to Lone Star Park have played a huge role in amplifying my love for horse racing. How are other young Texan racing fans – or any fans in general, as well as those who have not yet acquired a large interest in racing – to develop their passion for the sport without a tangible outlet?

For one day, I thought that I would never again have the chance to experience a day at the races in my home state again. Although Texas racing will exist for at least the next three months, that dark, threatening cloud still looms.

It pains me to imagine the tracks of Texas barren. No stunning Thoroughbreds. No roar of the crowd. No trucks and trailers parked by the barns, which were once filled with equine athletes and hard-working grooms. No betting tickets strewn across the track apron after a day or night highlighted by action-packed racing. It is heartbreaking to imagine these scenes as mere memories rather than a regular occurrence.

Horse racing is a way of life for thousands of people in Texas – not only for the horsemen, but for the fans and handicappers. Hundreds of horsemen have attended meetings, joining together with determination to save the industry. To support their drive, fans and racing professionals have taken to social media with the hashtag #SaveTexasRacing. Texas racing may be going down, but it is not going down without a fight.