Houston Ladies Classic earns Graded Stakes status
Sam Houston Race Park will add a second graded stakes race to its racing program for 2016 when the $400,000 Houston Ladies Classic makes its debut as a Grade 3 on January 30. The Houston Ladies Classic was awarded its graded status by the American Graded Stakes Committee this week after only three runnings of Texas’ richest thoroughbred race.
Inaugurated in 2013 at a distance of 1 1/16 miles, the Houston Ladies Classic was formed to serve as the marquee race for Sam Houston’s meet and has headlined a stakes laden Houston Racing Festival card that also includes the $200,000 John B. Connally Turf Cup (G3).
“It’s a testament to not only our support of bringing pride to the Texas racing industry, but also to the hard work of our racing office under the leadership of Fred Hutton and Eric Johnston previously that we could bringing this to fruition so quickly,” said Andrea Young, President of Sam Houston Race Park. “In pairing the Houston Ladies Classic with the John Connally Turf Cup, we’re excited to provide such a high quality event to our fans in January.”
The first edition of the Ladies Classic was won by eventual Santa Margarita (G1) winner Joyful Victory. Piloted by Rosie Napravnik, Joyful Victory bested a field that included multiple graded stakes winners Summer Applause and Brushed by a Star as well as Sixty Sails (G3) victor She’s All In. The first Houston Ladies Classic triumph would be the first of two by the owner-trainer duo of Fox Hill Farms and Larry Jones as they returned in 2015 to claim the race once again with Cassatt. Sandwiched in between was a win by three time Grade 3 winner Rose to Gold in 2014.
Nominations for the newly minted, Grade 3 Houston Ladies Classic, as well as all other stakes on the Houston Racing Festival card will close on January 15, 2016.
The Houston Ladies Classic also becomes the fifth graded stakes race at a Penn National Gaming owned track as it joins the aforementioned John B. Connally, Charles Town Classic (G2) and Charles Town Oaks (G3) at Charles Town and Penn Mile (G3) at Penn National. The addition of another graded race on the company’s calendar marks a significant leap versus where it stood just a few years ago.
"Just 5 years ago, the portfolio of Penn National gaming tracks contested one graded race and in 2016, we'll be contesting five,” said Penn National Gaming, Inc.’s Vice President of Racing Chris McErlean. “The infusion of this element of quality has been the bright spot for racing at both the venues and in their respective states and the business success has followed. We're looking forward to our attempt to move the needle even further in the future."
To bind the new graded stakes and other events at its tracks, Penn National Gaming began the Penn Gaming Racing Challenge in 2014 to bind a series of 22 stakes races worth more than $5 million in purse money that includes tie-ins between groups of races in the series, as well as bonuses and prizes that include free nominations, refund of entry and starter fees, and trips to the PNGI owned M Resort in Las Vegas.
In its first two years of existence, the Penn Gaming Challenge has been won by top national owners Fox Hill Farms in 2015 and Ken and Sarah Ramsey in 2014, Mike Maker and Chad Brown in the trainer category, while Javier Castellano has been the top jockey in each of the first two years. In addition to the achievements of high profile connections, the Penn Gaming Challenge has afforded the racing programs themselves significant business successes in 2015, with handle for the series up 25 percent versus 2014 and the Charles Town Classic and Penn Mile responsible for new single day wagering records at their respective tracks.
While the stakes schedule at Sam Houston is set for 2016, the remaining events and stakes that make up the Penn Gaming Racing Challenge are expected to be released in the coming weeks.
Souce: Sam Houston Race Park