Sam Houston Race Park
🇺🇸 TEXAS
Racing at Sam Houston Race Park
Racing Dates
Thoroughbred racing is held from late January until early March each year with the John B. Connally Turf Cup and the Houston Ladies Classic taking place early in the season, both being Grade 3 races. All results will show here!
About Sam Houston
Sam Houston Race Park hosts both American Quarter Horse and Thoroughbred racing and is situated in northwest Houston, Texas.Sam Houston Park hosts a big community being less than a half hour from downtown Houston and serves as a multi-purpose venue which can handle concerts and festivals as well as racing during the off season. The track is located on Houston’s Beltway 8 between highway 290 and the I-45.
With all thoroughbred racing taken care of by March, the American Quarter Horse season kicks in and runs until mid-May. From then on, Sam Houston is open for business as a venue for simulcast racing meaning horseplayers may attend and bet on races from venues all around the country, although the park is a popular concert venue too.
There are 125 betting machines available, all manned, as well as 100 self-service machines meaning the track can cater for plenty of bettors. On live race days, Sam Houston Park can house 1,224 horses.
Despite the track’s reputation as one of the fastest growing in the country, its largest ever handle was back in December 1999 on Texas Champions Day when a total of $4million was wagered.
Sam Houston History
Upon opening to the public on April 24, 1994, Sam Houston Race Park became the first top class horse racing facility in Texas.The race park was named after Sam Houston, a former general and later president of the Republic of Texas and cost almost $100million to construct.
Since its inception back in ’94 the park has gone from strength to strength and is currently one of the fastest growing race tracks in the USA based on attendance figures over the past few years with a largest crowd figure of 32,177 in 2008.
Sam Houston Track Details
Both dirt and turf racing are important at Sam Houston Race Park, the dirt track being a one-mile oval with a 90-feet width on the straights and 80 feet around the turns and features two chutes. The dirt used for the racing surface was brought to the park from the Brazos River bottom.The turf track, given that as usual it’s on the inside, is slightly shorter at 7/8 of a mile and is changeable. In the summer months the turf track is made up of one-inch deep Hybrid Bermuda grass while in the winter this is Rye grass of the same depth.
Biggest Races
The Houston Racing Festival hosted in January features six open stakes highlighted by the John B. Connally Turf Cup (Grade 3) – one-and-a-half miles (turf), four-year-olds and older, Houston Ladies Classic (Grade 3) – one mile and one-sixteenth, fillies and mares, four-year-olds and older and the Bob Bork Texas Turf Mile for three-year-olds going one mile (turf).
Wager On Races At Sam Houston With TVG!
Now you know all about the track at Sam Houston, don’t forget you can wager on races there with TVG. Head to our schedules page to check out the latest race times then bet and watch live!
Address
7575 North Sam Houston Pkwy W, Houston, TX 77064, USA