Live Racing & Promotions Set for 2025 Sam Houston Season Starting April 24

Season Opens with Inaugural $541,000 Texas Breeders’ Futurity Trials – Highlighting Opening Weekend

HOUSTON, TX – Live Quarter Horse racing returns to Sam Houston Race Park as the 2026 meet gets underway April 16 and runs through June 13. Live racing will be conducted every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evening with a 6:30 p.m. first post.

Opening night on Thursday, April 16, features a full card of nine Quarter Horse races.

The highlight of the weekend quickly turns to Friday, April 17, with trials for the inaugural $541,000 Texas Breeders’ Futurity, the only futurity in the state restricted exclusively to Texas-bred juveniles. A total of 149 Accredited Texas-bred 2-year-olds will compete across 15 trial heats at 330 yards, with 55 trainers represented.

“It’s exciting to start the meet off with a half-million-dollar futurity,” said Sam Houston Racing Secretary Mike Acton. “We have the AQHA John Deere Juvenile trials, Adequan Derby trials, and Q-Racing Distance Challenge trials next week, and our Grade 2 Classic just 2 weeks later on May 9th, along with the finals for the Texas Breeders Futurity, two Grade 3 challenge finals, the John Buchanan and Leon Bard Stakes. This meet is action packed and full of great opportunities for everyone and lots of fast horses.”

Trainer Marc Jungers will send out the most starters, with thirteen on the night’s card. Among them, Coronas First Cowboy enters as a proven winner. The colt, by Flying Cowboy 123, broke his maiden on March 7 in an Oklahoma Futurity trial, prevailing in a tight four-horse photo that highlighted both his determination and finishing strength.

Owned by Antonio Mercado, who purchased him for $62,000 at the TQHA Yearling Sale, Coronas First Cowboy will be ridden by Christian Ramos. Bred by Paragon Farms, LLC, he is out of Coronas First Diva by Corona Cartel.

Another contender to watch appears in the ninth trial with Apollitical Cowboy, a colt who has already proven his ability to compete at a high level. He qualified to the Louisiana Downs Futurity and most recently finished fifth after a troubled start.

Apollitical Cowboy is also by Flying Cowboy 123. Bred by JP Quarter Horses, he is out of Too Kool To Return by High Rate of Return. Purchased for $50,000 at the TQHA Yearling Sale by Luis Armando Castellanos and Alfonso Rangel, he is trained by Santiago Villaseca and will break from post three under Victor M. Urieta Jr.

The spotlight, however, shifts firmly to the twelfth trial heat, with one of the most accomplished juveniles in the field, Whoopie Cowgirl. She turned heads with a dominant schooling race at Retama Park before shipping to Louisiana Downs, where she posted the fastest qualifying time and returned to win the Louisiana Downs Futurity from gate-to-wire by a half-length.

Owned by Denis Moran, who acquired her for $35,000 at the TQHA Yearling Sale, Whoopie Cowgirl has already earned $143,854 from two starts. Bred by Marc E. Rigby, DVM, she is also by Flying Cowboy 123 and out of Tacarosie by Tac It Like a Man. Trainer Ramiro Barajas Villareal will saddle her from post four with Jorge Garcia aboard.

The ten fastest qualifiers from Friday night will return for the May 9 final, which will share the card with six additional stakes, including the Sam Houston Classic and the John Deere Juvenile.

“In addition to the lucrative purse, we are offering a $20,000 Nominators Award, which will be distributed among the top four finishers, including $10,000 to the winner, $5,000 to second, $3,000 to third, and $2,000 to fourth,” said the TQHA Executive Director and Director of Racing, Scott Sherwood.

PROMOTIONAL EVENTS

To round out the season, Sam Houston Race Park will offer a full slate of promotional events. Fan favorites include Corgi Racing on April 25, a Wine Tasting event on May 9, and Shoppa’s Lawn Mower Races paired with Whiskey Tasting on June 13.

The meet also aligns with the Triple Crown series, with Sam Houston Race Park simulcasting the Kentucky Derby on May 2, followed by Preakness Day on May 16 and Belmont Day on June 6.

The facility will be open Wednesday through Sunday for simulcast wagering throughout the meet. Special post times are set for Triple Crown events, with Derby Day beginning at 10:30 a.m., while both Preakness and Belmont Days will feature a 1:00 p.m. first post.

2026 TRIALS & STAKES RACING SCHEDULE

Friday, April 17, 2026

$10,000 Texas Breeders Futurity Trials

Friday, April 24, 2026

$10,000 John Deere Juvenile Trials

$10,000 Q-Racing Video Distance Challenge Trials

$10,000 Adequan Derby Trials

Saturday, May 9, 2026

$75,000g Sam Houston Classic (G2)

$40,000a John Deere Juvenile (G3)

$30,000a Q-Racing Video Distance Challenge (G3)

$40,000a Adequan Derby

$75,000a Texas Breeders Futurity

$50,000a Leon Bard Memorial Stakes

$50,000a John Buchanan Memorial Stakes

Thursday, May 21, 2026

$10,000 Sam Houston Derby Trials

$10,000 Sam Houston Oaks Trials

Saturday, May 23, 2026

$10,000 Sam Houston Futurity Trials

Saturday, June 6, 2026

$40,000a Colors of Houston Futurity (G2)

$20,000a Colors of Texas Paint Maturity (G2)

$15,000 Guaranteed Colors of Houston Juvenile

Saturday, June 13, 2026

$150,000a Sam Houston Futurity (G2)

$50,000a Willie Hickman Memorial Stakes (G2)

$50,000a Jesse Yoakum Memorial 870 Stakes (G3)

$50,000g Governors Cup Marathon (G3)

$100,000a Sam Houston Derby (G3)

$50,000a Sam Houston 550 Stakes (G3)

$50,000a Sam Houston Oaks

$50,000a Miss Sam Houston Stakes

$50,000a Sam Houston 250 Stakes

For more information, please visit SHRP.COM or call 281-807-8700

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.

By Leann Noguera

Captain Fancy, a 4-year-old Paint filly, blazed to her seventh win in her last eight starts, and in doing so set a new track record for the mixed breeds of Paints and Appaloosas for 110 yards at Remington Park. The North Dakota-bred daughter of Im the Captain Now, out of the Major Rime (QH) mare, ND Bunny Jet (QH), stopped the timer in :06.817 which shattered the old mark of :06.874 set in 2014 by Queen for Cash, an Appaloosa.

Captain Fancy, with leading rider Juan Pulido in the irons, flashed out of the gate like a bolt of lightning, and won by a neck over runner-up River Flower (38-1). The blanket finish included third-place runner, Turnpike Jammer (12-1), who was a head behind River Flower.

Captain Fancy improved her record to 15 starts, eight wins, two seconds and one third for lifetime earnings of $71,830. She was bred by Randal E. Schwartz. Her only loss in her last eight tries was a second-place finish in a stakes race at Will Rogers Downs in Claremore, Okla., on Nov. 9 last year and she lost that race only by a neck at 350 yards. 

Today’s race was under allowance conditions. Captain Fancy now boasts a perfect record at 110 yards, two-for-two lifetime. She has won four-of-five starts at Remington Park. Leo Alcala trains her for owner Heber Deyta-Melendez of Albuquerque, N.M.

Remington Park racing continues Thursday-Sunday, April 16-19. The $971,955 Remington Park Futurity headlines a stakes-laden program on Saturday, April 18.

The first race nightly at Remington Park is set for 6pm with Sunday racing at 4pm. All times are Central.

Remington Park has provided more than $410 Million to the State of Oklahoma general education fund since the opening of the casino in 2005. Located at the junction of Interstates 35 & 44, in the heart of the Oklahoma City Adventure District. The 2026 Remington Park Futurity, the richest race of the season for Oklahoma-breds, takes place on Saturday, April 18.  Remington Park presents year-round simulcast racing and casino gaming. Guests must be 18 or older to wager on horse racing or to enter the casino gaming floor. Visit remingtonpark.com for more information.

By Richard Linihan

OKLAHOMA CITY – Trainer Leo Alcala tightened up the race for the lead among conditioners at Remington Park on Sunday night by winning twice, including Shes EC to Tempt’s sixth win in a row.

Shes EC to Tempt’s victory in the featured allowance race was Alcala’s 21^st win of the meet, moving him to within three of leader Dee Keener’s 24. Keener only had one horse entered on the day and did not make it to the winner’s circle. 

Shes EC to Tempt, a 3-year-old Texas-bred filly by Tempting Dash, out of the EC Jet One mare, Kas Shes EC, began her winning streak on July 12, 2025, when she won a futurity trial at Retama Park near San Antonio. Her next two trips to the winner’s circle came at Delta Downs in Louisiana in the Big Easy Futurity trials and then in the finals. Those wins came in August last summer. She continued her winning ways when she moved on to Evangeline Downs in Louisiana where she won a futurity trial, but did not race in the finals. Now, at 3 years old, she has won an Oklahoma Derby trial at Remington Park and an allowance race, the longest of the afternoon on Extreme Race Day at 250 yards. The program, featuring other exhibition animal races including Ostriches, Camels and Zebras, contains no race longer than 250 yards, with many at 220 yards or 110 yards.

Shes EC to Tempt, a winner as the post-time favorite at 3-2 odds, won her by a half-length over runner-up Relentless Legacy (4-1), who was another neck in front of third-place longshot RR Dulce Neenya (29-1). The winning filly improved her lifetime record for owner-breeder Francisco Javier Garza to six wins from seven starts and earnings of $135,323. Her only loss was a second place finish in the first start of her career, a maiden event at Sam Houston Race Park in Texas in May 2025.

Shes EC to Tempt covered the 250 yards Sunday on a fast track in :13.371, earning an 85 speed index. Both of her wins in Oklahoma City this season have been with jockey Nestor Duran in the irons. 

A couple of jockeys had riding doubles on Sunday – leader Juan Pulido and Gonzalo Gutierrez. The top five in the jockeys’ race are Pulido with 39 wins; Roman Cruz with 17 (he was shut out Sunday, if you don’t count ostriches); Mario Delgado (15) third; Bryan Candanosa (13) fourth, and Francisco Calderon (12) in fifth.

By Richard Linihan