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Simulcast Highlights at Sam Houston Race Park

 

January 2009 Track Openings Saturday, January 3 – Gulfstream Park Saturday, January 10 – Louisiana Downs (Quarter Horse Meet) Friday, January 16 – Oaklawn

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January 2009 Highlights

January 16
$50,000 Dixieland Stakes

This year will mark the 69th running of the $50,000 Dixieland Stakes at Oaklawn Park, featuring 3-year-old Thoroughbreds in a 5 ½ - furlong dash.  Carsons Legacy, trained by Steve Asmussen, won last year’s Dixieland Stakes in a time of 1:04.2.

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January 17
$50,000 American Beauty Stakes

The $50,000 American Beauty Stakes at Oaklawn Park features fillies and mares running a mile on turf.  Jockey Ralph Irwin saddled Doyouwanttodance in last year’s race and scored an upset triumph in the 25th running of the $50,000 American Beauty Stakes. 

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January 19
$50,000 Smarty Jones Stakes

The $50,000 Smarty Jones Stakes is an ungraded American Thoroughbred race held at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Arkansas. The Smarty Jones is for 3-year-olds set at a distance of one mile (8 furlongs).  Named for the 2004 Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner, Smarty Jones, the inaugural race was held on January 21, 2008, with Liberty Bull winning in a time of 1:38.15.

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January 24
$1,000,000 Sunshine Millions Classic

The $1,000,000 Frank's Energy Drink Sunshine Millions Classic is an American Thoroughbred race held annually in January at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California and at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida. Part of the eight-race Sunshine Millions series, half of the races are run at one track, and half at the other. The "Classic" is open to horses 4-years-old and older willing to race 1 1/8 miles on the dirt. It is a restricted event currently offering a purse of $1,000,000.
In its fifth running in 2007, the series of races called the Sunshine Millions are restricted to horses bred either in Florida or inCalifornia and is the brainchild of the Thoroughbred Owners of California, the California Thoroughbred Breeders' Association, the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders' and Owners' Association, Inc., Santa Anita Park, Gulfstream Park, and Magna Entertainment Corporation.|

$500,000 Sunshine Millions Filly & Mare Turf
The $500,000 Sunshine Millions Filly & Mare Turf is a race for Thoroughbred horses held in January at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California or at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida.
Open to 4-year-olds and older fillies and mares willing to race 1 1/8 miles on the turf, the Filly & Mare Turf is an ungraded stakes event but carries a purse of $500,000. This race is also known as the Warren's Thoroughbred Filly & Mare Turf (in 2006) as part of the eight-race Sunshine Millions series.


$500,000 Sunshine Millions Distaff

The $500,000 Sunshine Millions Distaff is a race for Thoroughbred horses held in January at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California or at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida.
Open to fillies and mares 4-years-old and older willing to race 1 1/8 miles on the dirt, the Sunshine Millions Distaff is an ungraded stakes event but carries a purse of $500,000. This race is also known as the Ocala Breeders' Sales Distaff (in 2006) as part of the eight-race Sunshine Millions series.


$500,000 Sunshine Millions Turf

The $500,000 Sunshine Millions Turf is a race for Thoroughbred horses held in January at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California or at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida.
Open to 4-year-olds and older willing to race 1 1/8 miles on the turf, the Sunshine Millions Turf is an ungraded stakes event but carries a purse of $500,000. This race is also known as the Cloverleaf Farms Turf (in 2006) as part of the eight-race Sunshine Millions series.

 

$50,000 Dixie Belle Stakes

The $50,000 Dixie Belle Stakes is an American Thoroughbred racing event that is run annually at a distance of six furlongs on the track of Oaklawn Park.  This horseracing event is open to 3-year-old fillies and it carries a purse of $50,000 and added.  Last year’s winner, Kafwain filly Kadira, made her debut in the Dixie Belle Stakes on January 26, 2008, at Oaklawn and missed by three-quarters of a length only to be placed first through disqualification.

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January 31
$50,000 King Cotton Stakes

This year will be the 59th running of the $50,000 King Cotton Stakes, an American Thoroughbred racing event open to 4-year-olds and up, running each year at a distance of six furlongs on the Oaklawn Park racetrack.  Last year’s champion Semaphore Man, trained by Kelly R. Von Hemel,  outran runner-up Junior College by 2 3/4 lengths in a time of 1:09.3. The 6-year-old bay gelding is a two-time winner in the King Cotton, winning both stakes in 2007 and 2008.


$500,000 Donn Handicap

The $500,000 Donn Handicap is an American Thoroughbred race run annually in late January/early February at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida.
The race is named after the Donn family, who for many years owned and operated the racetrack.
The Donn Handicap is a Grade I race open to horses 4-years-old and up. It is raced on dirt over a distance of 1 1/8 miles and currently offers a $500,000 purse.
Three horses have won the race twice. Inaugurated at a distance of a mile and a half, the only horse to ever win the race twice at that distance was One-Eyed-King who did it back-to-back in 1959 and 1960. At its present distance of 1 1/8 miles, Pistols and Roses won it back-to-back in 1993 and 1994 as did the U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee Cigar for the two ensuing years.