LONE STAR PARK RACECOURSE

The Lone Star Park racecourse is situated between Dallas and Fort Worth in the state of Texas, covering 315 acres, and has a dirt track racing circuit of a mile oval, a 7 furlong turf track for sprint races, separate chutes of 7 furlongs and 10 furlongs, sharing a 283 metre home straight. Its inaugural meeting took place on 17th April 1997. It holds a Spring racing season extending from April until July and regularly entertains up to 8,000 punters in its grandstand. Its principal race days are the Lone Star Million Day, the Dallas Turf Cup Day and the Texas Mile Day. Its principal races are the Lone Star Derby, the Texas Mile Stakes, the Dallas Turf Cup, the Ouija Board Handicap and the Lone Star Park Handicap. The Lone Star Derby is run over 8 ½ furlongs and was won in 2012 by Thirtyfirststreet ridden by Chris Landeros. The Texas Mile Stakes was won in 2012 by Endorsement ridden by Robby Albrado. Littlebitlively was lively enough in 1998 and 1999 to complete the double in this race. The Ouija Board Handicap is over 8 furlongs and was won in 2011 by Wasted Tears when ridden by Julien Leparoux. Remarkably this completed the treble for the horse, although it was ridden in 2010 by Cliff Berry, while in 2009 by Eguard Tejers.  The Lone Star Park Handicap is contested over 8 ½ furlongs and was won in 2012 by Nates Mineshaft when ridden by Donald Simington. In 1998 and 1999 Mootha Express completed the double.

Lone Star Handicap winners since its inception in 1997
1997 The Lone Star Handicap over 8 ½ furlongs was won by Connecting Terms trained by W Elliott Walden and ridden by Larry Melancon
1998 The Lone Star Handicap over 8 ½ furlongs was won by Mocha Express trained by Tim Harder and ridden by Marlon St Julien
1999 The Lone Star Handicap over 8 ½ furlongs was won by Mocha Express trained by Tim Harder and ridden by Marlon St Julien
2000 The Lone Star Handicap over 8 ½ furlongs was won by Luftikus trained by Vladimir Cerin and ridden by David Flores
2001 The Lone Star Handicap over 8 ½ furlongs was won by Dixie Dot Com trained by William Morey jnr and ridden by David Flores
2002 The Lone Star Handicap over 8 ½ furlongs was won by Congaree trained by Bob Baffert and ridden by Pat Day
2003 The Lone Star Handicap over 8 ½ furlongs was won by Pie N Burger trained by Cole Norman and ridden by Jamie Theriot
2004 The Lone Star Handicap over 8 ½ furlongs was won by Yessirgeneralsir trained by Dallas Keen and ridden by Omar Figueroa
2005 The Lone Star Handicap over 8 ½ furlongs was won by Supah Blitz trained by Douglas ONeill and ridden by Jon Court
2006 The Lone Star Handicap over 8 ½ furlongs was won by Magnum trained by Darrell Vienna and ridden by Pat Valenzuela
2007 The Lone Star Handicap over 8 ½ furlongs was won by Bob and John trained by Bob Baffert and ridden by Garrett Gomez
2008 The Lone Star Handicap over 8 ½ furlongs was won by Giant Gizmo trained by Robert Frankel and ridden by Garrett Gomez
2009 The Lone Star Handicap over 8 ½ furlongs was won by It’s a Bird trained by Martin Wolfson and ridden by Julien Leparoux
2010 The Lone Star Handicap over 8 ½ furlongs was won by Redding Colliery trained by Kiaran McLaughlin and ridden by Rosie Napravnik
2011 The Lone Star Handicap over 8 ½ furlongs was won by Awesome Gem trained by Craig Dollase and ridden by Robby Albarado
2012 The Lone Star Handicap over 8 ½ furlongs was won by Nates Mineshaft trained by Wesley Hawley and ridden by Donald Edward Simington
2013 The Lone Star Handicap over 8 ½ furlongs was won by Master Rick trained by Steve Asmussen and ridden by Ricardo Santana jnr
2014 The Lone Star Handicap over 8 ½ furlongs was won by Grand Contender trained by Thomas Amoss and ridden by Richard Eramia
2015 The Lone Star Handicap over 8 ½ furlongs was won by Majestic City trained by Richard Baltas and ridden by Charles Lopez
2016 The Lone Star Handicap over 8 ½ furlongs was won by Cyrus Alexander trained by Jerry Hollendorfer and ridden by Martin Garcia
2017 The Lone Star Handicap over 8 ½ furlongs was won by Danzing Candy trained by Bob Baffert and ridden by Mike E Smith
2018 The Lone Star Handicap over 8 ½ furlongs was won by Shotgun Kowboy trained by C R Trout and ridden by Luis Quinonez

I am grateful to Richard Gauthier, our American Racing Correspondent, for the scans of the 2004 Owners, Trainers and VIP badges shown below.

Lone Star Park had the honour of hosting the 2004 Breeders Cup. Use the link to research Cup history.
If you have badges, racecards, pictures of the racecourse or further details about the course, including your memories, then email johnwslusar@gmail.com