Lone Star Park is a

horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...

track and entertainment destination located mile north of Interstate 30 on Belt Line Road in

Grand Prairie Grand Prairie is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, located in Dallas, Tarrant, and Ellis counties with a small part extending into Johnson county. It is part of the Mid-Cities region in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It had a popul ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. Lone Star Park has two live racing seasons every year; the spring Thoroughbred season generally runs from early April through mid-July, and the Fall Meeting of Champions generally runs from early September through mid-November.

History

In 1992 Grand Prairie voters approved a half-cent sales tax to assist in financial bonds to build a racetrack. Shortly thereafter, the city created a sports authority (the Grand Prairie Sports Facilities Development Corp.), which would own the track and lease it to a track operator.

Physical attributes

Lone Star Park covers , and includes Bar & Book for simulcasting of racing worldwide. The track has a one-mile (1.6 km) dirt oval and a seven-

furlong A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and United States customary units equal to one-eighth of a mile, equivalent to any of 660 foot (unit), feet, 220 yards, 40 rod (unit), rods, 10 chain (unit), chains, or a ...

turf Sod is the upper layer of turf that is harvested for transplanting. Turf consists of a variable thickness of a soil medium that supports a community of turfgrasses. In British and Australian English, sod is more commonly known as ''turf'', ...

track, and has accommodations for 1,600 horses across 32 barns. The climate-controlled grandstand has a seating capacity of roughly 8,000 people.

Personalities

*Dave Appleton, paddock host (1997–present) *Rick Lee, track Handicapper (1998–present) *Jim Byers, track announcer (2016–present) *"Railbird" Rodney Nelson, Handicapper/Paddock Host (2018-present)

Production staff

*John Marsh, video production manager

Racing

Due to the popularity of many different horse breeds in the state of Texas, half of the races are set up for more than just thoroughbreds.

Graded events

Thoroughbred races: Grade III * Steve Sexton Mile Stakes – $400,000 guaranteed – 3 yo & up , 1 mile Quarter horse: Grade I *Texas Classic Futurity – $1,000,000 estimated – 2 yo , 400 yards *Texas Classic Derby – $400,000 estimated – 3 yo , 440 yards *Refrigerator Handicap – $75,000-Guaranteed – 3 yo & up , 440 yards Grade II *Dash For Cash Futurity – $450,000 estimated – 2 yo , 400 yards Grade III *Dash For Cash Derby – $175,000 estimated – 3 yo , 440 yards *B. F. Phillips Jr. Stakes Restricted Texas-Bred – $25,000 guaranteed – 3 yo & up , 400 yards Paint and Appaloosa: Grade I *Speedhorse Lone Star Paint and Appaloosa Futurity – $100,000 estimated – 2 yo , 400 yards Other Stakes Races Thoroughbred *Texas Derby - $300,000 guaranteed - 3 yo - , 1 1/16 miles *Ouja Board Distaff - $200,000 guaranteed - F&M 3 yo & up - , 1 mile Turf *Chamberlain Bridge Stakes - $100,000 guaranteed - 3 yo & up - , 5 Furlongs Turf *Memorial Day Sprint - $100,000 guaranteed - F&M 3 yo & up - , 6 Furlongs *Speightstown Sprint - )100,000 guaranteed - 3 yo & up - , 6 Furlongs *Texas Horse Racing Hall of Fame Stakes TX-Bred, 3 YO & Up One Mile & One-Sixteenth (Turf) $75,000 Added *Texas Turf Classic 3 YO & Up One Mile & One-Eighth (Turf) $300,000 Guaranteed *Wasted Tears Stakes Fillies & Mares, 3 YO & Up One Mile & One-Sixteenth (Turf) $150,000 Guaranteed *Grand Prairie Turf Sprint 3 YO & Up Five Furlongs (Turf) $150,000 Guaranteed *Chicken Fried Stakes Fillies & Mares, 3 YO & Up Five Furlongs (Turf) $150,000 Guaranteed *Assault Stakes – Restricted Texas-Bred – $75,000 guaranteed – 3 yo & up , 1 mile *Bluebonnet Stakes – Restricted Texas-Bred – $75,000 guaranteed – 3 yo & up , furlongs *Wayne Hanks Memorial Stakes – Restricted Texas-Bred – $75,000 guaranteed – fillies & mares, 3 yo & up , furlongs *Nevill Stakes – Restricted Texas-Bred – $20,000 estimated – 3 yo & up , 350 yards *Danny Shifflett Scholarship Stakes TX-Bred, Fillies & Mares, 3 YO & Up Seven & One-Half Furlongs (Turf) $75,000 Added *Texas Stallion Stakes (Pan Zareta Division) Fillies, 2 YO Five Furlongs $75,000 Added *Texas Stallion Stakes (Staunch Avenger Division) Colts & Geldings, 2 YO Five Furlongs $75,000 Added *Texas Horse Racing Hall of Fame Stakes TX-Bred, 3 YO & Up One Mile & One-Sixteenth (Turf) $75,000 Added *Valor Farm Stakes TX-Bred, Fillies & Mares, 3 YO & Up Six Furlongs $75,000 Added *Texas Thoroughbred Association Futurity (Filly Division) Fillies, 2 YO Five & One-Half Furlongs $150,000 Guaranteed *Texas Thoroughbred Association Futurity (Colt & Gelding Division) Colts & Geldings, 2 YO Five & One-Half Furlongs $150,000 Guaranteed *Fiesta Mile TX-Bred, Fillies & Mares, 3 YO & Up One Mile (Turf) $75,000 Added Lone Star Park

*Masterpiece Challenge Paint and Appaloosa Stakes – Listed – $20,000 estimated – 3 yo , 400 yards Arabians: *Dubai International Arabian Races Texas Open Stakes – $30,000 guaranteed – 3 yo & up , 1 & 1/16 mile *Shadwell Arabian Stallions Texas Distaff Stakes – $30,000 guaranteed – fillies & mares, 3 yo & up , 8 furlongs *www.shadwellarabian.co.uk Texas Lone Star Futurity – $20,000 guaranteed – fillies, 3 yo , 6 furlongs *DIAR Texas Lone Star Futurity – $20,000 guaranteed – colts & geldings, 3 yo , 6 furlongs

In popular culture

*On ''

Walker, Texas Ranger ''Walker, Texas Ranger'' is an American action fiction, action Crime drama, crime television series created by Leslie Greif and Paul Haggis. It was inspired by the film ''Lone Wolf McQuade'', with both the film and the series starring Chuck Norr ...

'', the episode "Rainbow's End" (from

Season 6 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and polar ...

) had one of the titular Texas Ranger's (

Chuck Norris Carlos Ray "Chuck" Norris (born March 10, 1940) is an American martial artist and actor. Born in Oklahoma, Norris first gained fame when he won the amateur Middleweight Karate champion title in 1968, which he held for six consecutive years. H ...

) cases taking place here. The episode centers on Walker, Trivette ( Clarence Gilyard Jr.) and Alex (

Sheree J. Wilson Sheree J. Wilson (born December 12, 1958) is an American actress, producer, businesswoman, and model. She is best known for her roles as April Stevens Ewing on the American primetime television series ''Dallas'' (1986–1991) and as Alex Cahill- ...

) building a case against a corrupt racehorse owner named James Lee Crown (

Randolph Mantooth Randolph Mantooth (born Randy DeRoy Mantooth, September 19, 1945) is an American actor who has worked in television, documentaries, theater, and film for more than 50 years. A graduate of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, he was discovere ...

) for killing a rival racehorse and its owner and trainer (the latter of whom secretly working for Crown), and protecting the titular racehorse-- who is owned by one of Walker's close friends ( John Beck) and his daughter ( Lea Moreno)-- from becoming Crown's next victim.

References

* *Map: {{Grand Prairie, Texas Buildings and structures in Dallas County, Texas Buildings and structures in Grand Prairie, Texas Horse racing venues in Texas Stronach Group Sports in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex Sports venues in Texas Tourist attractions in Dallas County, Texas Sports in Grand Prairie, Texas 1997 establishments in Texas Sports venues completed in 1997