Pre-Entry Breakfast Has Texas Flavor

It is no coincidence that Lone Star Park is hosting the Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships after only being open for seven seasons. In fact, it was all by design and carefully planned by Lone Star management and city officials of Grand Prairie, Texas.

At Wednesday's breakfast press conference where the pre-entries were announced, Breeders' Cup president D. G. Van Clief explained even while Lone Star was in the development stages he was contacted by track president Corey Johnsen about how the facility should be planned if it were to be considered as host site for the championship day races.

That was followed by a concerted effort from Johnsen and Grand Prairie mayor Charles England to put together the necessary support from the city and improvements to the track that led to the selection of the track to host the races on Oct. 30.

"It was truly a team effort that allowed us to host this event," Johnsen said. "This Breeders' Cup will be second to none in terms of customer service and safe, competitive racing."

"It has been a great public-private partnership that many people said would not work," England said, referring to selection of a track the size of Lone Star Park as a Breeders' Cup site.

Steve Asmussen, a Texan whose stable has risen to be among the largest and most successful in the country, said "I can't tell you what a sense of pride it is" for Lone Star to have the best horses in the world competing on the one race card.

In addition to Asmussen, Dale Romans and Patrick Biancone were among trainers of the 101 horses pre-entered in the Breeders' Cup at the the breakfast.