HORSE RACING Lone Star Park to host 21st Breeder's Cup

GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas (AP) -- The world championships of thoroughbred racing are being held this weekend at one of the smallest tracks in the event's 21-year history and by far the newest. The host site is in an area not known for high-stakes racing and, thus, is rarely used by the sport's elite.
Those are all reasons why Breeders' Cup president D.G. Van Clief is thrilled to be at Lone Star Park.
"Our original mission was to build awareness and promote the well-being of the sport," he said. "So obtaining a high profile in major marketplaces like Dallas-Fort Worth fits into our mission."
And hosting the Breeders' Cup fits the mission of Lone Star Park, too.
Track officials began dreaming about hosting this event since they conceived the place nine years ago. The day funding was finalized, Lone Star president Corey Johnson symbolized his goal by taking his keys off the rabbit's foot he'd been carrying around and clipping them onto a key chain with the Breeders' Cup logo.
As the track was being built, Cup officials were consulted to make sure it would meet their standards. Then, once Lone Star was up and running, Johnson and Charles England, the mayor of this suburb, pursued Van Clief so vigorously that he jokingly referred to them as his stalkers.
In its brief history, Lone Star's largest crowd has been around 30,000 and the biggest purse for a thoroughbred race was $500,000. Saturday's eight races will each pay between $1 million and $4 million and 51,000 fans will come out to see horse racing's equivalent of having the eight best college football bowl games in one place at one time.
"We have proven within the industry that we are a progressive track. That's why we got the event," said Johnson, the track's first employee. "What this does is give us a chance to reach more people. Now, when our card goes into France, people will say, 'Oh yeah, I know that place. That's where the Breeders' Cup was.' "