"Texans have embraced the Breeders' Cup, and horseracing fans around the world are eager to visit the Lone Star State," Breeders' Cup Limited President D.G. Van Clief Jr. said. "In addition to the earliest sellout, we were able to offer the most reserved seats in the history of the World Thoroughbred Championships."
Breeders' Cup Limited and the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) are bringing the Breeders' Cup - a traveling year-end championship featuring eight races cumulatively worth $14 million - to the Southwest region for the first time. Lone Star Park, which opened seven years ago in 1997, is the youngest of nine racetracks in North America to host the multi-million dollar extravaganza.
"We always knew that a seat to the Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships would be a hot ticket in a great sports and entertainment market like the Dallas-Fort Worth area," said Corey Johnsen, President of Lone Star Park. "The general public responded enthusiastically and we can't wait to showcase Lone Star Park to an international audience next month."
To accommodate the large audience, Lone Star Park, which has about 12,000 permanent indoor and outdoor seats, is erecting approximately 39,000 temporary seats with accompanying service structures that include mutuel windows, concessions, merchandise sales and restrooms. The seating will stretch from around the far turn, through the homestretch and into the first turn.
All seating on Breeders' Cup Day at Lone Star Park is reserved; there are no general admission tickets. In addition, parking permits for adjacent and remote parking are being sold in advance; there will no parking without a permit on Breeders' Cup Day. "By implementing these policies, it will enable us to deliver a high level of customer service and hospitality to the 51,034 in attendance," Johnsen added.
Parking and admission gates will open early at 7 a.m. CT on Breeders' Cup Day, and the first of 12 live races will be 11:40 a.m. CT. The first of eight consecutive Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships races will follow at 12:20 p.m. CT. Three stakes races will follow the $4 million Breeders' Cup Classic - Powered by Dodge, with the final race of the day scheduled for 6:15 p.m. CT.
