Sam Houston Race Park in Houston experienced a 28 percent increase in average daily handle on its races during the 43-date meet that closed Saturday night, the track announced Tuesday. Sam Houston handled an average of $2,242,808 a day on its races from all sources. The track also ran more races than last year, with 424 conducted compared to 337 in 2020. The average handle per race was $227,500, up from $182,244 at the corresponding meet in 2020, according to a press release. The average field size was 8.02 horses. The track handled a record $5.3 million on its Houston Ladies Classic card Jan. 31. "The 2021 thoroughbred season was a culmination of the blueprint we set into place in 2019," Frank Hopf, senior director of racing operations for Sam Houston, said in a press release. "The success of the 2021 meet is a credit to the tremendous support Sam Houston Race Park received from the owners, trainers, horseplayers, hard-working staff, and partners. We will build upon this meet and continue to improve moving forward." :: Bet horse racing on DRF Bets. Double Your First Deposit Up to $250. Join Now. The meet opened Jan. 8 with record purses due to a Texas law passed in 2019 that sets aside a portion of tax revenues from select horse goods and services for the racing and breeding industry in Texas. There were $12.6 million in purses paid out at the Sam Houston meet for Thoroughbreds in 2021. Steve Asmussen was both the leading owner and trainer this meet at Sam Houston. He won his seventh local owner title with 18 wins. Asmussen won his 13th local training title with 70 wins from 310 starts, according to a press release from Sam Houston. Asmussen-trained runners earned $1.8 million this meet at Sam Houston. Jockey Stewart Elliott won his first Sam Houston title with 62 wins from 271 mounts. The horses he rode earned a collective $1.5 million, according to the press release. Elliott regularly rode for Asmussen. Sam Houston opens its Quarter Horse meet April 23.