Retama Park race track is a thoroughbred and quarter horse racing facility in Selma, Texas with two tracks.

It hosts some of the Lone Star state’s most prestigious racing stakes, including the Texas Stallion Stakes, Ketel One El Joven Stakes, La Señorita Stakes, Retama Turf Breeders Cup, New Braunfels Stakes, and the Texas Hall of Fame Stakes.

Retama Park Race Track Facts

Retama Park Race Track Records

History of Retama Park Race Track

1995

• On April 7, Retama Park race track opened for its inaugural season of racing.
• On May 27, the Twin Trifecta wager was offered for the first time at Retama Park race track.
• On September 25, the first quarter horse meet opened.
• On September 29, the Superfecta wager was offered for the first time at Retama Park race track.

1996

• On June 8, the track opened for its second year of live racing.
• On August 8, Retama Park race track released plans to remain open as a training center when not open for live racing.
• On November 29, the track completed its second year of live racing, posting dramatic increases in total wagering and per capita wagering.

Retama Park Race Track
Selma, Texas

1997

• On May 9, the third racing season began with Retama Park race track’s first mixed meet.
• The amount of money wagered for the year increased by 17% over the previous season.

1998

• On May 1, the mixed meet began.
• On June 28, figures for the mixed meet showed that the average handle on Retama Park race track’s races (from all sources) increased 37% over the previous season; average nightly handle is $378,597 compared to $277,158 the previous year.
• On October 16, $1,825,000 was wagered on Retama Park race track’s live racing, the highest amount ever.
• On October 19, the average nightly handle of $1,049,693 during the 1998 thoroughbred meet was an all-time Retama Park race track meet record. Attendance for the season was up 12% and the handle was up 24%.

1999

• On February 16, ambitious expansion plans were announced including a plush "Players Club" for Turf and Field Club members.
• On April 23, the mixed meet began and the Players Club opened.
• The record for Total Handle on Retama Park race track’s live racing was broken on the day of the 131st Belmont Stakes. $919,733 was wagered on Retama Park race track’s live racing while $223,308 was wagered on the Belmont Stakes, the most that has been bet on a single race at Retama Park race track.
• On October 22, the final Friday of live thoroughbred racing set a new handle record. Over $2 million from all sources was bet on the 11 race card.
• On October 24, the season ended with an 8% increase in handle and a 7% increase in attendance. The total season attendance was 155,285, up from 140,285 the previous year. The total combined handle was $56,851,357 compared to the 1998 figure of $51,434,971.

2000

• On January 31, fans wagered $6,454,526, which was $1.2 million over the revenue reported in the same month the previous year.
• The 2000 mixed meet was the most successful in Retama Park race track’s history. Compared to 1999, attendance was up 9.3%; live handle was up 4.5% and total average handle ($581,147) was up 5.5%.