All four licensed tracks are schedule to conduct Quarter Horse racing next year.

Sam Houston Race Park will conduct a 20-day Quarter Horse meet (from March 30-May 12) with projected purses of $65,000 per day. Lone Star Park will conduct a 16-day Quarter Horse season (from September 21-November 10) with projected purses of $150,000 per day.

Retama Park near San Antonio will conduct a 25-day mixed meet (from July 6-September 5) split evenly between Thoroughbreds and Quarter Horses. An eight-day mixed-breed Gillespie County Fair meet in Fredericksburg will be conducted between July 6-August 25.

The 48 Quarter Horse dates marked a 22-date decrease from 2017, when 70 Quarter Horse dates were offered the state's horsemen.

"The approval came after lengthy testimony from the Texas Horsemen's Partnership and others stating reasons why race dates should not be decreased in 2018," said a story in the THP's recently distributed newsletter. "The efforts and testimony proved unsuccessful."

Tracks may later request to add or delete days from their approved schedules. For more information, visit the TRC's race dates page.

The commission also took action to initiate the process for a third-party economy, efficiency and effectiveness audit. As part of that initiative, commissioners voted to approve publishing in the Texas Register new Rule 309.13 regarding funding of such an audit with a supplemental fee to be paid by every licensed racing association.