(May 28, 2005) - Lights On Broadway, Texas' Horse of the Year in 2001, still has what it takes to win stakes races at the age of eight. The popular gelding rolled to a 1 ¼-length win over Charming Socialite in Saturday's $50,000 Carter McGregor Jr. Memorial Stakes at Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie, Texas, for his 12 victory in 55 career starts.

The $30,000 winner's share of the purse boosted his lifetime earnings over the half-million mark to $522,480.

Lights On Broadway, ridden by Jeremy Beasley, ran six furlongs on a sloppy main track in 1:09.24 and paid $10.80 to win. It was his fifth career stakes win and first since he won the 2002 Premiere Stakes at Lone Star with Hall of Fame jockey Jerry Bailey aboard.

Two races ago on April 20, Lights On Broadway was claimed off of longtime trainer "Bubba" Cascio for $20,000 by owner Adam Lewis and trainer Chris Hartman. He won the race, which was his first trip to the winner's circle in three years.

"We feel very blessed to have this horse," said Hartman, a New Mexico-based horseman who is stabling at Lone Star Park for the first time this year. "We won a [two-way] shake on him."

Unlike any race in the past two years, Lights On Broadway tracked a length behind early pacesetters Smile Away and Agrivating General through fractions of :22.06 and :44.53. He moved wide on the turn for home and took over at the top of the stretch under strong handling by Beasley.

"I've got to take my hat off to Lights On Broadway," Beasley said. "He showed the youngsters that he still has what it takes to beat 'em. You know, he put me where I wanted to be. I was pretty much a passenger on a jet airplane. I sat back in the bridle, he picked his head up and he took off with me. He put me in a position that was a little unexpected to me because he was dragging me the whole way versus stalking like he normally does."

Smile Away finished 2 ¼ lengths behind runner-up Charming Socialite. Favored R B J's Blaze, East Texas Red and Agrivating General completed the order of finish.