Page 16 - June 2022

AQHA RACING UPDATE
“Our team works constantly to move initiatives forward, and there are a couple areas where we are making progress.”
As spring heads towards summer, we see a changing of the seasons in the racing industry as well. Schooling
races are wrapping up, and more two year olds are getting their first official outs. We are seeing the development of the next class of stakes winners, all the while the yearlings are making their way into the barns to start sales-prepping for the summer yearling sales. It’s an amazing cycle, isn’t it?
We at AQHA have our own cycle.
While managing all day-to-day activities, we simultaneously navigate from big event to big event, starting the year with the Champions Ceremony, then on to the AQHA Convention, then the running of AQHA Regional Challenge Stakes and the related hair testing, maintaining
a presence at key races, key horse sales, and
key events like the Jay Pumphrey Memorial Cowboy Classic Golf Tournament (this year to be conducted August 31 at The Links Golf Course in Ruidoso). My calendar is chock full through each season, and I look forward to seeing many of you at each stop.
Speaking of stops: Next week I visit Hipodromo de las Americas where I have been asked to be on hand while they collect hair samples for their biggest futurity. AQHA has long advocated for this testing mechanism
and we appreciate that so many jurisdictions are including it among their various testing methods. It is indeed a valuable tool in deterring those who seek an unfair advantage. Consequently, it is my honor to support our friends in Mexico City in this effort.
In June I will go to our nation’s capital where I’ll attend the American Horse Council Annual Conference. I sit on the AHC Racing Committee and am proud to represent our industry at that gathering.
Shortly after my return, I’ll again pack my bag for the South American Racing Conference to be conducted in Buenos Aires, Argentina. We are advocating for more recognized racing in South America, not only to grow Quarter Horse racing, but also to enable the collection of race records and include them in AQHA pedigree data. This is a critical endeavor, and I am proud to be part of it. I cannot understate the importance of the value in a global pedigree, and it won’t happen without recognized, regulated racing.
Let’s take a moment and circle back to the day-to-day activities. Our team works constantly to move initiatives forward, and there are a couple areas where we are making progress. One of the projects that our technology department
at AQHA Headquarters is working on is the programming to start using microchips to identify racehorses. We are doing internal programming as well as collaborating with the Jockey Club Information Systems to meet the requirements that will enable us to transition to this technology as our means of identifying racing Quarter Horses. The Jockey Club is a critical component of the endeavor, since their Equibase and Incompass’ Track Manager are the systems we rely on for race related data sharing. The
team is working diligently, and I will offer more information, including timeline, as it is available.
Additionally, we are near completion of a project that will allow for Challenge enrolled horses to be identified on past performances. This was another collaborative effort between our AQHA team and Equibase, and I am happy we are about to roll it out. Look for a racehorse silhouette with a ‘Q’ embedded in it found in the same location on the past performance lines where state bred symbols are referenced.
Last, but not least, we have big news at AQHA! I am pleased to let you know that AQHA has hired the new Executive Vice President. We are excited that Karl Stressman is taking the reins effective May 16. This decision culminates an extensive search effort, and the members of the executive vice president search committee, along with the AQHA Executive Committee, are confident Stressman, with more than 25 years’ experience in the western and horse industries, possesses the business knowledge to further current growth patterns, initiative to drive change, leadership skills required to manage a passionate team of talented staff, foresight to recognize future needs, and a desire to ensure the best for AQHA members and their American Quarter Horses worldwide. We look forward to following his lead.
This wraps up my report. I am pleased to offer insight into what your team at AQHA is doing, and the role that I have in representing our discipline. We only want to make Quarter Horse racing stronger, and we focus our attention on that goal each day. Thank you for affording us the honor of serving this great industry.
AQHA UPDATE
June 2022
by Janet VanBebber, AQHA Chief Racing Officer
“I am pleased to offer insight into what your team at AQHA is doing,
and the role that I have in representing our discipline. We only want to make Quarter Horse racing stronger, and we focus our attention on that goal each day. “
14 SPEEDHORSE June 2022