Page 13 - March 2017

inducted into the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame in 2012.
Claude and Bessie Lea Jeane were inducted into the inaugural LQHBA Hall of Fame Class last year, and in 2017 their homebred Heisajoy joins them.
A son of Gusty Hempen and out of Sheisajoy by Heisanative TB, Heisajoy was foaled March 1, 1985. Trained by Claude, Heisajoy was winless in his three starts as a 2 year old, but broke his maiden in his first race as a 3 year old. His first stakes victory came in the 1988 Delta Downs Louisiana Breeders Derby, and the sorrel gelding also won the Pomona Handicap-G2 at Fairplex Park and several graded stakes at Los Alamitos including the HQHRA Inaugural Handicap-G3, the Double Bid Handicap-G3 and the Chicado V Handicap-G2. The Louisiana-bred started 28 races and amassed a record of 15-4-2 that included winning eight stakes races and earning nearly $249,978. Recognized as a Superior Race Horse by AQHA, Heisajoy passed away in 2010.
Foaled in 1965, Go Vicki Meyers was a daughter of Mr Meyers and out of Otro Mambo TB by Three Bars. She made 38 starts between 1968 and 1970, with a record of 22 wins, five seconds and five third-place finishes. The speedy mare ran exclusively at Evangeline Downs where she won 11 stakes, including the Acadian Classic Handicap and Donald S. Gardiner Sr. Memorial Handicap. She is credited with setting two
Track Records in 1970: 300 yards in :15.80 and 330 yards in :16.93. Following her retirement from racing at the end of 1970, she entered her second career as a broodmare, producing three foals, including stakes-placed filly Lionette by Lion Deck.
“Our board of directors join me in taking great pride in recognizing these outstanding individuals and racing Champions as we induct them into the second class of the LQHBA Hall of Fame,” stated LQHBA executive director Tony Patterson. “Each have made significant contributions to Louisiana breeding and racing and could not be more deserving of this honor.”
IndIana Grand announces stakes schedule
Indiana Grand Racing & Casino will offer more than $1.5 million in Quarter Horse stakes for 2017. A total of 19 stakes will be offered for the sprinters during the 120-day racing season that spans April 18 through Oct. 28. Most
racing programs offer at least one Quarter Horse race at the conclusion of the Thoroughbred lineup, and six days have been reserved during the season for all Quarter Horse racing.
The eighth running of the $150,000-added Gordon Mobley Futurity and the ninth running of the $150,000-added Miss Roxie Little Futurity share the distinction of offering the highest purse money for the year. Both races
are for Indiana sired and Indiana bred Quarter Horses, respectively, with the Mobley Futurity set for June 17 and the Little Futurity included on the Oct. 21 racing program. In all, eight stakes will offer purses in excess of $100,000 during the 2017 racing season.
“We are coming off a year where our Quarter Horse program set all types of records in handle,” said Jon Schuster, vice president and general manager of racing. “We are encouraged to see so much added interest from racing fans across the country, and we are beginning to see some new horsemen come in to participate in our events, which I believe will strengthen our program in 2017.”
Dates for all-Quarter Horse racing include June 3, July 8, Aug. 12, Sept. 16, Oct. 7 and Oct. 21. Indiana Grand completed a new 101-stall Quarter Horse barn last year. In 2017, a new track maintenance facility is being added as well as a new “safety rail.”
The full list of Quarter Horse stakes for 2017 is available at www.indianagrand.com.
wyomInG downs sets schedule
The Cowboy State is gearing up for its summer racing season at Wyoming Downs near Evanston, Wyoming. In addition to the racing action, the track plans plenty of activities for racing fans, too.
Opening day is set for June 24, and the weekend festivities will include a youth racing event and an invitation to state policymakers and dignitaries to attend the races and learn more about the impact the track has on the state. Wyoming Downs is planning other festivities throughout the meet. The Brewfest and the Freedom Biker Rally were fan favorites last year and are again on the calendar for 2017. The track’s barn area will open June 12, and training starts June 14.
The trials to the Wyoming Bred Futurity and Derby, which will have the finals contested on July 8 and July 9 respectively, will be part of the opening day card. The Wyoming Downs
Futurity will wrap up the meet on August 13. Visit wydowns.com for the latest information on Wyoming Downs and the track’s complete stakes schedule.
arcI conference set
The 2017 Association of Racing Commissioners International Conference on Racing Integrity and Equine Welfare will focus on a blunt discussion about what is working and what is not in racing regulation in an ongoing effort to continually strengthen current policing efforts.
Although the annual ARCI conference is the only gathering of racing industry regulators, it is open to anyone involved with the industry
in any capacity. The conference will be held in Charleston, South Carolina April 18-20 at the Charleston Marriott.
Racing’s drug testing program will undergo an aggressive review by a panel of experts who will address the topic at “Drug Testing: Are We Getting it Right and Catching the Cheaters?” and discussions are expected to focus on emerging doping threats and possible ways to monitor horses through development of an equine biological passport. There will also be a discussion of strategies as to how to select horses for out-of-competition tests.
The use of the riding crop will be discussed and debated at the conference, as will current policies which may be an impediment to emerging technologies intended to grow the sport. There will also be a discussion about creative ways to adjudicate racing rule violations differently than what is now being done.
Many opinions are offered at the track following rulings and inquiries so the session “Do Our Stewards Know What They Are Doing?” invited members of The Horseplayers Association of North America and others to join in the panel discussion.
ARCI is the only organization in racing whose members are the officially sanctioned racing authorities empowered by law to enact and enforce the rules of racing as well as adjudicate violations and disputes.
The April meeting will also host meetings of: the National Racing Compact; Association of Official Racing Chemists (AORC – US Section); the Drug Testing Standards and Practices Committee; and the Model Rules Committee.
Visit www.arci.com to learn more about the organization and to register for the conference.
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track chatter