Page 196 - January_2023

NEWS BRIEFS
Correction
The photo featured on Golden Boi’s stat page (SR90-91) in the 2023 Speedhorse Stallion Register shows the incorrect horse. Correct photo is above. We sincerely apologize for this oversight.
Correction
Our 2023 Stallion Register showed Ryder Rite (SR194-195) having weanlings & yearlings of 2023, but that information is incorrect, and his first foals will be hitting the track in 2023. We apologize for this mistake. The 2017 stallion will be standing the 2023 season at Abraham’s Equine Clinic in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Correction
Page 83 in our 2023 Stallion Register fails to mention Power Jam’s stakes placed runner Candys Special Power. The filly was second in the Nov. 15 Black Gold Fillies Futurity at Will Rogers Downs. With earnings of nearly $68,000, the filly has won and placed in her first two starts.
LQHBA Scholarship Fund Assists 6 Students
The Louisiana Quarter Horse Breeders Association (LQHBA) on Dec. 17 awarded one $5,000 scholarship and five $2,000 scholarships to students to further their education. LQHBA executive director Bruce Salard assisted with the drawings, with 18-year-old Carter Zerangue getting the $5,000 scholarship. The LQHBA Scholarship Fund was the vision of the late
Jim Mitchell and Executive Director Emeritus Leverne Perry and continues to be supported strongly by the LQHBA, with over $800,000 earmarked for this program since its inception in 2001 and with the help of Louisiana Stallion Farms which contribute a stallion service to provide the primary funding for the program.
Evangeline Downs Meet Leaders
Evangeline Downs began their 2022 meet on Oct. 5 and ended it on Dec. 20. Owner Jose O. Barron took the leading owner title with nine winners, while owner Rogelio Marquez Jr. was the leading owner by earnings with $397,650. Dale Keith and Mario Trujillo Jr. shared the leading training title, both finishing the meet with 16 wins, while trainer Jesus Marquez was
the leading trainer by earnings with $398,190. Jockey Arturo Alvarez celebrated his 22nd birthday by capturing his first Evangeline Downs riding title. Alvarez, the #1 leading jockey by wins in 2022 with 113, finished the meet with 38 wins and earners of $897,601.
Lone Star Park Meet Leaders
Lone Star Park began their 2022 meet on Sept. 16 and ended it on Dec. 17. The leading Quarter Horse owner was Debra M. Gotovac with 10 wins and $117,792 in earnings. Longtime trainer Toby Keeton was the leading trainer with 21 wins and earnings of $261,284. AQHA Champion Jockey Francisco Calderon was the leading rider with 38 wins and earnings of $752,225.
Los Alamitos Meet Leaders
Los Alamitos began their 2021-2022 meet
on Dec. 26, 2021 and ended the meet on Dec. 18, 2022. Edward C. Allred was the leading owner with 69 victories. Jose Flores won his first leading trainer title at the track with 58 winners. Flores is the #3 all-time leading trainer at Los Alamitos only behind Blane Schvaneveldt and Paul Jones. Jockey Jesus Rios Ayala scored his fifth leading riding title in the last six years after winning 65 races, while Eduardo Nicasio led all riders in earnings with $1,776,008.
Heritage Champions of the Future Sale Results
The Heritage Place Champions of the Future Foal In Utero Online Sale was held Dec. 13-15. Preliminary results show 26 sold for $503,600 for an average of $19,369. The $80,000 high seller was Hip #15 with a transfer date of Feb. 22, 2022, by Favorite Cartel and out of Wave Her Down by First Down Dash. The foal is out of Grade 1 winner Wave Her Down, a full sister to World Champion Wave Carver and 3-Time Champion Ocean Runaway. The second dam is AQHA Dam of Distinction, AQHA Broodmare of the Year Runaway Wave. The second-highest seller was Hip #14 with a transfer date of April 28, 2022, by PYC Paint Your Wagon and out of Eye On The Candy by Mr Eye Opener. The foal will be a full sibling to stakes winner and New Track Record setter I See Candy Paint.
Los Al Cameraman Ward Retires
Longtime Los Alamitos TV Cameraman Hal Ward, 65, retired on Dec. 18. Ward is retiring after over 40 years in the racing industry. He
has operated the main television camera for thousands of horse races at the track. Ward graduated from the University of Arizona’s Race Track Industry Program in 1979. Ward worked as a steward’s aide at Del Mar for four years and was a press box assistant at Hollywood Park in the early 1980’s. He worked for the Daily Racing Form as a chart taker at Fairplex Park and then moved to Los Alamitos as a TV camera operator.
For 25 years, he was the main racing camera operator. “Working in horse racing has never
felt like working,” Ward said. “When I leave my house, I just never felt like I was going to work. I enjoyed my work at the track every single day.”
Canterbury Park 2023 Dates Approved
The Minnesota Racing Commission approved the request by Canterbury Park in Shakopee, Minnesota, for a 54-day Quarter Horse and Thoroughbred meet to run from May 27 through Sept. 16. The meet will distribute average daily purses of $220,000. A new 100-stall barn in currently under construction, while nine smaller barns are scheduled for demolition to make way
for an outdoor amphitheater, and construction is underway for a 34-room dormitory. The training track will also be reconfigured with a complete replacement of the main track and paddock lighting. “We are investing significant dollars in our racing infrastructure including new barns, dormitories
to house staff and safety enhancements as we plan for the future of horse racing in Minnesota,” said Canterbury Park CEO Randy Sampson.
194 SPEEDHORSE January 2023
Trainer John Cooper Retires
Trainer John Cooper, 84, retired at Los Alamitos Race Course on Dec. 18. In a career that spanned over six decades, Cooper is the #20 all-time leading trainer with over $19 million in Quarter Horse earners, and he ranks #3 all-time at Los Alamitos for number of stakes wins with 121. A native of Idaho, Cooper trained many greats in his day including Champions Moonist, Chingaderos, Separatist,
Sign Of Lanty, Cartel Jess Rockin and Mr Doty Bars. He was awarded the 2016 Frank Vessels Memorial Award for his contributions to Quarter Horse racing and is a member of the Idaho Quarter Horse Association Hall of Fame. In his final race on Dec. 18, and the last day of the 2022 Los Alamitos racing season, Cooper won the $155,300 Grade 2 Southern California Derby with Boondarbian in wire-to-wire fashion with jockey Cruz Mendez for owners Jerald and Lacie Davenport. “It’s time to retire,” Cooper said. “I feel good about it. I miss my family. They grew up without me. It’s time for me to give back and time for me to spend time with my wife and our children. My daughter lives just down the street from us. I’m happy about that.”
Los Alamitos
Mark Herron, TRACK Magazine