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Quarter Horse Named Official Horse in Oklahoma
take bets on Texas Thoroughbred races. The plaintiffs include Global Gaming LSP (owner
of Lone Star Park), Gulf Coast Racing LLC (which owns a greyhound racetrack in the state), LRP Group Ltd (a partnership working toward opening a horseracing track in the southern part of the state), and Valle De Los Tesoros (another
YEAR in REVIEW
Springs, Wyoming. Track announcer A.P. Harreld is an executive producer of the series, and film makers Michael and David Hansen intend to make “Racing at the Rock” a thoughtful and respectful documentary about the horsemen and horses who make their living around racing. “I am looking forward
ey, Speedhorse
Linda Earl
partnership looking to operate a horseracing track in South Texas). This filing is in a different division of the same court that threw out a case filed by the National Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association in 2021, in which an appeal has been filed.
LAD RESIGNATIONS, MISSING MONEY
(July 31) According the The Paulick Report, Mitch Dennison has resigned as general manager after 3 months and Kato Moy has resigned as general manager of the casino at Louisiana Downs. Also in an unrelated matter, nearly $2 million is missing from the horsemen’s purse account generated from slot machines and pari-mutuel wagering, which has been turned over to the state’s Attorney General and the Louisiana Racing Commission.
AUGUST
EVERARDO RODRIGUEZ RETURNS TO RIDING
(Aug. 1) Everardo Rodriguez, the 2021 leading rider by wins, was in a devastating spill at Delta Downs on June 3 of this year and suffered a compression fracture in his back and a brain bruise in the accident. Doctors cleared him to return to riding on Aug. 1 and the 33 year old is back riding at the track, exercising horses on his first day back. “The plan is for him to begin the process of raising his fitness back up to where it was to be ready to ride races,” said his agent Gerald Thomas to StallioneSearch.com. “Once he feels ready to race ride, we will start accepting mounts and get back to full swing here in Louisiana. We are hopeful to be ready to give calls on horses going into the LQHBA Sale Futurity in the middle of August. It could be sooner than that, but I am confident Everardo will tell me when he is ready.”
HORSESHOE INDIANAPOLIS WEINER DOG RACES
(Aug. 13) One-year-old Dachshund Jack was the winner of the 2nd annual Hot Diggity Dog Weiner Dog races at Horseshoe Indianapolis. A total of 17 dogs competed in three heats with the top 11 advancing to the finals where Jack, who is owned by Doug Ralph, won the $250 prize and Weiner Dog trophy. The event was held in conjunction with the 4th all-Quarter Horse racing day of 2022.
QUARTER HORSE NAMED OFFICIAL HORSE
IN OKLAHOMA
(Aug. 15) The Oklahoma State Senate approved a bill calling for the American Quarter Horse
to be recognized as the official state horse. The American Quarter Horse has major ties to the Oklahoma community: Oklahoma has more registered Quarter Horses per capita than any other state with over 33,000 registered owners; the Quarter Horse has an estimated $126.5 million economic impact in the state; Remington Park hosts one of the nations’ premier Quarter Horse meets and has provided over $288 million to the state general education fund since 2005; an Oklahoma Equine Alliance study found that the Oklahoma horse industry accounts for $3.6 billion and 35,000 full-time jobs in the state;
and Heritage Place Sale Company is one of the industry’s leading auction horses for Quarter Horses. “Our state was built upon the western heritage and lifestyle of our ancestors and naming a state horse pays tribute to the cowboys, Native Americans, pioneers and others who built Oklahoma,” said Sen. Blake Stephens.
SEPTEMBER
JOCKEY DOMINGUEZ RIDES SIX WINNERS
(Sept. 4) Jockey Uriel Dominguez rode the winners of six races at Sweetwater Downs.
In race #1, Dominguez scored a 1/2-length victory with Kellys First in a maiden event; in race #2, another maiden, he went wire-to-wire aboard Fannin The Sparks to win by 1-length; he did not have a horse in race #3, but he
won an allowance wire-to-wire in race #4 with Dynasty Switch; in race #5, he scored in another allowance with The Iron Chef by 1 1/2-lengths; in race #6 he won an allowance aboard UD Goldenboy; he didn’t have horses in races #7, #8 or #9, but in race #10 he scored his sixth win of the day aboard ER Switching Mtns wire-to-wire in another allowance. Overall, Dominguez has ridden the winners of 378 races and his mounts have earned over $2 million.
DOCUSERIES FILMED AT SWEETWATER DOWNS
(Sept. 10) A docuseries about horseracing is being filmed at Sweetwater Downs in Rock
to horse racing season at Sweetwater Downs come alive on screen – and reveal all that personality, grit, hope and pride in an honest, unvarnished and competitive capsule,” said Sweetwater Downs general manager Eugene Joyce. The release date of the film will be announced at a later date.
QUARTER HORSE RACING IN AUSTRALIA
(Sept. 15) Quarter Horse, Paint and Appaloosa racing is set to run in Australia with the mid-October licensing of Speedhorse Australia Pty. Ltd, no affiliation to Speedhorse Magazine. The application
is for Short Course Sprint Horse Racing in Queensland beginning in 2023. The license will be the official fourth code of racing in Queensland, along with harness, greyhound, and Thoroughbred racing.
AQHA HALL OF FAME INDUCTION CEREMONY
(Sept. 16) The AQHA Hall of Fame induction ceremony saw six horses and seven AQHA members inducted into the Class of 2022. Individuals included John Andreini, James VA Carter, Sandra Arledge, Mary Hopkins, Walter and Nancy Hughes, and Jerry Wells; and horses included Corona Cartel, Big Step, Easter King, Impressive, Sun Frost and Topsail Whiz.
CANADA CUP SALE SHOWS ACROSS-THE-BOARD INCREASES
(Sept. 16) The Alberta Quarter Horse Racing Association held their 27th annual Canada QH Cup Mixed Sale in Red Deer, Alberta. Reports show 13 of 23 head offered were sold for $92,900, a 10% increase over last year. The sale average reached $7,146, a 2% increase, and the median price of $7,500 was a 43% increase compared to 2021. The top seller at $13,000 was Hip #4, O Lets Be First (First Timber-Lets Get Going, Separatist),
a gelding who is a sibling to three blacktype runners, consigned by Wesley Oulton and purchased by Jeffrey Rath. Jim Cusitar was the leading buyer with two purchases totaling $15,000, Wesley Oulton was the leading consignor/agent with two consignments selling for $20,500, and First Timber was
the leading sire of sale yearlings by average with two selling for a $7,750 average.
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