Page 34 - 8 August 2012

A Lovely Surprise
It was such a lovely surprise when we opened the box to find that beautiful tro- phy! Needless to say . . . we were so humbled that Speedhorse would honor our three mares. Our lives are so intertwined with
our horses that it’s as if we all function with one heartbeat. This honor made the heart of Jumonville Farms skip a beat!
Thank you, Amanda, for being our friend – and, for always being available to help us main- tain and improve our passion for excellence.
Bunny, J.E. & Dutch Jumonville Farms, Ventress, LA
Tom Mosley, Jr.
Victor Olivio
Carrillos, LLC was SunRay’s Leading Quarter Horse Owner, Roberto Sanchez was the leading Quarter Horse Trainer, and Esgar Ramirez was the Leading Quarter Horse Jockey.
Senate Drug Hearing
On July 12, the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation held
a hearing on medication use in horse racing, focusing on how to stem the improper use
of drugs. Committee chair Dem. Sen. Tom Udall of New Mexico and Rep. Congressman Ed Whitfield of Kentucky, have introduced a bill to ban performance enhancing drugs and impose tougher penalties on trainers whose horses test positive for drugs with a permanent ban on those with multiple violations.
Eight prominent witnesses from the rac-
ing industry called for tougher penalties on trainers and told the committee that train-
ers should be banned for life if found using potent performance-enhancing drugs such as dermorphin even once. Witnesses included: Jeffrey Gural, chairman and managing partner of American Racing and Entertainment;
Barry Irwin, chief executive of Team Valor International; Kent Stirling, executive direc- tor of the Florida Horsemen’s Benevolent & Protective Association and chairman of the National HBPA medication committee; Jim Gagliano, president and COO of The Jockey Club; Matthew Witman, national director of the American Quarter Horse Association; Marc Paulhus, former director of Equine Protection and vice president of the Humane Society
of the U.S.; Ed Martin, president and CEO
of the Association of Racing Commissioners International; and Dr. Sheila Lyons, founder and director of the American College of Veterinary Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation.
CHRB Changes Claiming Rule
The California Horse Racing Board approved a regulatory amendment that will allow claimed horses that do not win the races in which they were claimed to race at the same level within 25 days. The standing rule for claimed horses to run for a higher price when raced within 25 days of the claim will apply only to race winners. The new rule went into effect July 25 and could help increase field size.
ApHC 2011 Hall Of Fame Inductees
On July 15, the Appaloosa Horse Club (ApHC) held a ceremony for the 2011 Hall
of Fame inductees during the 65th National Championship Appaloosa Show in Tulsa, Oklahoma, recognizing individuals and horses whose contributions have made an impressive and lasting impact on the industry. Individuals inducted include Royce Crosby and Sylvia Haines. Horses inducted include I Love Willie,
Indiana Downs Declares Leading Trainer, Jockey
Tom Mosley Jr. was the leading Quarter Horse trainer and Victor Olivio was the leading Quarter Horse jockey at Indiana Downs.
Louisiana Pushes Dermorphin Cases To August
According to The Times-Picayune, the Louisiana State Racing Commission has delayed hearings on several positive dermor- phin cases to Aug. 29-30 due to legal and pro- cedural reasons. The cases against nine trainers stem from 11 positive dermorphin tests in May and June at Delta Downs, Evangeline Downs and Louisiana Downs, and include Quarter Horse trainers Steve Garrison, Gonzalo Gonzales, Alonzo Loya, Alvin Smith Jr., Darrel Soileau and Heath Taylor. Track stewards suspended the trainers for the maximum six- month maximum, and referred the case to the Commission for further action. Trainers who have appealed the ruling can continue to run horses until the commission hears the case.
Jockey Leggett, Chaplain Luft Join Prairie Meadows Hall Of Fame
Jockey Tad Leggett and Chaplain Dennis Luft will be inducted into the Prairie Meadows Hall of Fame. Leggett began riding in 1987, and started at the Iowa track during their inau- gural year in 1989. He led the Quarter Horse standings at Prairie Meadows from 1997-2001 and again in 2007, and has won a total of 438 races at the track to stand as the leading the overall rider. Nationally, Leggett has ridden the earners of nearly $13.5 million. He is the 19th all-time leading Quarter Horse rider. Chaplain Dennis Luft for the past 12 years has offered spiritual ministry to backside workers in the racing industry. Luft offers the daily morning prayer and the blessing of horses each day prior to the races.
SunRay Park Ends Meet
SunRay Park in Farmington, New Mexico, ended its 42-day mixed meet June 26, posting a season-high crowd of 4,662 on Kentucky Derby Day, May 5, a total of $4,585,299 wagered on live racing, and average purses of $131,000 per day. The track kept field sizes and purses up by cutting daily races from 11 to nine on May 8. Santa Fe Horse Racing by
Blazing Hot Spots, Joker’s Sleepy and Ms Gunsmokes Doll. The ApHC Race Hall of Fame inductees included individual Cheryl White and mare Nellies Girl.
Jacky Martin Improving
According to a Jockeys Guild release, Jacky Martin, the Quarter Horse jockey critically injured last September in New Mexico, is making good progress and looking forward to being weaned from his respirator. “I’m doing pretty good,” Jacky said in an interview on July 16. “It’s a lot better than it was a few months ago. I think it’s going the right way anyway.” Sometimes he gets frustrated with the slow- ness of his recovery, but
recovery from severe neurological injury, “just takes a long time. They tell me a year’s not very long, really.”
34 SPEEDHORSE, August 3, 2012
Since late May, Jacky
has been in-patient at
a special clinic in Tulsa
focused on weaning him
from the ventilator he has
had to use since his spill
at Ruidoso Downs on
Sept. 2. Jacky suffered a
broken neck and spinal
cord injuries in the spill,
paralyzing him from the neck down.
Earlier this year, Jacky was being consid- ered for a diaphragmatic pacemaker, which would be implanted to electrically stimulate his diaphragm to allow him to breathe without a ventilator. Doctors nixed that idea, however, and afterward Jacky and his wife, Tracey, explored the Tulsa clinic. Tracey said they are encouraged by recent signs. “He’s breathing a couple hours a day without the respirator,” she said. “He’s making rapid and strong progress,
Jacky Martin
NEWS BRIEFS
courtesy Tracey Martin
Coady Photography
Coady Photography