Page 39 - January 2016 Speedhorse

2015 A YeAr In revIew
March 24
1995 Champion 3-Year-Old Gelding Mars Blackman (On A High-Heavy Spender, Special Effort) was euthanized due to complications
of old age. The 23-year-old gelding won 9 stakes, including the Sam Houston Derby-G1 and TQHA Breeders’ Futurity-RG1. In six seasons on the track, Mars Blackman compiled a record of 35-19(9)-6(5)-3(3) with $382,531 in earnings and a 400-yard New Track Record at Retama Park.
April
March 25
Louisiana Downs announced their 2015 meet leaders, with Ana L. Alvidrez earning the title of Leading Owner; Carlos Saldivar earning his first title as Leading Trainer, and Raul Ramirez, Jr. and David Alvarez taking Co-Leading Rider titles.
April 3
The AQHA suspended four Quarter Horse trainers for positive dermorphin tests in Louisiana, after the state Supreme Court denied the trainers’ applications to argue their case. Michael “Heath” Taylor and Alonzo Loya were each suspended for five years and ordered to pay a $10,000 fine, while Alvin Smith and John Darrel Soileau were each suspended for 10 years and fined $20,000.
April 6
April 2
1990 Champion 3-Year-Old Filly Sweet N Special (Special Effort-Sweet Katrina, Does
It Easy) was euthanized, according to her breeder/owner AQHA President Walter Fletcher. The 28-year-old mare, who was suffering from an old stifle injury, won 12 races and earned $209,103, including the Sunland Park Fall Derby-G3. Sweet N Special is the dam of 10 winners, including multiple Grade 1 winner Not For Long.
April 4
Stakes-placed sire Fire And Corona si 103 (Walk Thru Fire-Corona Music, Corona Cartel) died after a battle with laminitis. Bred by Hal Earnhardt and owned by Denis and Julie Schoenofer, Fire And Corona earned $311,727 and won or placed in eight of 19 career starts, including the Texas Classic Futurity-G1 and the Firecracker Derby. Fire And Corona is the sire of three winners from nine starters.
Edward Drew Alexander, 73, died in Amarillo, Texas. A natural entrepreneur with a passion for horses and hunting, Alexander was the co-founder of the Saddle Brook Jockey Club, the first temporary simulcast facility in West Texas.
April 6
Idaho Gov. Butch Otter vetoed a bill that was set to ban historical racing machines in Idaho, stating that the struggling horse racing industry needs the income historical-racing provides. Otter also announced a halt on licensing new machines until a State Gaming Commission is created to establish operating rules that are sensitive to both the industry and community interests. Operating less than one year, nearly 250 terminals have been installed with more than 70,000 people wagering nearly $40 million during the first eight months of instant racing at Les Bois Park’s Turf Club.
Jockey Cody Jensen earned his 1,500th career win aboard Big Kids Birthday at Remington Park. The 39-year-old rider tallied his first win in 1993 on BCR
Easy Copy at the Oneida County Fair in Idaho, and he won back-to-back runnings of the All American Futurity in 2005 aboard Teller Cartel and in 2006 aboard No Secrets Here. In 2014, Jensen won the peer-elected Sam Thompson Memorial Jockey Award, sponsored by Speedhorse in conjunction with the Jockeys’ Guild, which is designed to honor personal character on and off the racetrack.
April 16
Former Quarter Horse and Thoroughbred trainer Lloyd Romero, 79, passed away at his residence. Romero and his fastest Quarter Horse, Rocket’s Magic, finished third in the 1975 All American Futurity and was the inspiration
for the Hollywood movie “Caseys Shadow”. Romero was a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps, was a Louisiana State Trooper, was instrumental in getting casino wagering legislation passed
in Louisiana, and served as president of the Louisiana HBPA Association.
April 11
SPEEDHORSE, January 2016 37