Page 42 - January 2016 Speedhorse

2015 A YeAr In revIew
June 4
Rider Ry Eikleberry became Canterbury Parks all-time leading Quarter Horse jockey by wins after scoring two victories at the track in Michigan. Eikleberry has now won 97 Quarter Horse races at Canterbury.
June 5
AQHA 2014 Champion
Jockey Cody Jensen was
injured in a training
accident, suffering six
fractured ribs and a
fractured vertebra when
his mount flipped and
landed on him at the
starting gates. Jensen, who has ridden the earners of over $32 million since he began riding in 1993, was the 2014 Sam Thompson Memorial Jockey Award winner.
June 27
Indiana Grand Racing & Casino hosted the 2nd Annual World Jockey Challenge with 31 Quarter Horse and Thoroughbred jockeys from 10 different countries competing in 10 races. The challenge included jockeys from the United States (9), Mexico (8), Panama (4), Peru (3), Puerto Rico (2), Virgin Islands (1), Italy (1), France (1) and England (1). Points were based on the top four finishers of each race, and it was a 5-horse photo finish in the final race that determined the winner. The combined efforts of Panamanian jockeys Albin Jimenez & Abel Lezcano scored the victory for their country after they won four races on the card and scored 48 points over the United States (with 47 points) and Mexico (with 43).
June
June 8
Former Quarter Horse trainer Wayne Brasher, 86, passed away in Thatcher, Arizona. A U.S. Navy veteran, Brasher trained the earners of over $1.6 million. Perhaps his most notable horse was Pies Royal Request, who banked over $220,000 and tied the AQHA record of 14 consecutive wins. Brasher is survived by his wife of 33 years, the executive director of the Arizona Quarter Racing Association Loretta Brasher, two daughters and a son.
June 21
Ruidoso Downs announced the purse for the 2016 Grade 1 Ruidoso Futurity will reach $1 million. The race is the first leg of the All American Triple Crown and has grown from $500,000 to $1 million in the last five years. Each of the All American Triple Crown races now offers purses between $1 and $3 million, and the winner of all three futurities would earn a $4 million bonus for a total of $6,340,000.
June 21
4-Time Champion, AQHA Supreme Race Horse and High Money Earning Horse Corona Cash (First Down Dash-Corona Chick, Chicks Beduino) died in Brazil from complications
of colic at the age of 20. The 1995 mare won 19 starts and earned
$1,542,880 winning
11 stakes races,
including the All
American Futurity-G1.
Corona Cash, who
was bred by Robert
Etchandy, is the dam
of 36 foals to date, 27
starters and 18 winners
that have earned nearly
$1 million.
June 22
The Downs at Albuquerque ended their 39-day race meet on June 18 and announced their 2015 meet leaders: Pedro Carrillo was named Leading Owner; the Co-Leading Trainer titles went to Wes Giles, Ron Stephens, and Adam Tapia; and Jose Luis Enriquez was the Leading Rider. The track recorded increases in wagering and purses during its 39-day spring meet and posted the largest attendance
in recent history on June 6 for the Belmont Stakes in anticipation of
the Triple Crown winner with 8,947 guests.
June 28
Canterbury Park hosted a fundraiser for Leg Up Fund, a permanent fund
to provide emergency financial assistance to jockeys who are injured at the Minnesota track. Two jockeys have received assistance from the fund to date, including former Canterbury rider Anne Van Rosen, who made her first visit back to the track since she was paralyzed in a racing accident in March of 2014 in order to show her support and assist with the fundraising.
40 SPEEDHORSE, January 2016
Linscott Photography
Coady Photography