Page 12 - NMHBA Summer 2017

Trainer Reaches 4-Figure Win Milestone story courtesy AQHA
Trainer Wes Giles has reached the milestone of 1,000 winners. Giles reached the mark with the help of his Grade 1 winner Apolltical Chad, who on May 28 won his trial to the Ruidoso Derby (G1). The horse won the Ruidoso Futurity (G1) last year, and finished fourth in the All American Futurity (G1).
Giles began training in 1981, and since then has saddled 6,356 horses that have
brought home more than $18.8 million. That includes 116 stakes victories.
He is the 37th trainer to reach the 1,000- win record.
In addition to Apolltical Chad, he has saddled Too Flash For You, Trendi, Wild Six, Fast Prize Zoom and champion Gone To The Mountain to victories in Grade 1 stakes.
He has also saddled the likes of champions Astica and Jesscuzican.
R.D. Hubbard Signs Agreement To Sell Ruidoso Downs story courtesy Track Magazine
A group of five businessmen, four from Texas and one from California, and R.D. Hubbard have signed a letter of intent
for Hubbard to sell Ruidoso Downs Racetrack and the Ruidoso Horse Sale Co. to the group.
In its Monday Report dated April 24, TRACK Magazine reported that the five individuals in the group are Stan Sigman, Gary McKinney, Narciso Flores, and Johnny Trotter from Texas, and John Andreini from California. All five men are heavily vested in the breeding and racing of American Quarter Horses.
“We are about to start our due diligence, and in due time we will start the
process of gaining regulatory approval,” said Sigman, who was elected chairman of the group. “It’s our goal to close the deal in the fourth quarter of 2017.”
Hubbard has been a leading Quarter Horse and Thoroughbred owner
for several decades, and he has had ownership interests in other tracks, including Hollywood Park, Zia Park
Los Alamitos and Turf Paradise. He also currently owns Crystal Springs Farm in Tularosa, New Mexico.
“I’m not about to quit racing,” Hubbard told Ben Hudson of TRACK Magazine. “I still need to win the All American Futurity. We’re still breeding
mares and making babies. I’ll be at the sales this year buying horses.
“Nothing will change at Crystal Springs, except maybe putting an All American Futurity winner in one of the paddocks,” he added.
Ruidoso Downs will open its 2017 meet on May 26. Since 1959, the track
has hosted the 440-yard, $3-million All American Futurity (G1), Quarter Horse racing’s richest and most prestigious race. “These men know Ruidoso Downs, and they are committed to keeping it as the best place in the nation for Quarter Horse racing,” said Ruidoso Downs president and general manager Shaun Hubbard.
The Hotel at Sunland Park is Now Open
The Hotel at Sunland Park Racetrack opened April 21st of this year.
The 78-room hotel is part of the Ascend Hotel Collection, a boutique-hotel brand of Maryland-based Choice Hotels International.
The hotel is located at 1202 Futurity Drive, just outside the Sunland Park Racetrack and Casino complex in Sunland Park, N.M., on the edge of El Paso’s Upper Valley.
The hotel franchise is owned by Linderbaugh LLC, a New Mexico development company led by Ruidoso native Sumer Linder, who has more than 15 years of casino experience, the company reported.
Ascend has more than 170 hotels worldwide, according to Choice Hotels.
For reservation information visit www. sunland-park.com or call 575-332-9200
10 New Mexico Horse Breeder