Page 15 - August 2016

Hammes is a respected trainer from Colorado, who has saddled the earners of more than $9 million in his career. Also active in various racing committees, this will be the
first time he serves on the Racing Council. An AQHA director since 1999, and now a director- at-large, he has served on the Champions Selection, Graded Stakes, and Equine Health committees and subcommittees.
Knuchell is the simulcast/nominations director at Los Alamitos Race Course and enters the Racing Council as a racetrack management representative, a new posi-
tion created this year. She has been a racing committee member since 1999, and last year she served as the chairwoman of the Graded Stakes Committee. She has also served on the Champions Selection Committee and Graded Stakes Task Force.
TEXAS HORSE RACING HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES ANNOUNCED
In June, the Texas Horse Racing Hall of Fame announced the members of the class of 2016, which will be inducted at Retama Park on Oct. 29 during the organization’s annual gala. Tickets to the gala are available for $125 each.
The 2016 inductees are First Down Dash, Hugh Fitzsimons, Dr. Nat Kieffer, John T. L. Jones, and Jay Pumphrey.
The Texas Horse Racing Hall of Fame
is creating “The Walk of Fame” and paver stones for the project can be purchased
for $250 per brick, which can honor and commemorate past and present stakes and futurity race winners that are owned, bred, raced, or standing in Texas. The bricks are tentatively scheduled to be placed at Retama Park Race Track in Oct. 2016.
For more information on the paver project, contact Ryan Grammer at txhorseracinghof@ gmail.com or call (210) 651-7045. You can learn more about the Texas Horse Racing Hall of Fame, which has a goal to educate and
inspire our youth about the many opportuni- ties that exist in the pari-mutuel horse racing industry in Texas, at www.txhorseracingmu- seumandhalloffame.org.
that day, including four for Quarter Horses. The Hobbs, New Mexico, track will race through Dec. 13. Visit www.ziaparkcasino.com for the latest information.
NEWS FROM THE PELICAN STATE
On July 9, Delta Downs
ended their 2016 Quarter
Horse racing season with
a stakes-filled card and a
visit from Wrangler Racing
Ace Martha Claussen. As
part of the day’s festivities, the Louisiana Quarter Horse Breeders Association held two drawings for $1,000 youth scholar- ships and made a $5,000 donation to Special Olympics Louisiana. Delta Downs celebrated its diamond jubilee anniversary. To mark the momentous occasion, AQHA presented the Vinton, Louisiana, track with a commemorative 75th anniversary plaque.
Quarter Horse racing in Louisiana will move to New Orleans and the historic Fair Grounds Racecourse, which will conduct
its 2016 Quarter Horse meet from Aug. 17 to Sept. 3. A total of 11 stakes, topped by the $150,000-added Louisiana QHBA Sale Futurity-RG1, will be offered during Fair Grounds’ meet. But, Quarter Horses won’t be the only creatures racing in the Big Easy. The Fair Grounds meet will also feature T-REX racing on Aug. 20 and zebra and ostrich racing on August 27. Visit the track’s website at www.fairgroundsracecourse.com for more information.
RACING RETURNS TO NORTH DAKOTA HORSE PARK
After a one-year break, North Dakota Horse Park reopened on July 16 with big crowds. More than 5,500 fans were estimated to be in attendance during the track’s two-day opening weekend.
The Fargo track hosted a six-day meet that ran through July 31.
ALBUQUERQUE DOWNS ADDS WAGERS
On July 20, Albuquerque Downs changed its wagering format by adding a Pick-4 wager and two Pick-3 wagers to its live racing pro- grams. The track has maintained its Pick-4 on its last four races. All Pick-3 and Pick-4 wagers will be 50-cent minimum bets. Traditional win, place, show, exacta, and trifecta wager- ing is still available on all Albuquerque Downs live races, as is the traditional daily double on the track’s first two races. Superfecta wagering with a 10-cent minimum is available on every race but the first.
ZIA PARK PREPARES TO OPEN
In other news from New Mexico, Zia
Park, which opens Sept. 10, has released its stakes schedule for its 2016 Quarter Horse and Thoroughbred meet.
More than $3.85 million in stakes purses will be distributed to both breeds during Zia Park’s 56-day season. Once again, Zia Park’s stakes schedule will be highlighted by the $2-million New Mexico Cup on Oct. 30 in which 12 state-bred stakes will be contested
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SPEEDHORSE, August 2016 13
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