Page 13 - October 2015

with Thoroughbred No Le Hace make up the 2015 induction class.
Armbrister served two terms in the Texas House of Representatives before being elected to the Texas Senate. During his 20-year tenure in the Senate he carried the Texas Racing Commission’s first Sunset legislation that stood in place during the formation of the Commission. In 2001, Armbrister was part of the delegation that visited New York to bring the Breeders’ Cup to Texas. For three legislative sessions, he carried legislation to legalize video lottery terminals at racetracks. Armbrister currently works as a lobbyist with the Texas Star Alliance and resides in Round Rock, Texas.
Beard was born in Houston, and he pur- chased his first horse in 1947. He served on the Texas Thoroughbred Association (TTA) board of directors from 1986-2000 and served as President of TTA from 1988 to 1989.
Gilliland was a lifelong horse owner, breeder and legal counsel to horse own-
ers and breeders for a wide range of equine matters. He started breeding Quarter Horses in 1965, and the horses he bred competed
in Texas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Florida, California and Oklahoma. Gilliland’s homebreds include Grey Daze, winner
of the 2014 TQHA Sale Futurity-RG2.
In 1980, Gilliland co-founded Oak Cliff Thoroughbreds. One of the more notable horses produced by Oak Cliff Thoroughbreds was Sunday Silence, who earned $4,968,554 winning the 1989 Kentucky Derby-G1 and Preakness Stakes-G1.
Jackson was a respected member of the racing community throughout the country. He started his career in the racing industry in an unlikely place – the valet lot of Delta Downs Racetrack – at the age of 16. Thirty years later he would end his career as the Texas Racing Commission’s Deputy Director of Finance and Administration.
Texas ranch owners Dan and Jolene Urschel made a big impression in the horse racing industry in a short period of time. Their horse Pie In The Sky won the 1979 All American Futurity-G1, and the Urschels also owned renowned winners Mighty Deck Three and Special Effort, Quarter Horse racing’s only Triple Crown winner.
In 1972 a chestnut colt named No Le Hace captured the imagination of San Antonio, partly because of his name but mostly because of what he did on the track. Both the San Antonio Express-News and the San Antonio Light newspapers sent reporters to cover his notable races, including wins in the Louisiana Derby and the Arkansas Derby. No Le Hace ran second in the Kentucky Derby and the
Preakness. He was sold to Japanese interests that shipped him to Japan for stud duty.
Ben Hudson received the JoAnn Weber Distinguished Service Award. Learn more about the Texas Horse Racing Museum and Hall of Fame at www.txhorseracingmuseu- mandhalloffame.org.
Moonist Earns suprEME racE HorsE titlE
Reigning Champion 3 Year Old/Champion 3-Year-Old Gelding Moonist added to his long, impressive resume when he achieved AQHA Supreme Race Horse status.
Bred by Vessels Stallion Farm LLC and owned by Ronald Hartley of Canyon Lake, California, the 4-year-old gelding is the 34th horse since 2002 and the 105th horse in total to earn the award.
The Supreme Race Horse award recognizes a racing American Quarter Horse who during his or her career earns $500,000 or more, wins two or more open Grade 1 stakes races, and at least 10 races.
Moonist began his 28-race career in May 2013 at Los Alamitos and he has earned $643,694, winning 19 starts, with three sec- onds and one third. Of those victories, 10 came in stakes races, and on Sept. 20, he earned his final qualification for the Supreme title by earning his second Grade 1 in the $100,000 Go Man Go Handicap.
By Separatist and out of Champion Your First Moon, Moonist is the fourth Supreme Race Horse bred (in whole or in partnership) by Vessels Stallion Farm.
MEEt in tHE sunsHinE statE
The Florida Quarter Horse Racing Associa- tion will hold its annual general and board meet- ings on Dec. 5, starting at noon at John Shaw’s Pheenix Farm in Interlachen, Florida.
New board members will be installed at this meeting, and a Southern Belle Mama Shaw’s fine seafood lunch will be served for anyone who RSVPs before Nov. 25 by contacting FQHRA at staff@fqhra.com.
In late Sept., a letter went out to Florida horsemen from Dr. Steve Fisch, President of the FQHR A, assuring horsemen participat- ing in the upcoming Hialeah Park race meet “that you will be paid in a timely manner with FQHR A handling and protecting the purse funds.”
According to Fisch as part of the resolution to a court hearing held in March of this year, Hialeah/SFRA will not dispute that FQHRA is to handle the horsemen’s bookkeeper duties for the 2015/2016 Hialeah Park race meet.
“Part of the safety net of the horsemen is to have a group representing them that will always perform an accurate and complete accounting of the purse money. FQHRA demonstrated without a shadow of a doubt that every dollar is accounted for when FQHRA is in charge of the purse account,” Fisch said.
Hialeah Park is set to open its live meet Dec. 26 and will continue through Feb. 29. The track will host 40 days of racing with $5.6 million in purses, which averages to $140,000 per day. The meet will feature eight live Quarter Horse races per day.
Got an idEa?
The University of Arizona Race Track Industry Program has a $10,000 prize designed to encourage new ideas and technologies to improve the horse racing industry.
The Innovators’ Circle, organized in con- junction with the program’s gaming partners Hai Ng and Vin Narayanan, is a first-pitch competition. The competition is open to anyone with an “idea, product, or business that has the potential to revolutionize” the industry. Finalists will be provided space in the exhibit area at the Global Symposium on Racing & Gaming and will make a 10-minute pitch to a panel of judges.
“We’ve seen this type of pitch competition produce results in other industries,” RTIP director Doug Reed said. “By soliciting ideas from a diverse group, there are no limits to what talented people can accomplish.”
This year’s symposium will be held Dec. 7-9 at the Loews Ventana Canyon Resort in Tucson. For more information on the contest and to submit your innovative idea, visit www. innovateracing.com/rules.
arci continuEs pusH for MEdication rEforM
In Sept., Mark Lamberth, chairman of the board of directors of the Association of Racing Commissioners International (ARCI) and a commissioner on the Arkansas State Racing Commission, announced the formation of a new committee to work with individual com- missions to complete the implementation of
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track chatter