Page 102 - Speedhorse November, 2018

AQHA RACING UPDATE
“. . . we are pleased to do our part to keep racing fair and safe.”
Janet VanBebber
When I was training racehorses, I enjoyed reaching a few milestones during my career that are still among my favorite memories. One
such favorite was being the first, and to date, only trainer to have won the Bank of America Challenge Championship for three consecutive years. In 2001, 2002, and 2003, I placed my hand on the hips of Tailor Fit, Streakin Sin Tacha and Panther Mountain to pose for their win pictures after each of them prevailed in AQHA’s premier event for older horses. Those win pictures now grace the wall of my office within the American Quarter Horse Association’s Headquarters.
The truth is, I would still be a proponent of the program even if I had not prevailed in those three run- nings of the Grade 1 event. How could I not be? In the 25 years since its inception, the Bank of America Racing Challenge has distributed more than $65 million to breeders and owners of our American Quarter Horses. The program successfully focused on these goals:
• To develop a regional, national and international program for racing American Quarter Horses
with an emphasis on older horses.
• To support and foster American Quarter Horse
racing on a regional basis.
• To host an American Quarter Horse championship
race day of international importance and impact. • To secure corporate partnerships to help fund
the program.
We are looking forward to this year’s installment
of the Challenge Championships to be conducted on Nov. 17 at Los Alamitos. In five championship races, and five corresponding undercard events, there will be $850,000 in purses awarded. For the third con- secutive year, all nominated horses will be hair tested, and must pass the hair test before being given the opportunity to enter. This is part of AQHA’s commit- ment to uphold the integrity of the sport and to even the playing field by deterring the use of performance- enhancing drugs. Such measures have been well received by the industry, and we are pleased to do
our part to keep racing fair and safe. Our leadership continues to look at ways that we can support these same endeavors on the regional level.
As I wrote this column, my team and I were work- ing hard to prepare for the Racing Conference held in conjunction with the Challenge Championships. Please visit the AQHA website at www.aqha.com/racingchal- lenge to learn more about the schedule.
The Racing Conference has a host of activities scheduled, starting on Nov. 14 with the post- position draw. But, if you really want to know about what we’re working on for the betterment of the industry, be sure to attend the AQHA Racing Committee meeting on Nov. 16. While we need you to register, know that the meeting is open to guests, so don’t think you have to be on the com- mittee to get through the doors. The morning sec- tion of the agenda will focus on industry reports, updates and overall business. The afternoon will feature panel discussions that I think will be of great interest:
• The Pursuit of Safety in Racing
Terry Meyocks, Jockeys Guild | Steve Koch, NTRA | Rick Baedeker, CHRB
• Discussion of Technology for Detecting Emerging Drugs
Al Kind, Texas A&M VMDL| Petra Hartman, Industrial Labs | Dr. Dionne Benson, RMTC
• Microchipping: Emerging Technology in the Identification of Horses
Chris Dobbins, InCompass Solutions | Jeff Salmon, et al, CHRB Microchipping Project
• ARCI Recommended Penalties: Are jurisdic- tions imposing uniform rulings?
Rick Baedeker, CHRB executive director | Kelly Cathey, OHRC executive director | Ed Martin, ARCI president
I am proud of the wealth of knowledge that will be represented by these panelists and am confident you will find their discussions informative.
There is a lot of preparation that goes into both the Challenge Championships races and conference. We hope that you are able to join us. Not only do you need to know what we’re doing to help foster your investment in the horse industry, but it’s also an opportunity for your voice to be heard. This is the perfect venue to do it.
OCTOBER 2018
by Janet VanBebber, AQHA Chief Racing Officer
100 SPEEDHORSE, November 2018