Page 15 - February 2016 Speedhorse

Come out and support
“Race To Whip
Cancer” Day
at Sunland Park on February 27, 2016!
Upcoming
Dates:
The Downs
at Albuquerque - May
Ruidoso Downs - August 6th
Zia Park - October
Horse Racing
for a Cause!
We’re Betting on
a Cure!
For more information on
Breast Cancer Awareness Days at
New Mexico racetracks, contact Jamie Zamora at getracy@prodigy.net
TQHA CELEBRATES YEAR-END AWARD WINNERS
On Jan. 29-30, Texas Quarter Horse Association members met in Fredericksburg for their annual meeting and awards banquet. While the hot topic of discussion was the future of Texas racing, TQHA executive director Val Clark said the TQHA is still analyzing the many moving parts including a pending lawsuit seeking an injunction and a Feb. 9 Texas Racing Commission Meeting, where the commissioners are expected to repeal historical racing terminal rules in order to secure funding for race operations across the state.
Earlier in January, Clark and AQHA Past President Johnny Trotter were the recipients of two prestigious AQHA awards at the AQHA Racing Champion Announcements at Heritage Place.
Clark received the Mildred N. Vessels Special Achievement Award, which is presented to
a woman for her contributions to the racing industry, and Trotter received the Gordon Crone Special Achievement Award, given to a man for his service to the racing industry.
Clark, who was born in Manitoba and now lives in Elgin, Texas, has been the executive director of the Texas Quarter Horse Association since 2013.
With about 2,500 members, TQHA is AQHA’s largest affiliate and Clark oversees both the racing and show activities of the organization. The Accredited Texas-Bred Program provides millions of dollars in purse supplements to owners, breeders and stallion owners of ATB horses, and graduates of the annual sale for Accredited Texas-Bred yearlings, which is held in San Antonio each July, are eligible for the TQHA Sale Futurity. TQHA also oversees the Texas Classic Futurity-G1.
“It means the world to me, especially when there are so many other people whose name should have been called,” Clark said. “It’s an honor, and it’s humbling. You do it for the industry, you don’t do it for yourself, and you don’t do it for recognition. I love the people, and I love the American Quarter Horse.”
Trotter of Hereford, Texas, is the CEO
of Livestock Investors LLT and owns Bar G Feedyard. He has been an AQHA director for
more than a decade and served as AQHA’s president from 2014 to 2015.
“What little I’ve done for AQHA and the racing industry, I really wasn’t trying to do anything for myself, I was trying to do it for the horse and for the industry. If this is gratification for that, then I’m proud of it,” Trotter said when accepting the award in Oklahoma City.
In 2015, he was inducted into the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame, and he has served on
the boards of the West Texas A&M University Foundation, West Texas A&M University Alumni Association and the Make-A-Wish Foundation. He is a former member of the Texas Cattle Feeders board of directors and was the 2006 recipient of the Tri-State Fair Western Heritage Award. An avid team roper, Trotter’s involvement in the Quarter Horse industry is focused on racing, roping and horses used for ranch work and breeding.
EHV-1 OUTBREAK
Several tracks are dealing with an EHV-
1 threat after a horse that was suspected of having colic instead tested positive for Equine Herpesvirus Myeloencephalopathy (EHM) on Jan. 13 at Sunland Park. The affected racehorse was claimed on Jan. 9, thus entering a new barn and possibly spreading the virus.
Statements have been issued from
Sunland Park, Retama Park, Turf Paradise and Remington Park, but others may have new policies due to the outbreak in order to contain the spread of the potentially fatal virus and to protect the health of the equine population.
EHV-1 in horses can cause respiratory disease, abortion in mares, neonatal foal death, and/or neurologic disease. The neurologic
form of EHV-1 is called Equine Herpesvirus Myeloencephalopathy (EHM). Trainers and horse haulers are urged to take extreme caution when transporting horses and to properly disinfect and sanitize their trailers if there is any chance they may have transported an exposed horse. Owners and trainers are urged to contact individual tracks regarding their protocols, policies and procedures.
SPEEDHORSE, February 2016 13
TRACK CHATTER