Page 180 - Speedhorse July 2018

Team USA Wins World Jockey Challenge
Team USA won its third consecutive title
in the fifth annual World Jockey Challenge (pictured above) at Indiana Grand Racing & Casino on June 23. DeShawn Parker won his first two races on the card to get Team USA
on the board. Berkley Packer won his second race of the evening to put the team in the lead. Packer and Shanley Jackson then scored two more wins to seal the win for Team USA. Six of seven countries represented won races during the night, with 32 jockeys in the competition. The riders carried the flag of their country
as the teams were introduced. The countries included USA, Mexico, Peru, Chile, Panama, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela.
New Mexico Cracks Down On Clenbuterol Abusers
The New Mexico Racing Commission announced that the bronchodilator clenbuterol will now be classified as a Class 3 controlled substance in the state, allowing for criminal pros- ecution of horsemen found to be illegally in pos- session of the drug. Positive tests for clenbuterol in post-race samples have declined during the last two years in the state, but levels of about 30,000 picograms have been detected in some horses.
K9s4COPs Grants K9 to the Ruidoso Downs Race Track & Casino
Texas based non-profit K9s4COPs, founded by Kristi Schiller, donated a trained K9 police officer to Ruidoso Downs Race Track & Casino. The dual-purpose narcotics and track- ing dog will be certified and partnered with a handler from the Ruidoso Police Department. K9s4COPs will work closely with “K9 Csini” as she sweeps the track for illegal equine perfor- mance enhancing drugs.
Arizona Downs Begins Simulcasting
Arizona Downs in Prescott, Arizona, opened for simulcasting July 13. The track’s simulcast room was constructed on the
first floor of the grandstand at a cost more than $2 million. The track, once known as Yavapai Downs, plans to offer live racing starting in 2019.
Sunland Park To Apply For 6th Racino License In New Mexico
The Fulton family, owners of Sunland Park Racetrack and Casino since 2000, announced their intent to submit a bid to the New Mexico Racing Commission seeking the state’s last remaining racino license. Under the steward- ship of Stan Fulton and his family, Sunland Park became one of only 26 tracks in the country to be accredited by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) for safety and integrity.
Purina Launches Site To Reconnect Horses And Riders
Purina Animal Nutrition has launched FindYourOldFriend.com to utilize the power of social media, networking and geotargeting to help reconnect people with their former horses. The website is organized by U.S. regions and incorporated into a public Facebook group where users can network with each other to locate and trace horses. More than 1,500 members have joined the group since the site launched in the beginning of June.
House Approves $5 Million For Equine-Assisted Therapy For Vets
The U.S. House of Representatives on June 8 passed H.R. 5895, the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act, which includes an amendment to increase funding by $5 million for the Veterans Affairs’ Adaptive Sports Grant Program for equine-assisted therapy in 2019. The funding will enable an expansion of services that use equine-assisted therapy in conjunction with mental health care treatment and services to veterans.
AAEP Foundation Announces 2018 Coyote Rock Ranch Scholarship Recipients
Three distinguished veterinary students aspiring toward careers in equine medicine have been selected to receive a $75,000 Coyote Rock Ranch Veterinary Scholarship, to be awarded by the American Association of Equine Practitioners Foundation on Dec. 3 during AAEP’s 64th Annual Convention. The scholarship recipients are Ashley Allemand of Louisiana State University, Brian Blanchard of Atlantic Veterinary College and Rachel Pfeifle of Auburn University.
Allred Has Successful Surgery
According to a Los Alamitos Race Course release, track owner and chief executive officer Ed Allred underwent successful throat surgery on June 20 and was released the following day from the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, Arizona.
Tom “The Mongoose” McEwen Dies
Longtime
Quarter Horse
breeder/owner Tom
McEwen died June
10 at the age of
81. McEwen was a
National Hot Rod
Association driver,
winning five NHRA
national events with
Funny Cars and Top
Fuel dragsters, and
was member of the
International Drag Racing Hall of Fame and Motorsports Hall of Fame. Quarter Horses raced by McEwen have earned around $500,000, with most of his starters trained by Dennis Givens. Perhaps McEwen’s best-known runner was 2004 Champion Aged Horse/2004 Champion Aged Mare Mongoose Jet Eye.
Firewater Ta Fame Dies
Billy and Shelly Martin’s leading sire Firewater Ta Fame (Dash Ta Fame-Fashion Star Flit, Fire Water Flit) died July 1 due to colic. The 2003 stallion boasted offspring earn- ings of more than $855,000, including Stitchs Streaknfame, Stitchs Honor N Fame, KN Panellapie and KN My Mamas Famous 2.
178 SPEEDHORSE, July 2018
NEWS BRIEFS
Greg Olson
Linscott Photography