Page 142 - December 2015

Racing Concludes at Will Rogers Downs
The 2015 racing season has concluded for the sixth consecutive year at Will Rogers Downs in Claremore, Oklahoma. The 28-day meet, which ran from Sept. 12 – Nov. 14, featured AQHA, Appaloosa and Paint races and more than $100,000 in purses each day. Owner Cherokee Casino saw increases both on and off the track this year, with $22.3 million wagered during the fall and spring meets. The average field size was 8.7, up from 8.4 in 2014. The 2015 co-leading owners with 5 wins each were Brian Muse and Bella Vista Farms; Luis Villafranco was named the leading trainer with 29 wins; and Agustin Silva was the leading rider with 49 wins. Green Country Handicap winner Major Mac, who was a perfect 3-for-3, earned Horse of the Meet honors.
FQHRA Names New President
Ron Smith was
elected president of the
Florida Quarter Horse
Racing Association
(FQHRA) at the Board
of Directors meet-
ing on Dec. 5. Smith
is a past president of
the Georgia Quarter
Horse Association and
a national director for
AQHA. He was recently elected chairman of the Department of Agriculture Commodities Commission for Equines and serves as execu- tive director for LightHorse Healthcare Inc., which provides conventional mental health services and equine and farm based activities to a number of counties in Georgia and Florida. The FQHRA issued open letters to horsemen from outgoing president Steve Fisch and new president Smith. Among other things, Fisch spoke of how the FQHRA has grown and of the great success it has had since he became
the association’s first president in 2005, how the FQHRA is a financially sound organiza- tion that has defended legitimate horse racing in the state, and that horsemen have been the recipients of $30 million in purse money over the past 7 meets at Hialeah Park. Smith spoke of the bright future racing has in the state and how he will continue to keep Florida a premier racing destination.
Hialeah Names Horsemen’s Rep
Ronnie Stewart will serve as horsemen’s representative at Hialeah Park, which opened its 40-day Quarter Horse meet on Dec. 26. Stewart will live on the grounds and will ensure that horsemen’s issues be resolved in a profes- sional and timely manner.
Vince Mares Resigns NMRC Post
Vince Mares has
stepped down as
executive director of the
New Mexico Racing
Commission (NMRC).
Mares held the post
since 2009. Under his
leadership, the NMRC
adopted model rules
from the Association of
Racing Commissioners
International, got significantly increased fund- ing for drug testing, and contracted with Maddy Laboratory at the University of California at Davis to conduct drug testing. According to The Paulick Report, Mares, who retired as
chief of police in Raton, NM before joining the commission, said his resignation gives him “an opportunity enjoy my retirement.”
SPeedHoRSe PHoto ARCHiVeS
Can you identify this picture? Here’s a hint: this photo was taken after one of Quarter Horse racing’s leading “blue hen” mare’s five Graded stakes victories. The answer is on page 142
140 SPEEDHORSE, December 2015
news briefs