Page 64 - January 2018

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1985
Dashs Dream was named 1984 World Champion. Missouri legalized pari-mutuel racing late in 1984 and started taking payments for the first Missouri- bred Futurity. After millions of dollars and countless hours, Speedhorse completed a 3-year project and unveiled the first computer program to provide all pedigrees, race records, track records, Champions, etc., on racing Quarter Horses. At the AQHA Convention, three rules were changed for gelded or spayed mares: parrot mouth and cryptorchid horses were made ineligible to receive Numbered Certificates, and the excessive white rule was modified. The DeBartolo Corporation’s intention to build a racetrack in Oklahoma became official – tentatively to be named Remington Park. AQHA approved a new category of stakes races known as ‘Restricted Stakes’ to include races restricted to state of breeding or foaling, to horses sold in a certain sale, and to the progeny of a restricted group of stallions. The Downs at Albuquerque began holding spring racing for the first time. In Memoriam: Melville ‘Mel’ Hanna Haskell, one of the men who in 1945 established the American Quarter Horse Racing Association which laid the foundation for Quarter Horse racing to move from the bush track to the industry it is today, passed away; Brigand Silk, “the gray horse,” died on the operating table after an attack of colic – the colt would be named the 1985 Champion 2 Year Old & Champion 2-Year-Old Colt; 2-time 1975 Champion Bugs Alive In 75 was euthanized after he stumbled while recovering from successful colic surgery and shattered two legs.
1984 World Champion Dashs Dream, with breeder/ owner Joe Kirk Fulton (left), Kelly Long and trainer
Mike Robbins.
1986
Cash Rate was named 1985 World Champion. Edward J. Debartolo Corporation’s Oklahoma Racing Associates accepted a license to build the $74 million Remington Park. The AQHA Executive Committee approved the formation of a 9-member Racing Council, rather than a Racing Division, to further objectives of Quarter Horse racing. The New Mexico Horsemen’s Association began investigating the plausibility of state legislation to initiate a new Quarter Horse Association. Chicks Beduino posted the fastest clocking ever for a 2 year old, winning over a sloppy track at Bay Meadows. R.D. Hubbard announced he is in negotiations to purchase Ruidoso-Sunland, Inc. The Ontario government announced the creation of a Racetrack Assistance Program with over $25 million in matching funds from participating racetracks for marketing and capital improvements. Colorado proposed to establish a Horse Racing Association. In Memoriam: Member of the PCQHRA board of directors and Frank Vessels Sr. Memorial Award winner Ivan Ashment,
70, lost his battle with cancer; Champion runner/ Champion sire Mighty Deck, 22, died.
1987
Gold Coast Express was named 1986 World Champion. The Initial Public Offering of stock and warrants of Heritage-Park Financial Group, Ltd. was registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The American Horse
Council reported U.S. horse businesses are a $15.2 billion industry, representing around 16% of the Gross National Product of the Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries section of the U.S. economy. The AHP reports 5.25 million horses in the U.S.,
with Texas, California, and Oklahoma having
the largest populations. Leverne Perry was named executive director of the Louisiana Quarter Horse Breeders Association.
1988
First Down Dash was named 1987 World Champion. The AQHA ruled no yearling races shall be run on the grounds of an approved racetrack. The Appaloosa Horse Club celebrated its 50th anniversary. Prairie Meadows began racing and became the first horse racing facility in Iowa. The first running of a Quarter Horse race on turf took place at Bay Meadows. In an effort to stop the use of morphine derivatives, the California Horse Racing Board will ‘freeze’ all specimen samples for three years to allow for additional testing as new procedures become available. Julie Krone, who became the winningest female jockey after scoring her 1,205th victory, was featured in People Magazine. Members of Texas’ newly appointed racing commission met for the
first time. R.A. Brown, Orville Burtis, Gus Scroggins and Frank Vessels Sr. were inducted into the AQHA Hall of Fame. The American Horse Council asked the Food and Drug Administration to create a permanent seat
62 SPEEDHORSE, January 2018