Page 75 - January 2018

Horse Adoption Day. The Oklahoma Quarter Horse Racing Association and the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center offered free health screenings for all trainers, owners, and backside workers-and their immediate families at Remington Park. A stem cell technique used to fix hundreds of injured race horses was used for the first time on people with damaged Achilles tendons. Madeleine Pickens purchased land for the Mustang Monument Eco-Resort and Preserve, a wild horse rescue sanctuary. Elvis Presley’s widow Priscilla opened Graceland’s 8-stall stables to visitors. The University of California Davis School of Veterinary Medicine opened The Regenerative Medicine Laboratory for horse stem cell processing. The Racing Medication & Testing Consortium (RMTC) approved sweeping reforms in racing drug testing. The Race Track Chaplaincy of America moved from Hollywood Park to Kentucky. A law was passed to ban people from approaching to within 50 feet of a famous herd of wild horses that live along the Currituck Outer Banks on the coast of North Carolina. The New York Racing and Wagering Board announced a
new policy that denied entry into a race by any horse who had received oxygen therapy within one week of post time. A bronze and gold horse head, believed to be a remnant of a Roman statue dated between 3 and 4 BC, was unveiled in Germany. Blue Ribbons Downs, which was founded in 1960, shut down due
to a lack of patron support. In Memoriam: Louisiana horseman Claudius Broussard, 89, died; Spencer Childers, breeder/owner of multiple Champions including World Champion Be A Bono, died at 97; Gwendolyn Eaves, Champion breeder/owner including Hes My Dasher and Tres Seis, died from Alzheimer’s; Champion trainer Bruce Hawkinson died at 73 following a battle with lung cancer; Polly Parsons, breeder &/or owner of multiple Champions, died at 89; World Champion A Ransom died due to laminitis; Multiple Champion sire Feature Mr Jess died at 25 due to complications from laminitis; Multiple Champion sire Merridoc died at 32; Champion Mini Rock died from complications of cancer; Champion/Champion sire Ocean Runaway was found dead in his stall; Champion broodmare sire Strawflyin Buds died of an apparent heart attack; Champion sire Streakin La Jolla died of heart failure.
2010
Freaky was named 2009 World Champion.
For the first time, the Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI) World Equestrian Games (WEG) were held outside of Europe at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky. Paul Jones became the all-time leading trainer by money with over $55 million. All-time leading sire First Down Dash surpassed the $70 million mark in progeny earnings. The Association of Racing Commissioners International adopted
a recommendation to raise the scale of weights to a minimum of 118 pounds for all jockeys except apprentices. In the wake of horse neglect in Ohio where 12 horses died, River Downs will leave an open stall where owners can surrender their horses if they can no longer care for
them. The first published report of the horse genome sequence was released. Prairie Meadows, through its 2009 Community Betterment Grant Program, gave a $10,000 grant to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, taking total giving to more than $1 billion. The European Union announced restrictions stating that any horse that has been given Bute during its life may not be sold for human consumption. Researchers
in Ireland identified a mutation in a gene called myostatin (MSTN) that seems to improve athletic performance by increasing muscle mass. Due to more and more incidences of abandoned horses in Kentucky, a bill was introduced to change a law that required a 2-year wait before claiming ownership of an abandoned horse to 90-days. The AQHA received a $3 million gift to the Foundation from Hall of Fame member Anne Marion and The Burnett Foundation. Zippy Chippy, who became famous for never winning a race in 100 starts, retired. All-time leading jockey G.R. Carter Jr. topped $50 million in earnings. After 21 years as a pari- mutuel racetrack, Manor Downs closed its doors. A life-size statue of Jack Brooks, trainer of a record 8 All American Futurity winners, was unveiled at Ruidoso Downs. The Drug Research Council recommended that the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission ban for 5-10 years first time violators of a proposed out- of-competition drug violation. The Association of Racing Commissioners International Model Rules Committee lowered the threshold for phenylbutazone, or bute. Speedhorse publisher
Connie Golden retired and sold the magazine to John A. Bachelor Jr. The Kentucky Horse Park hosted its first free Gelding Clinic to anyone who couldn’t afford the surgery. Stolis Winner became the top money earning Quarter Horse with $2,153,981. In Memoriam: Equine mystery writer Dick Francis, 89, died; Champion breeder/ owner Don Hill died at 69; Champion trainer Doug McMullen died at 69; Blane Schvaneveldt, the #2 all-time leading trainer of Champions with 27, passed away at 76; Former Ziegfeld Follies
girl Doris Travis, who co-owned Travis Ranch and horses Three Chicks, died at 106; Frank “Scoop” Vessels of Vessels Stallion Farm, a leading breeder/owner of Quarter Horses, was killed
in a plane crash at age 58; 2-time Champion Chingaderos died at 27; Champion Deceptively died; Champion Double Down Special died from pneumonia; 2-time Champion producer Femme died at 27; All-time leading sire First Down Dash died; Champion/Champion sire Jazzing Hi died due to colic; World Champion See Me Do It died from colic; World Champion Paint Treasured Too, who held the record for covering the most mares in Paint history in 1997 when he bred 204 mares in a single season, died.
Connie Golden retired in 2010 and sold Speedhorse to
John A. Bachelor Jr.
SPEEDHORSE, January 2018 73