Page 17 - May 2017

ceremony at next year’s AQHA Convention in Jacksonville, Florida.
The horses in the Class of 2018 are Maroon TB, Otoe, Runaway Winner, Smart Chic
Olena and The Ole Man. The four men and two women who will join the Hall of Fame are Abigail Kawananakoa of Nuevo, California; Dr. Tom Lenz of Louisburg, Kansas; the late AQHA Past President Gene Graves of Grand Island, Nebraska; Georga and the late Raymond Sutton of Gettysburg, South Dakota; and the late Robert Sutherland of Kansas City, Missouri.
Induction into the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame is the highest honor bestowed
by the American Quarter Horse Association. Those chosen for induction are recognized for their lifetime of accomplishments and service at AQHA’s annual convention.
Foaled in 1949, the Thoroughbred mare Maroon injured her back after flipping in the gate in her first official start. She recovered and found her racing stride, defeating horses such as Brigand, Johnny Dial, and AQHA Hall of Fame horses Black Easter Bunny and Miss Meyers. She made 52 official starts and produced 13 foals.
Foaled in 1960, Otoe won five of 13 starts in his freshman campaign. Shown 23 times at halter, he was named Grand Champion 20 times and became an AQHA Champion in 1962. Among the leading sires of open AQHA Champions, his foals won in the show ring and on the racetrack. Otoe died in 1971 after a bout with colic.
Runaway Winner, a 1985 gray stallion by Bediuno TB, earned $369,410 and set a top speed index of 104 before retiring due to a chipped knee in his freshman season. Runaway Winner sired the winners of $13.7 million, including two Champions in his first two foal crops. He became known as a sire of broodmares and a sire of sires. He died in 2015.
The Ole Man, a 1963 sorrel stallion, was foaled after the death of his breeder, Frank Vessels Sr. and was named in Vessels’ honor. The son of American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame members Three Bars TB and Chicado V collected $21,156 on the racetrack in 1965-66. Following his race career, The Ole Man sired racing winners and show Champions.
Smart Chic Olena, the 1990 AQHA World Champion in senior cutting and the 1993 World Champion in senior reining, is the only horse in AQHA history to earn world titles in the two disciplines. His foals have earned more than $12 million in cutting, reining and reined cow horse competition.
The late Gene Graves thought of himself as being in service to the members, making sure they received full value from their AQHA memberships. Elected to the AQHA Board of Directors in 2000, Graves served as AQHA President in 2012-13. Diagnosed with
pancreatic cancer prior to serving as AQHA President, Gene’s goal was to serve AQHA to the best of his ability. He died June 14, 2013, just three months after successfully completing his presidential term.
Abigail Kawananakoa became involved in American Quarter Horse racing in the 1970s, and her horses dominated the tracks in the early 1990s. Her mare Florentine was the Broodmare of the Year in 1996, the same year “Miss Abigail” was Champion Owner, starting horses at 12 tracks in nine states and in one Canadian province, winning 38 races in 153 starts. In 1993, A Classic Dash won the All American Futurity for Kawananakoa. To date, foals bred by Kawananakoa have won $9.89 million on the track. The 30-year breeder has produced four World Champions that have won five world championships.
Dr. Tom Lenz, a veterinarian and a past president of the American Association of Equine Practitioners, has spent his life speaking out for equine welfare. Lenz became an AQHA honorary vice president in 2009 and has served on several AQHA committees as well as the AQHA Equine Welfare Commission. He received the AAEP distinguished service award in 2005.
South Dakota horse breeders Georga and Raymond Sutton earned the AQHA Legacy Award, which is given for 50 consecutive
years of breeding, in 2001. Raymond was an international judge and a national director
from 1985 until his death in 2005. Georga was elected an AQHA director in 2005, serving on the international and Hall of Fame selection committees. She was named an honorary vice president in 2013. The Suttons’ annual horse production sale is thought to be the oldest consecutive family production sale in the world, with 2016 marking the sale’s 65th anniversary.
The late Robert Sutherland started the RS Bar Ranch in suburban Kansas City with the intention of breeding the best to the best. The 40-year breeder of American Quarter Horses helped found the Missouri Quarter Horse Association and served several terms
as President. His bust stands in the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame & Museum as a founder of the museum.
Catering at Canterbury
Canterbury Park opened its 67-day meet May 5. The opening is earlier than in the past eight years, but offered the Minnesota track
the opportunity to take advantage of Kentucky Derby excitement. From 2005-08, Canterbury’s opening day coincided with Kentucky Derby weekend and produced some of the track’s largest crowds. In 2008, the track welcomed 18,230 fans and in 2006 had 17,111 in attendance. Canterbury’s 2017 meet will be a mixed meet offering both Thoroughbred and
Quarter Horse racing. Canterbury Park’s 2017 promotional calendar includes popular favorites such as Extreme Race Day on July 15, where ostriches, zebras, camels take to the track, and the July 29 Corgi Races and Cupcake Festival. New events have also been added, including
the expansion of the annual beerfest to a Beer, Burgers, and Bacon Festival, which will be held in the track infield during live racing on Aug. 5, and a Street Art Festival featuring the work of local and regional artists on Aug. 12-13.
“We continue to grow our successful promotions each season and also try new events that complement racing to give our guests great entertainment value and provide them with reasons to visit multiple times each year,” said Randy Sampson, president of the Shakopee, Minnesota track. “There are events on the calendar that are great for family outings as well as some that are geared towards adults.”
Hair testing at remington
Remington Park is implementing hair testing for the $250,000 Remington Park Championship-G1. The 440-yard stakes is scheduled for June 3. Horses invited to the Remington Park Championship are required to be on grounds no later than May 15, and hair samples will be collected the following day from each horse seeking an invitation to the race. Any horse testing positive for a prohibited substance will not receive an invitation to the race. After the testing process is complete, Remington Park racing secretary Tim Williams will issue formal invitations and provide a list of horses eligible to enter as having met these conditions. That list will be available on or before May 26.
“We are implementing these new measures at the request of the Oklahoma Quarter Horse Racing Association and in keeping with the highest and latest standards for assuring a level playing field,” said Remington Park president and general manager Scott Wells. “The Remington Park Invitational Championship is one of the nation’s most prestigious races. The winner is assured a place in the starting gate of the Grade 1 Champion of Champions at Los Alamitos in December, where these same basic regulations will be in place.”
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track chatter