Page 101 - 14 September 2012

Fair Grounds finish line pole after Hurricane Isaac
Fair Grounds Cancels Races Due To Hurricane Isaac, LQHBA Moved To Evangeline Downs
Fair Grounds Race Course cancelled the final four days of the Summer Quarter Horse Meet, Aug. 29 through Sept. 1, due to Hurricane Isaac. Officials declared a mandatory evacua- tion of the barn area in advance of the hurricane for safety reasons, including about 700 horses and all backside workers. According to a Fair Grounds release, storm damage included two barn roofs that blew off, toppled guard shacks and fencing, and extensive debris. The main track was washed out after 20 inches of rain fell. Funds remaining in the purse account will be used for Quarter Horse racing at a later date. There was talk of extending the season one
week to run the cancelled races, which included the LQHBA Sale Futurity-RG1, Mid-City Stakes-RG2, DeSaix Stakes, and LQHBA
Sale Invitational. After further consideration, however, the decision was made to run the finals of the $264,480 LQHBA Sale Futurity and the $29,396 LQHBA Sale Invitational at Evangeline Downs on Sept. 8.
Noconi and Ramon Sanchez make a wire-to-wire run in the 2011 All American Gold Cup at Ruidoso Downs.
Noconi Retires
Two-Time Champion Noconi (Mr Jess Perry-My Dashing Lady, Dash For Cash) made his final start in the American Gold Cup-G3
at Ruidoso Downs on Sept. 2. Noconi, who is owned by R.D. Hubbard and J Bar 7 Ranch LLC, is trained by Paul Jones and was ridden by
Saul Ramirez Jr. in the Gold Cup. The 7-year- old gelding was third from the gates, moved into second, dueled for the lead, and finished 3/4-length behind Champion Prospect To The Top. Noconi won the 2010 and 2011 versions of the All American Gold Cup.
He retires banking $1,348,900 from 36 starts, with 15 first place finishes and 12 stakes victories, including Grade 1 stakes wins in the All American Derby, Championship at Sunland Park and Zia Park Championship. Noconi will spend his retirement in a private paddock at Jones’ ranch in Quanah, Texas.
7.3% increase in attendance, with the average attendance setting a new track record of 6,595. According to a Canterbury Park release, the track has entered into a marketing and purse enhancement agreement with the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community that should add $75 million to purses over the next 10 years. $2.7 million was added to the 2012 purse fund, and an additional 25% is expected for 2013. Canterbury President Randy Sampson stated
the purse enhancement should bring more and better quality horse to the track and increase breeding in the state.
The 2012 Canterbury Quarter Horse Champions are: Horse of the Meet Huckleberry Mojito (Feature Mr Jess-Eye Opening Special, Mr Eye Opener), Owner of the Meet Brenda Reiswig, Trainer of the Meet Edward Ross Hardy, Jockey of the Meet Nik Goodwin.
I recently read the press release from Ru- idoso Downs regarding their stricter stance on drug offenders. I totally concur with what R.D. Hubbard is doing at Ruidoso Downs, and I have encouraged him to do that in the past. We have been doing that
at Los Alamitos since before the first of the year. At least five trainers—and the num- bers will go up in the next few weeks—have been denied access to the grounds at Los Alamitos. Furthermore, their stalls cannot be simply passed on to a cousin or someone else training for them. Those horses must be dispersed to new barns and different trainers to remain on the grounds.
We do not follow the exact same format that Ruidoso Downs is using, as far as the Class I and Class II template. We have, for example, denied access to trainers with syringes, which is a violation of California Horse Racing Board regula- tions. I am all for a tougher stance on drug offenders. We continue to be com- mitted to taking a strong stand against illegal drugs at Los Alamitos.
Sincerely,
Dr. Edward C. Allred
Los Alamitos Race Course
Stolis Winer wins the 2008 All American Futurity
Stolis Winner Retires
Owner/breeder Jerry Windham announced the retirement of World Champion Stolis Win- ner (Stoli-Veva Jean, Runaway Winner), who was racing’s all-time leading money earner with $2,235,161 before Ochoa won the All Ameri- can Derby on Sept. 2 and surpassed him with $2,584,282. Stolis Winner won 13 races from 29 starts, including six stakes events. His Grade 1 victories include the All American Futurity, Heritage Place Futurity, Rainbow Futurity, Texas Classic Derby and Sam Houston Championship Challenge. Windham stated the 7-year-old geld- ing will, “become a pony horse or something productive in the future.”
Retama Park Ends 2012 Meet
Retama Park ended their 2012 Quarter Horse meet on a high note compared to 2011. The Selma, Texas, track registered a 12.7% increase in average daily attendance, a 7.25% in- crease in average daily handle, a 7.62% increase in simulcast wagering, and a 31.6% increase in simulcast wagering on tracks sending their signal to Retama during the live race meet.
Canterbury Park Ends 2012 Meet, Declares Champions
Canterbury Park in Shakopee, Minnesota, ended their 62-day 2012 meet Sept. 3 with a 25% increase in total handle compared to 2011, a 12.9% increase in average daily handle, and a
SPEEDHORSE, September 14, 2012 99
news briefs
Ruidoso Downs
Jim Mulvihill: Fair Grounds
Bill Pitt