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$100,000 Bonus Offered To Eagles Fly Higher
Offspring in 2025
The first crop to race from 2-Time Champion Eagles Fly Higher (One Famous Eagle-Lone Bet, First Down Dash) will be competing
to win a $100,000 bonus in the 2025 racing season. Co-owners Darling Farms and Valeriano Racing Stables LLC are offering
a breeding incentive to the highest-earning 2-year-old foals (born 2023) by the end of the 2025 season. They also announced a $100,000 bonus for the highest-earning offspring of
the 2024 crop competing in 2026. Eagles Fly Higher earned $623,821, winning nine races, including six stakes events. He is standing the 2023 breeding season at Royal Vista Ranch LLC in Wayne, Oklahoma with a stud fee of $3,500. Complete rules for the incentive payout can be found in the breeding contract or by calling Royal Vista at (405) 449-7575.
Sam Houston Race Park Announces Mike Acton as Racing Secretary
Mike Acton has been appointed Racing Secre- tary at Sam Houston Race Park, beginning in February of 2023. Acton was formerly the Rac- ing Secretary at Remington Park and Lone Star Park. The Sam Houston Thoroughbred meet ends April 8, and the 25-day Quarter Horse meet follows on April 21. Acton will also per- form the same role at Retama Park and Zia Park later in 2023. “Mike is an experienced racing professional who has deep connections in our re- gion that will serve the industry well,” said Sam Houston Vice President and General Manager Dwight Berube. The Sam Houston 2023 Quarter Horse meet begins April 8 and runs through June 17. Retama Park is scheduled to run from June 29-Aug. 19, and Zia Park is set to run from Nov. 3-Dec. 20.
Robert Fox Jr. To Announce Races At Sandy Ridge At The Red Mile
Longtime announcer Robert Fox Jr., known as the “Voice of the All American Futurity,” will call the races for the upcoming Quarter Horse meet in Lexington, Kentucky, at the 2023 Sandy Ridge At The Red Mile meet from April 1-6. Fox has announced races for 30 years at Louisiana Downs, Wyoming Downs, Rillito Park and other tracks across the country. “I truly love horse racing and hope the fans can hear that excitement in my voice,” said Fox. “I’m honored to help re-introduce Quarter Horse racing in a place as special as Kentucky. Sandy’s Racing and Gaming is set to open later this year, with a new facility in Ashland to follow in 2025.
Grand Prairie Charities Awarded Funds From
Lone Star Park
The Lone Star Park Charitable Foundation for Grand Prairie hosted its annual grant ceremony
at Lone Star Park on March 21. Being awarded are local Grand Prairie charity and non-profit organizations, including Boys & Girls Club of Greater Dallas, Grand Prairie Club; Children First Counseling Center; Christian Women’s Job Corps; Crime Stoppers, Inc.; Crisis Response Ministry; Food & Clothing Co-Op, Grand Prairie; GPFD Hearts & Hoses; Lifeline Shelters for Families, Inc.; Santa Cop, Inc; Grand Prairie United Charities; Vietnam Veterans of America, Grand Prairie Chapter and YMCA of Grand Prairie. “As of last year, we’ve been able to give more than $1.3 million back to the community through various fundraising efforts, and we look forward to continuing our efforts beginning with our next major fundraising event on June 21, 2023,” said Lone Star Park Vice President of Operations Merlinda Gonzalez, who sits on the Foundation’s Board as President.
Sunland Stewards Admit DQ Error
Stewards at Sunland Park mistakenly disquali- fied A Separate Star (Separatist-Stars Falling, Texigo Star) from second place to fourth in a 400-yard optional claiming race on March 3. The executive director of the state racing com- mission issued an apology to horseplayers who may have lost money due to the error. The 7-year-old gelding is owned by Raul Saucedo, trained by Osman Iturralde and was ridden by Omar Iturralde. A Separate Star broke in ninth from the 2-gate and finished second by a neck in the race. Stewards lit the inquiry sign and disqualified the horse for interference and placed
him fourth. Horseplayers took to social media to complain about the disqualification and after a second set of stewards reviewed the footage, it was determined that at no point did the horse interfere or come close to any rivals. His second- place finish is expected to be restored and owner Raul Saucedo will receive an additional $6,500 in purse money, but the betting public will not be compensated. A total of $14,584 was wa- gered in win, place, and show bets, $13,641 in exactas, and $8,247 in trifectas.
Battle Over HISA
Three judges on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit on March 3 upheld unanimously the constitutionality of the Horse Racing Safety Integrity and Safety Act (HISA), setting up a potential court battle in the U.S. Supreme Court. The case was filed against HISA and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) by the states of Oklahoma and West Virginia, their racing commissions and include plaintiffs Rem- ington Park, Will Rogers Downs, Fair Meadows, the Oklahoma Quarter Horse Association, the U.S. Trotting Association, and Pennsylvania Standardbred breeding entity Hanover Shoe Farms. In an earlier opinion in a different case in November, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled that HISA was un- constitutional because it “delegates unsupervised government power to a private entity,” and thus “violates the private non-delegation doctrine.” Lawmakers added language to the bill to address those concerns. The Sixth Circuit court said the
NEWS BRIEFS
SPEEDHORSE PHOTO ARCHIVES
Can you identify the winning horse in this photo? Here’s a hint: She was named World Champion in 1989. The answer is on page 220.
SPEEDHORSE April 2023 219