Page 20 - December 2020

AQHA RACING UPDATE
“I enjoy sharing with you the activities of our AQHA Racing Department, so that you will have a better appreciation of our endeavor to make the Quarter Horse Racing industry all that it can be.”
LOOKING TOWARD NEXT YEAR
The 2020 racing season is wrapping up,
and many of you are thinking about next year’s foals and which stallion to cross on your mares. While you may be moving on to
the anticipation of future racing athletes, your AQHA team is working steadily on closing out this year’s business. Not surprisingly, COVID-19 continues to impact all that we do. For the first time ever, the Race Committee meeting that would have been conducted during the Challenge Championships was instead a virtual meeting on December 15. Having the meeting be engaging to such a large body that is only be able to interact via their computers or cell phones will be a tough task, but we were up for it!
While we were fine tuning the arrangements for the Race Committee meeting, we were also sorting through the applications for Regional Challenge Stakes that the tracks have submitted for 2021. We hope to have the schedule final- ized by the end of the year so that horsemen can make plans for their stables. Stay tuned.
We are also in the process of planning the Champions Selection Committee meeting. Our leadership has always maintained that the dia- logue in this gathering is paramount, and we are proceeding with plans for a socially distanced meeting to determine the next group of AQHA Racing Champions. I appreciate the Committee members for their commitment to our industry and willingness to convene. I also want to give a shout out to the Racing Department staff. Our team has continued to work remotely as Amarillo has experienced an abundance of
COVID cases, so hats off to them for doing what it will take to prepare for the meeting. There are volumes of data and past performances offered to the Champions Selection Committee to help them make informed decisions, and despite the restricted presence at AQHA headquarters, the members of the committee will have the hard copies for the meeting.
Once the Champions are determined, we will collaborate with our colleagues to pro-
duce the AQHA Racing Champions Awards Ceremony. The program will be created, scripts written, video prepared, and lighting and music production finalized. It is one of my favorite nights, and I am always proud to have a role in it. It probably means so much to me because
I understand that having a horse that receives AQHA World Champion honors can change your life for the better, and how memories are created that will stay with you for a lifetime. Several years have passed since I walked onto
the stage when horses entrusted in my care
were honored, but there is not a single day that
I don’t think about them, and appreciate the blessings they brought me and my family. I hope that we see you at Heritage Place on Thursday, January 14, 2021, for this prestigious ceremony and see this year’s recipients named. If you can’t be there, plan to watch it on AQHA.com.
Once the festivities wrap up, we will focus on other AQHA governance issues. The Racing Department team will be working diligently to update data for the Graded Stakes Committee, so they can convene in March and determine the
2022 Graded Stakes. This year will look different than most, as many jurisdictions have altered purses for their races in 2020, and historical purse value is one of the criteria that the Committee uses to determine a race’s Grade. I anticipate
that the group will be forgiving, realizing the impact of COVID is indeed a force majeure and the circumstances were indeed unforeseeable. They must consider the importance of a given Grade and ensure that the black type that ensues has credibility. Know that the Graded Stakes Committee will work hard in their endeavors
to uphold the integrity of Graded Stakes and be both fair and reasonable.
While all of this is going on, I am keeping an ear to the ground, waiting for an update on the Horse Racing Safety and Integrity Act (S.4547) that hopes to extend Federal oversight of horse racing. Many of you have answered my plea to contact your Senators and voice our opposition, and we appreciate you for doing so. Our cumu- lative voices have been heard, and hopefully will impact the outcome.
It’s a pretty busy calendar, isn’t it? I enjoy sharing with you the activities of our AQHA Racing Department, so that you will have a better appreciation of our endeavor to make the Quarter Horse Racing industry all that it can be. Know that I wake every morning wondering what I can do that day to make the business better for you. Your prayers for the success of my efforts, and those of my team, are appreciated.
Merry Christmas, friends. Stay well, and I hope to see you soon.
December 2020
by Janet VanBebber, AQHA Chief Racing Officer
I understand that having a horse that receives AQHA World Champion honors can change your life for the better, and how memories are created that will stay with you for a lifetime.
18 SPEEDHORSE December 2020