Page 23 - March_2022

THE MONTH IN REVIEW
by Jennifer K. Hancock
LQHBA HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES
Quarter Horse trainer Phillip Calais Sr. and iconic stallion Heza Fast Dash are among those who will be honored in the 2022 LQHBA Hall of Fame class.
Phillip Calais Sr. was introduced to
the horse racing industry as a teenager. He galloped horses, including Tru, and served as an assistant for mentors Junius Delahoussaye and C. Wade Navarre. Calais was a big part of the success of horses such as A Toast To Junius and A Gone Mama. He went out on his own in the early 1970s.
Phillip trained many top Louisiana Quarter Horses including stakes winners Shufleen, Windy Pana, Cajun Bar Pass and Fast Hemp. He also trained Guidrys Pride, who captured the 1997 LQHBA Futurity and 1999 Louisiana Champions Day Classic Champion Sixforbubba.
Calais passed away in 2012 and will be remembered for his contribution to the Louisiana racing industry.
Leading sire Heza Fast Dash is the 2022 equine inductee into the LQHBA Hall of Fame. The son of Heza Fast Man out of the
Dash For Cash mare First Prize Dash was bred in Oklahoma by Weetona Stanley and was foaled on March 21, 1998. He made 18 starts in his racing career, winning three races and was the runner-up in the Remington Park Futurity-G1. He retired with earnings of $136,123.
Following his retirement, he began his career at stud. His first crop of foals hit the ground in 2004 and made a significant impact on the track two years later. In 2006, Heza Fast Dash was ranked second as the leading first- crop sire of money earners with 20 winners and two stakes winners earning $686,527. A top- three leading sire in his second and third crops, he climbed into the top-10 leading sires of money earners list by 2010, where he remained throughout his career.
The growth continued for Heza Fast Dash, and in 2013, he became the No. 1 Leading Sire of Money Earners in the nation. He joined
Mr Jess Perry in becoming the only two Louisiana-based stallions to earn the prestigious top ranking in Quarter Horse history.
Heza Fast Dash was among the leading sale sires in Louisiana most of his career. His top performers are Eysa Jess Jumpn, who won the Lee Berwick Memorial Louisiana Bred Futurity-RG1, Dashinunder Afullmoon,
who won the Lee Berwick Futurity, Ol
Time Preacher Man, who won the LQHBA Louisiana Million-RG1, Heza Louisiana Dash, Jes a Fast Dasher, and Zupers Quick Dash.
From 13 crops, Heza Fast Dash sired the earners of more than $30.6 million, which placed him eighth on the list of all-time leading sires by money earned.
Heza Fast Dash died on Jan. 24, 2019, following complications from laminitis. He was buried at Robicheaux Ranch, where he stood his entire stallion career.
PRAIRIE MEADOWS BOOSTS PURSES
With a record-breaking year for casino play in 2021, purses for both Thoroughbreds and Quarter Horses for the upcoming 2022 live racing season will see increases across the board. The 60-day mixed Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse schedule will take place June 19 – Oct. 1.
The Quarter Horse purse structure will see significant increases across the board with a 20% to 25% jump in overnight purses for 2022. The bottom level purse at $9,000 for maiden $7,500 to $5,000 races and the top- level purses ranging from $13,500 for maiden special weight to $17,000 for no conditioned allowance races. The Quarter Horse stakes schedule will offer 23 races worth an estimated $1.6 million and continue to feature a strong Futurity and Derby schedule for both open and Iowa bred runners, the Bank of America/Prairie Meadows Regional Challenge qualifiers in August, and finishing the season with Quarter Horse Championship Night on Sept. 30 with the finals of the Valley Junction Futurity-G3 and Altoona
Derby along with the Two Rivers-G3 for older 440-yard campaigners and Iowa Classic on Oct. 1 featuring an all Iowa-bred stakes card highlighted by the Jim Bader Futurity and Polk County Derby.
The barn area is scheduled to open for horses on April 15 and training is set to begin on April 17.
DOOLEY TO CALL IN INDIANA
Veteran race announcer John G. Dooley
is the new track announcer for Horseshoe Indianapolis Racing & Casino, which was formerly Indiana Grand, and will step into his new role when the 20th season of racing gets underway April 19.
“We are elated to add such an accomplished track announcer to our racing team at Horseshoe Indianapolis,” said Eric Halstrom, Vice President and General Manager of Racing. “John Dooley’s voice is associated with so many top races each year and having him in the announcer’s booth in Indiana will be a big boost to our racing program.”
A native of Staten Island, New York, Dooley moved into horse racing following graduation from St. John’s University in
1987 where he obtained a degree in sports management. After serving in the publicity offices of Monmouth Park in New Jersey and NYRA, he moved into his first announcing position at Thistledown in Ohio for six years before returning to NYRA as the assistant track announcer until 1997. Dooley then became the announcer for Lone Star Park during their inaugural season in 1997 and relocated to Arlington International Park in 2000, a position he held until the track closed in 2021. In addition, Dooley joined the staff at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots as the track announcer in 2004 during the winter months, creating a circuit between Fair Grounds and Arlington for the past 18 years.
“I’m excited for this new opportunity to join the broadcast team for the newly branded Horseshoe Indianapolis,” said Dooley. “I think racing in Indiana is moving in a positive direction. Having lived and called races in the Midwest for the past 22 years, and knowing many horsemen and fans in the region, I
look forward to being a part of the 20th anniversary season in Indiana.”
Dooley will make a circuit out of calling races in Indiana as well as Fair Grounds moving forward.
TRACK CHATTER
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