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NEWS BRIEFS
John Buchanan Passes Away
Longtime leading trainer John Buchanan, 69, passed away from heart failure on Aug. 28. Buchanan was born in Waverly, Tennes- see, lived in Florida for many years, and then moved to Texas, where he made his home in the town of Peaster. John met and married his wife Iris in 1973.
Buchanan trained over $15.9 million in earners, including Champions Better Than Never, Brimmerton, Run And Pray, Speedy
Dee Raper Passes Away
Thomas Dearmond ‘Dee’ Raper passed away at the age of 83 on Aug. 31. Born, raised and a lifelong resident of Oklahoma, Dee began work a parts man at a Chevrolet dealership. He be- came an exercise rider while working for Marvin Barnes, riding horses such as Lady Bugs Moon. He then moved into horse transportation, dur- ing which time he met Betty Cisneros. They married in 1973. When looking to move their Yukon farm to Lexington, a friend saw a lake
in the area named Belle Mere. They purchased the land and named their new ranch Belle Mere Farms. In 1992, they moved their operation to its present location in Norman.
They have bred thousands of mares over the years at Belle Mere Farm, and have stood, bred, foaled and been the home to countless industry greats. Many top stallions stood at their facility, including: World Champion Easy Jet in 1985; Champion Bully Bullion, who moved to Belle Mere in 1988 at the age of four and lived there until death at 30 in 2014; and Mr Eye Opener, a
Empress and Wahoo, as well as All American Derby-G1 winner Dont Let Down and Dash For Cash Futurity-G1 winner Pivotal Decision.
Buchanan most recently trained Jettz who finished fourth in the All American Futurity- G1 and the fastest qualifier and winner of the All American Oaks in Ratification. Buchanan passed away just nine days prior to the All American Oaks victory. His daughter Amanda attended the race and represented her fa-
ther. “I know he’s here with us today,” she
multiple Champion sire and broodmare sire who died in 2018 and is scheduled to be inducted into the AQHA Hall of Fame this year. They also cared for AQHA Hall of Fame inductee Eastex, who made Belle Mere his home after being brought back from match racing in Mexico, until his death at 32 in 2013. The Raper’s first stakes winner
was Eye Yin You, winner of the Remington Park Futurity and Remington Park Derby. Currently, Belle Mere Farm is the home of stallions Capo De Capi, BV Travelin Soldier, and Prized Wagon.
For nearly five decades, Dee and Betty pro- moted Quarter Horse racing. They worked to pass pari-mutuel racing and to expand gaming in Oklahoma, with Dee coordinating the move- ment in Cleveland County, until its approval in 1983. Dee was an AQHA director and served as president of the Oklahoma Quarter Horse Racing Association for 14 years. He received the Gordon Crone Special Achievement Award in 2007 and was inducted into the Oklahoma Quarter Horse Hall of Fame in 2010 and into the Oklahoma Horse Racing Hall of Fame in
said. “We’re so proud, and it’s absolutely an honor to have won the inaugural running of the Oaks.” Buchanan’s assistant trainer Juan Vazquez took over for the Oaks finals, stating, “John was so great with this horse, and she was ready to run. He really did a wonderful job with all of his horses, and he would have been so proud of her.”
Buchanan is survived by his wife Iris, daugh- ter Amanda Hamilton, son-in-law Scott Hamil- ton, three granddaughters and a sister.
John Buchanan, Amanda and Iris Buchanan and Juan Vazquez.
Betty and Dee Raper
2012. Belle Mere Farm was inducted into the Oklahoma Quarter Horse Hall of Fame in 2019.
Dee is survived by his wife of 47 years, Betty; sons Tommy Raper and Shawn Cisneros, daughter Dawn Smith, two grandsons, two granddaughters and a great-granddaughter. A celebration of life was held at the Heritage Place on Sept. 24.
194 SPEEDHORSE October 2020