Page 108 - 13 April 2012

2012 World Champion Chariot Races
The 2011- 2012 Chariot racing season ended March
25 at the
Weber County
Fairgrounds in
Ogden, Utah.
Racing for the
Idaho state
champion team
of Parkinson
& Johnson
(Rod Parkinson,
his father Tim
Parkinson and
Leroy Johnson),
Ocean Runner and Whos On First AJ took the World Championship title under the guidance of Rod Parkinson. Covering the 440 yards with the fastest time of the day at :21.83, they defeated the Utah champion team of Ekstrom & Gift and the former World Champion team of Wasatch Pallet.
Ocean Runner (Ocean Runaway-AB What A Runner, Royal Quick Dash), a 4-year-old gelding bred by Dennie and Kris Hill, is the winner of three races on the flat track with $6,568 in earnings and a 108 speed index earned while setting a new 350-yard track record at Jerome County Fair. Whos On First AJ (Separatist-Marys Request, Arrows Request), an 8-year-old gelding bred by Jackie and Rod Macpher- son, Jr., is the winner of six races on the flat track with $30,763 in earnings and a 112 speed index earned while setting a new 300-yard track record at Sandy Downs. Whos On First AJ was also a finalist in the Grade 3 Blane Schvaneveldt Handicap. Both horses are owned by Rod Parkinson and Leroy Johnson.
New Mexico Expanding Out-Of-Competition Testing
According to the Capitol Report New Mexico, the New Mexico Racing Commission has ex- panded its out-of-competition testing following the state legislature’s approval of an additional $45,000 in funds. The out-of-competition test- ing program will conduct random tests a month or more before races in an effort to catch indi- viduals who are doping horses. The new testing policy is expected to be operational by July.
The announcement comes on the heels of
a recent New York Times article, which safety problems at many tracks across the country, with New Mexico topping the list. In response to the Times article, Gov. Susana Martinez asked the Racing Commission for a report on safety problems for horses and jockeys, as well as pos- sible solutions. New Mexico Racing Commis- sion Executive Director Vince Mares told the Capitol Report New Mexico that the state, “will go after the trainers who abuse the system and prosecute them aggressively.”
Prior to the Times article, the New Mexico Racing Commission had already approved the temporary suspension of clenbuterol in Quarter Horses and Thoroughbreds for one year, effective April 20, 2012-April 20, 2013. The NMRC recommends a 30-day withdrawal period, and set clenbuterol thresholds in a post-race samples of 100pg/ml in urine and 2pg/ml in blood.
Louisiana Downs Names Meet Leaders
Louisiana Downs in Bossier City, Louisiana, ended its 2011 Quarter Horse meet March 21. Gerald D. Libersat was the leading owner with 10 wins and $118,133 in earnings. Vann E. Haywood was the leading trainer with 30 wins and $269,897 in earnings. Jockeys John Hamilton and J.R. Ramirez were the co-leading jockeys with 39 wins each. Hamilton rode the winners of $363,635, while Ramirez rode the winners of $449,203. Natalie Glyshaw/Lou Hodges Photography
Jimmy Brooks Gets 1,000th Quarter Horse Win
Jockey Jimmy Brooks
got his 1,000th Quarter
Horse victory on March
23 at Remington Park.
The notable win came
aboard GRC Paint Me
Quick (PYC Paint Your
Wagon-Shes Really
Quick, Bully Bullion),
who won a 300-yard maiden claiming race for 2-year-olds by one length. The brown filly is owned by Alona James and Charles Hainline, and trained by Eddie Willis. Brooks was the Co- Champion Jockey at Remington Park in 2010, and as of April 1, 2012, is the second leading jockey by wins at the current meet with 17.
Barn Fire Kills Nine Horses
An April 1 barn fire at James and Jocelyn McKathan’s McKathan Farms in Reddick, Florida, killed nine horses. According to the Ocala Star- Banner, neighbors and firefighters were able to save eight horses, only three of which suffered burns and injuries. The McKathans were at church at the time of the fire. There were limited human inju- ries, as one farm worker suffered minor burns. A fire marshal with the Marion County Fire Rescue determined the cause of the fire was likely electrical in nature, and was an accident.
Former Los Alamitos Owner Marjorie Everett Dies
Marjorie Lindheimer
Everett, 90, died March
23 in Los Angeles.
Everett grew up around
racing; her father owned
both Arlington Park and
the now-closed Washing-
ton Park in Illinois. She
took over as chair-
woman at both tracks
when her father passed away in 1960, eventually selling her interest in both tracks and moving to California, where she acquired stock in Holly- wood Park. She purchased Los Alamitos in 1983, and became chairman, chief executive officer and president of Hollywood Park in 1985. Everett also owned horses including Thoroughbred stakes winner Stardust Mel.
Yavapai Downs Bankruptcy Auction
According to Prescott, Arizona’s Daily Courier, a bankruptcy auction of Yavapai Downs was scheduled for April 3 in Phoenix, Arizona. The results of the auction could determine whether there will be a live race meet at the Prescott, Arizona track this year. The asking price is $12.7 million, and according to the Daily Courier, the court has already received three bids, with several other groups expressing
Rod Parkinson guides Ocean Runner and Whos On First AJ to win the 2012 Chariot World Championship.
Jimmy Brooks
106 SPEEDHORSE, April 13, 2012
Gerald D. Libersat
John Hamilton Terry Bell Passes Away
Vann E. Haywood
J.R. Ramirez
Terry Bell of Lawton,
Oklahoma, passed away
April 1 following a
long battle with cancer.
Bell and Homer “Bud”
Hill owned horses as a
partnership together for
many years under the
name of You And Me
Partners. Together they bred over 100 winners with earnings of more than $1.5 million, including Dash For Cash Derby-G1 winner Mighty Invictus and Remington Park Futurity winner Mighty B Valiant, as well as All American Futurity-G1 winner Eyesa Special, who they owned in partnership with Jim Pitts and Grade 1 winner and leading sire Valiant Hero, who they owned in partnership with Henry and Mimi Brown. Terry Bell and Homer Hill will be inducted into the Oklahoma Horse Racing Hall of Fame at Remington Park this year.
Terry Bell
Marjorie Everett
news briefs
Speedhorse Files
Speedhorse Files
Dustin Orona Photography
CDRP