Page 89 - December2022

HIS RACING ROSTER
While promoting racing in Oregon, Rod and
his wife have continued to hone their breeding and racing business. Their first stakes winner was the 2006 filly Nikki S. (TB, by Rogue S. and
out of Commadora, by Sultry Song). “She was special because we owned the mare and we owned the stallion, and we bred and raised her,” he says. “She was a pill when she was growing up; she was a little feisty, but she ended up being a really nice horse for us. She won the Portland Meadows Hers Stakes and the Portland Meadows Oaks Stakes and a couple handicaps for us.”
He ranks Up Is Up (Kiddy Up-Girls Choice, A Regal Choice), owned in partnership with Butte Crest Ranch, as their all-time best. “He’s probably the fastest horse we’ve ever owned,” he says. “He was the fastest qualifier to the Grade 1 Vessels Maturity trials last year but got a bone bruise so wasn’t able to run in the finals. He was big and strong and had a lot of potential, but for some reason, he continued to have bone bruises, so we quit on him last year and now he’s being trained as a rope horse by my trainer’s girlfriend, who just loves the horse. She’s a veterinarian so she’s able to baby him along.”
The Lowes’ current star is Chisum (Corona Cartel-Famous Little Reba, One Famous Eagle). “We bought the recip mare in foal at the Heritage Place Sale and ended up sending her to the Lazy
E to foal, then brought the foal to Oregon,” Rod says. “We started him at Los Alamitos as a two
year old this past year and he ended up running
in the Kindergarten and Ed Burke futurity trials. But he was just not giving it his all, so I decided to give him a little bit of a different look at things. We brought him up here to Oregon for our race meet the first part of July, and he won for fun! He won a 220-yard race by a length and a half. So, before we quit on him, we gave him a really good experience his last race and then brought him home to mature. He’s really becoming a nice horse and we’re ready to put him back into training in January to run in some derbies and challenge derby races in 2023.”
Rod enjoys the satisfaction that helping
his babies realize their potential brings in the breeding part of the business, and he also loves the energy of live racing, especially Grants Pass Downs’ open grandstand with people cheering on the horses. “You can really feel the energy when people are up and screaming for their horse to win,” he says. “It has that hometown
feel of closeness. And I like the camaraderie of people coming to the track with their families and having fun, especially when the pony horses come up to the fence for the kids to pet.”
In their off time, Rod and Alyson enjoy traveling and spending time with family, including going back to Montana to visit. They also camp, attend Oregon Ducks games and have taken up the Topgolf trend.
WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS
There’s no crystal ball that can foretell the
future of horse racing in Oregon, and Dave says that he and Rod frequently laugh at each other, wondering why they keep working to save the sport.
“I’m 62 so how many more times can I keep doing this?” Rod asks. “But I’m healthy and I’m not going anywhere. I don’t have any plans to retire. It’s been challenging and every time something comes up again, I wonder— probably like everyone else does—if we can keep it alive and going. We’ve been doing it so far and now we need some breaks. I think they’re out there; we just have to figure out where they’re going to come from.”
SPEEDHORSE
December 2022 87
Up Is Up (#4) winning his trial to the Vessels Maturity-G1 at Los Alamitos. Los Alamitos Photo