Quarter horse deaths in California?
The amount of quarter horse deaths in California racing has skyrocketed the past two years while the amount of thoroughbred deaths has gone down, according to data released this week in another new report on racehorse deaths.
There were 78 quarter horse deaths in the year ending June 2009, doubling the amount since 2007. Meanwhile, thoroughbred deaths went down to 230 in 2009 from 264 in 2007 and a high of 272 in 2005.
A message seeking comment from Los Alamitos owner Ed Allred wasn’t immediately returned. A spokesman there pointed out that the track’s volume of races — some 200 nights per year — factors in the amount of deaths. – MORE: signonsandiego.com
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Jesus Alfredo Soto died January 28 of a heart attack
Jesus Alfredo Soto, 58, who with wife Sandra owned champion Royal Quick Dash, died January 28 of a heart attack. Soto had triple bypass surgery about a year ago, and that surgery was followed by a kidney transplant.
Soto had been an attorney in Mexico before coming to the United States from Guasave, Sinaloa. He is survived by three sons: Alfredo Jr. in Sallisaw, with children Walter and Isabella; and in Mexico, Eliot, with daughter Renada; Ulisses and Sinhue.
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Stallion “Jody O Toole” died
ELGIN, TX—JANUARY 28, 2010—Multiple grade 1 sire Jody O Toole died yesterday at Southwest Stallion Station where he had stood for many years. He was 25.
Jody O Toole, who stood at Southwest Stallion Station, has sired earners in excess of $7.7 million.
Owned by the Estate of Bob Douglas, Jody O Toole sired earners of more than $7.7 million. From 18 crops to reach racing age he has sired 362 ROM, 300 winners (58%), 33 stakes winners (6%) and 28 stakes-placed (5%).
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Frank “Scoop” Vessels III and the Quarter Horse Dynasty / Starting A Horse Farm
Frank “Scoop” Vessels III is unique in that he ranks simultaneously among the nation’s top leading breeders in both the Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse industries. The esteem in which both camps hold him is borne out by the fact that he is vice president of the American Quarter Horse Association and is also the vice president of the California Thoroughbred Breeders Association. Known best for the creation and management of the Vessels Stallion Farm near San Diego, he was a six-time winner of the Baja Peninsula off-road races and is one of the originators of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. His farm stands the top racing Quarter horse stallion in the country, First Down Dash, as well as the leading Thoroughbred sire in the West Coast, In Excess (ire). Scoop Vessels is one of the equine industry’s most exemplary entrepreneurs.
My name is actually Frank Vessels III. They call me “Scoop” because I used to hang around the horse stalls a lot when I was a kid and so my grandfather gave me the nickname Scoop. Unfortunately, it stuck. You have to be careful as you are growing up because sometimes things stick to you for a lifetime.
As a result, when he heard that there were a lot of good broodmares with speed available in Louisiana, he soon went there to get some. Most of them had Thoroughbred bloodlines from the old Army remount stations. I still remember when I was small that he was gone for quite a while on that trip. He ended up sending back two train-car loads of mares from Louisiana; three of which became foundation mares of our operation today. Anyway, Granddad now had all these mares and was planning to raise our own horses so that we’d never get beat again, which never happens.
In those days, Huntley Gordon was an old family friend who owned a lot of land in that area. He was the great-grandfather of Robbie Gordon, the NASCAR driver. My Granddad was a good friend of Huntley Gordon, who had heard of a stallion in Arizona named Clabber. He was supposed to be the all-around Quarter Horse. It was said you could do ranch work on him all morning, rope on him all afternoon, and then run him in races in the evening. At the time, he was the world’s champion quarter running horse. These two guys got into a convertible, drove to Tucson, and bought the horse – likely for a pretty sweet sum at that time. Robbie Gordon’s dad has a photograph in his office of these two men in that convertible pulling a one-horse trailer and smoking big cigars. They must have thought they had hung the moon.
So, now we had a world champion stallion coming back to breed all those mares from Louisiana. Looking back, I consider that point in time to mark the real beginning of Vessels Stallion Farm. In years to come, there were many great horses on that place. My Dad continued not only to promote the track but also to work in Sacramento to get the legislature to legalize pari-mutuel wagering on Quarter Horses. By the mid-1950s, we were running quite a bit and there was no longer a horse shortage. Owners and trainers had discovered that running in Southern California was nice in the winter. We had some great meets and there were some really fast runners in those early days. Whenever we had famous horses, we would pack the stands.
the rest , as they say is history! I hope you enjoyed the post and were able to learn something new from this short post. Maybe starting your own horse farm?
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Los Alamitos cuts backs on their live racing schedules
Two California racetracks have announced cutbacks in their live racing schedules effective the week of Jan. 25.
Los Alamitos, which offers Quarter Horse, Thoroughbred, and Arabian racing, said in a release it is dropping Thursday night racing “temporarily” through April, when 2-year-old racing begins. Racing will be held on a Friday-Saturday schedule for at least the next two months.
horse racing “has fallen victim to a national trend” evident around the country.
“With the cancellation of Thursdays by Los Alamitos, our current (purse) overpayment, and the concern of fewer available racehorses which lowers our per race average field size, we regrettably had to reduce the weekly schedule earlier than anticipated,” Cal Expo director of racing Dave Elliott said in a statement. “We remain hopeful that our field size average and hence the interest and handle in our program will turn around during these difficult economic times.”
read more: bloodhorse.com
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GQHA looks to the Florida Quarter Horse Racing
Legislation introduced into the Georgia House of Representatives Tuesday could lead to the legalization of horse racing and pari-mutuel betting.
A constitutional amendment submitted by Rep. Harry Geisinger would let Georgians vote this fall on whether to allow the horseracing industry into the state, a move the Roswell Republican said would generate thousands of jobs.
“In these difficult times, we must seek out opportunities to create sustainable jobs and raise state and local government revenues,” Geisinger said. “By following the examples of Florida and Louisiana, we can expand.
During a hearing the committee held last fall, the president of the Florida Quarter Horse Racing Association testified that each horse on a racetrack creates seven jobs, from grooms and jockeys to hotel and restaurant workers.
“The racetrack itself is the very tip of the iceberg as far as economic development,” Stephen Fisch told the panel.
While horse racing and pari-mutuel betting is legal in 38 states, previous attempts to bring legalized wagering to Georgia – including a casino at Underground Atlanta – have met with opposition from religious conservatives, including Gov. Sonny Perdue.
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“Walk Thru Fire” syndicated for $10 million
Previously owned by a partnership that included trainer Jaime Gomez, Walk Thru Fire has been one of the most talked about stallions in Quarter Horse racing, thanks to a first crop featuring Kindergarten Futurity winner Gold Nugget Rd and Ed Burke Million winner Higher Fire. Prior to the purchase and syndicated for $10 million.
while Walk Thru Fire, who was syndicated for $10 million a couple of years ago, won the Three Bars Award for Outstanding Stallion.
“My good friend Spencer Childers had never bought a share on a stallion in his life,” Allred added. “When he was 95-years-old he paid the money to be in this syndicate. I could have bought Walk Thru Fire, once for a couple of $100,000 dollars. Mike Abraham and I eventually ended up paying $8 million for him, but we are glad that we did.”
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Leading Trainer Paul Jones
Leading Trainer Paul Jones Heads Ruidoso Hall of Fame Class
RUIDOSO DOWNS, NM—JANUARY 12, 2009—Paul Jones, the all-time leading money-earning quarter horse trainer, heads the 2010 class to be inducted into the Ruidoso Downs Racehorse Hall of Fame during the induction banquet on June 26. Joining Jones in the 2010 class are owner/breeder Dr. Leonard
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Mexican-based buyer buys American Quarter Horse broodmare Dashin Follies for for $875,000
Betting on good bloodlines Mexican quarter horse buyers continue to make big purchases despite the economy , thus help keep earning from Auctions stable.
Broodmare Dashin Follies, by Strawfly Special, tied the all-time record for a Quarter Horse broodmare sold at auction with a winning bid of $875,000.
Dashin Follies set what is believed to be an all-time record for a high-selling American Quarter Horse broodmare at auction on Thursday, Michael Pohl’s herd reduction, when she sold for $875,000.
Consigned by Michael Pohl, 11-year-old Dashin Follies, dam of stakes winner PYC Paint Your Wagon (AQH), was purchased by agent Tyler Graham for Mexican-based buyers who preferred to remain anonymous.
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Chicks Beduino – Stallion Pedigree
| CHICKS BEDUINO* gr 1984 QUARTER HORSE |
BEDUINO* gr 1968 THOROUGHBRED |
ROMANY ROYAL gr 1957 THOROUGHBRED |
GREY SOVEREIGN* gr 1948 THOROUGHBRED |
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| ROMANY BELLE gr 1949 THOROUGHBRED |
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| JO-ANN-CAT b 1958 THOROUGHBRED |
REJECTED* br 1950 THOROUGHBRED |
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| QUICK EYE ch 1954 THOROUGHBRED |
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| A CLASSY CHICK br 1978 QUARTER HORSE |
CHICKS DECK* blk 1973 QUARTER HORSE |
THREE CHICKS* br 1959 QUARTER HORSE |
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| DECKETTA* sor 1962 QUARTER HORSE |
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| MAYSHEGO b 1967 THOROUGHBRED |
MAYHEGO ch 1961 THOROUGHBRED |
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| AEGEAN GODDESS b 1959 |
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