Live Racing Returns Plastic Surgeons Mark Decades of Improving Lives

Arizona Downs will reopen for horse racing beginning June 1. Track officials say races will take place every Tuesday and Wednesday through Sept. 1. Photo by Ray Newton

Arizona Downs Returns to Live Racing

By Ray Newton, QCBN

After a weak 2020 summer racing season that was jeopardized by the pandemic and subsequent shutdowns, Arizona Downs in Prescott Valley has announced a return to live racing, effective June 1.

The track, east of Prescott Valley at 10501 E. AZ-89A, will feature live racing beginning at 1:30 p.m., every Tuesday and Wednesday through Sept. 15.

Steve Peterson, a spokesperson for the racetrack, said Arizona Downs will be managed by Michael Weiss, a longtime horseracing industry leader who has deep ties to Arizona’s racetracks.

Weiss, most recently the general manager of Rillito Park Racetrack in Tucson, is a former student at the University of Arizona Race Track Industry Program (RTIP) in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. He is well known for pioneering that educational program and serves as a career advisor for graduates.

“Mike is the perfect fit to lead the revival of racing at Arizona Downs,” said National Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protection Association President Leroy Gessman. “He has a genuine passion for a successful future in Arizona racing. We are fortunate to have him.”

“I am excited for the opportunity to contribute to efforts to save Arizona horse racing. It truly is worth saving. I look forward to rebuilding Arizona Downs and assembling a safe environment for horsemen. I also want a memorable experience for fans,” Weiss said.

Arizona Downs is one of two major horseracing tracks in Arizona. The other is Turf Paradise in Phoenix.

Arizona Downs features a combination of quarterhorse and thoroughbred racing.

The reopening of Arizona Downs comes at a critical time in Arizona horseracing history. The Arizona legislature is considering a bill to modernize wagering at horse tracks and Off-Track Betting (OTB) sites. Senate Bill 1794 potentially will bring more than $300 million in capital investment to Arizona racing. It also could generate more than $100 million in new state tax revenues. Called Historic Horse Racing (HHR), it permits players to place pari-mutual wagers on past races. That allows tracks and the broader agri-business and racing industry to generate money after races and on non-race days. In Yavapai County, the benefits could amount to up to $1 million in new local tax revenues and 400 new jobs, according to studies. The new legislation would allow sports betting at track and OTB sites.

PRESCOTT VALLEY MAYOR ENDORSES HISTORIC HORSE RACING

Prescott Valley Mayor Kell Palguta recently issued a statement in which he endorsed Historic Horse Racing. Noting that tourism is a major economic factor in the community, Palguta said he and other town leaders viewed Arizona Downs as a major attraction and asset for businesses and families.

“Horse racing has been an important industry in Arizona since statehood,” he said. “Arizona Downs is a part of our history. As we continue to grow and thrive, we also must modernize the industries that are at our core. “

Palguta said he thought approval of Historic Horse Racing would add significantly to local and state tax revenues and help generate needed new jobs for rural Arizona. “We have a real opportunity to help rural small business owners and create additional revenue for the state.” QCBN For more information, visit arizonadowns.com or call 928-227-1996.

Improving Lives in Northern Arizona and Beyond

Dr. Lex and Dr. Quigley celebrate 30 years of plastic surgery – reattaching limbs, fixing cleft palates, reconstructing disfigurements and making cosmetic improvements.

By Bonnie Stevens, QCBN

The girl was four years old. She had been riding in the back of a pickup truck when a bale of hay flew out. The wire holding the hay together caught one of the girl’s hands and ripped through four fingers.

Jack Quigley, M.D., and Stephen Lex, M.D., worked to reattach the fingers and put the girl’s hand back together. Both are board certified in plastic and reconstructive surgery and have additional training in hand surgery. The procedure took 12 hours and required using veins from the girl’s toes to reconstruct the blood vessels in her fingers. “Two of the fingers lived,” said Dr. Quigley. “She has a thumb and two fingers. She’s doing well.”

Through their work – performing intricate microvascular reconstruction and reattaching limbs – the surgeons have often found themselves making headlines. “Over the course of about four or five years, we did about five arm re-plantations,” said Dr. Lex. “That was kind of a big deal that required a team approach with orthopedics and general surgeons.”

One patient was an 11-year-old girl whose arm was severed in a truck accident. Another was an Arizona Cardinals football player, also in a car accident. Both surgeries were successful.

For more than 30 years, the plastic surgeons have managed their practice, plus been on call at Flagstaff Medical Center (FMC) for emergency trauma cases that are often the result of recreational activities, barroom brawls or car wrecks.

TOGETHER AS GENERAL SURGEON RESIDENTS

The doctors met when they were doing their general surgery residencies together at Case Western Reserve Care System in Ohio, in the early 1980s. Dr. Lex came to Flagstaff in 1989. “I had a wife and three little kids and was taking calls every night,” he said. “Jack arrived about 10 months later. He was the light at the end of the tunnel for me. It was so great to get him here.”

In 1991, they were practicing from the Physician and Surgeons Office Building, which was at the north end of FMC. “We quickly outgrew the 3,000 square feet there and decided we needed a bigger place,” said Lex. “This land became developed here [on North San Francisco St., across from FMC] and we decided to have the surgery center.”

Within the next few years, the young plastic surgeons became land developers and landlords, overseeing the buildout of five medical buildings, including the 11,000-square-foot Plastic Surgeons of Northern Arizona (PSNA) building. On April 1, 1996, PSNA became the first free-standing surgery center in Flagstaff. Instead of having one operating room, the doctors planned for growth and built two. The privacy worked well for patients who wanted to maintain their anonymity, often while undergoing cosmetic surgery procedures such as facelifts and tummy tucks.

The doctors say their mission with PSNA always has been to provide stateof-the-art surgical care to all residents of Northern Arizona. Surgeries range from elective procedures like browlifts and body sculpting, to reconstructive operations after skin and breast cancer, to structural surgeries to correct congenital defects like cleft lip, cleft palate and microtia ear. They also perform endoscopic carpal tunnel and trigger finger release surgery, administer Botox injections, resurface skin and use dermal fillers.

They say it’s a nice variety – about a third hand surgeries, a third reconstruction, and a third cosmetic. “It’s really great for keeping skills up in those areas, along with covering the ER for trauma injuries,” said Quigley.

“I think our congenital patients, those who need multiple procedures for cleft lip and palate or microtia ear reconstruction, are one of the groups of patients that we develop close relationships with,” said Lex. “We see these kids from newborn to 21 years old. We’re operating three to seven surgeries on these kids. They are so

Dr. Stephen Lex and Dr. Jack Quigley have spent much of their lives in scrubs. April marked the 25th anniversary of the opening of their Plastic Surgeons of Northern Arizona building on North San Francisco Street in Flagstaff Photo by V. Ronnie Tierney, Fresh Focuses Photography

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