STATE ASSOCIATION NEWS ARKANSAS THOROUGHBRED BREEDERS’ AND HORSEMEN’S ASSOCIATION NEWS Oaklawn Meet Underway, Arkansas-breds Trending Up Oaklawn Park’s 2018 live meet got off to an excellent start with opening weekend temperatures above normal and ideal track conditions, plus the track’s signature corned beef sandwiches sold for 50 cents, compliments of the Arkansas HBPA. However, Old Man Winter (not a horse’s name) made an uninvited appearance the second weekend of the meet, which caused a loss of the fifth and sixth scheduled racing days. Temperatures dipped into the single digits in Hot Springs for three consecutive days; this made colder than normal days difficult for training and a frozen track impossible for racing. The first Arkansas-bred race of the year netted 26 hopefuls. The $75,000 maiden special weight was an appealing showcase of the Arkansas restricted race program. Of course, only 12 entries went forward, with Spotitude, a 3-year-old filly by Spotsgone, starting the meet with a victory for trainer Al Cates, owners Ron Ball and Golden Sky Racing Inc. and breeders Robert and Val Yagos. Preliminary figures are in for 2017 registered Arkansas-breds. For a small state with only 57 days of live racing, it appears that the figures continue to rise. Total unaudited 2017 earnings for registered Arkansas-breds were $6,893,908, total unaudited 2017 earnings of registered Arkansas-breds sired by registered Arkansas stallions were $4,219,859, and total unaudited 2017 earnings of registered Arkansas-breds at Oaklawn Park were $3,467,945. The total amounts deposited into the purse and awards fund during 2017 should be confirmed soon. Once received, calculations can be made to determine the percentages that will be paid for the 2017 breeder, stallion and owner awards. As previously announced, ATBHA is again offering a bonus purse supplement for first-, second- and third-place finishes in open company races at Oaklawn. The first 2018 recipient was the Glorious Bid gelding Light Bound Bid who won an open company starter allowance for trainer F. Dewaine Loy and owner-breeder MX2 Farms Inc. A second purse bonus was earned a few days later by the Storm and a Half gelding Ms. D’s Last Storm with a second-place finish for trainer/ owner Elueterio J. Altamirano and breeder David Whited. Our annual awards banquet will be held Friday, March 30, at the Clarion on the Lake in Hot Springs. Those interested in attending should contact the ATBHA office for more details.
INDIANA THOROUGHBRED BREEDERS OWNERS AND BREEDERS ASSOCIATION NEWS ITOBA Awards Banquet and Annual Meeting The ITOBA Awards Banquet and Annual Meeting is set for April 15 at Indiana Grand Racing and Casino, and we invite all members to attend this special event. The night will kick off with cocktails and a silent auction at 3 p.m. followed by dinner at 4 p.m. and then a featured speaker and the awards presentations. ITOBA will also announce the board of directors election results. It will be a great night to mix and mingle with
your fellow horsemen and women in advance of the opening of the Indiana Grand meet on April 17. For more information, please go to itoba.com.
ITOBA Stallion Season Auction A big thank you goes to all the generous stallion donors and bidders who helped make this year’s ITOBA Stallion Season Auction a big success. Any unsold seasons can be purchased through March 1. Go to itoba.com for more information and to see the available stallion seasons.
Racing Dates Approved for 2018 at Indiana Grand The Indiana Horse Racing Commission approved the 2018 racing dates during its regularly scheduled meeting on December 6. Thoroughbred and American Quarter Horse racing will be held beginning Tuesday, April 17, through Wednesday, November 7. The 120-day season will provide live racing Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays with first post set at 2:05 p.m. each day except Saturdays when racing begins at 6:05 p.m. Two additional racing dates have been set for Thursday, July 19, and Thursday, September 6, with a post time of 2:05 p.m. Six dates to be determined will be dedicated to Quarter Horse racing. The Grade 3, $500,000-guaranteed Indiana Derby, Indiana Grand’s premier event, will highlight a full stakes schedule in 2018. A list of stakes and dates will be announced soon.
IOWA THOROUGHBRED BREEDERS AND OWNERS ASSOCIATION NEWS Letter from the President Optimism was apparent as 2017 came to a close with a record fall sale in October and a record stallion season auction in December. I would like to thank all of the buyers at the fall sale and wish them the best with their purchases. I would also like to thank those that purchased from our stallion season auction and would like to especially thank the stallion owners and farms for donating seasons to their great stallions. We had over $193,000 in sales. Those funds are used for three stakes races worth $70,000 each. Let’s talk about 2018 and what is coming up at Prairie Meadows. ITBOA Executive Director Brandi Jo Fett and I have attended numerous meetings on out-of-competition testing. Testing will be implemented at Prairie Meadows for the 2018 meet. Any horse on Prairie Meadows’ grounds can be chosen at random on non-race days to be tested for illegal substances. Several horses will be tested every week. The Iowa HBPA has been working with Prairie Meadows on several updates for the 2018 meet, such as: • All overnight purses increase by $500 per race. • Sixth through last place will increase from $125 to $200. • The backside will open a week earlier than the agreed time in the contract. • The first races in condition book No. 1 are four Iowa-bred races, meaning they will be trying to run a minimum of four Iowa-bred races a day for the opening weekend. AMERICAN RACEHORSE • WINTER 2018 79