this is an increase from seven in 2011. Ubuyillfly nosed out LaJollas Mr Big Stuff by less than $2,000 as the year’s top earner with $124,368. It was a competitive year indeed, and the selection of 2012’s Champions will be difficult. The official awards presentation for the 2012 Champions takes place March 8 during the opening weekend at Rem- ington Park in Oklahoma City, and everyone is encouraged to make plans to attend. This is the best opportunity for everyone in our industry to get together, celebrate the accomplishments of 2012 and kick off another great year of Paint racing. The Racing Committee is already working hard to make the banquet better than ever. Please contact APHA Director of Racing Karen Utecht at (817) 222-6444 if you have auction items to donate.
L
Speed Horse Triple Crown and Masterpiece Challenge Races
On November 3, the top
By Pancho Villarreal APHA Racing Committee Chairman
2-year-old Paints gathered to run in the Lone Star Speedhorse Paint & Appaloosa Futurity, the third leg of the Triple Crown Series created and sponsored by Speedhorse magazine. It was great to see so many friends, own- ers, breeders and trainers at this event. We would like to thank John Bachelor and his staff for this series and their support of Paint racing. Imachickenkicker, a 2-year old sorrel solid Paint-bred mare, recorded her second
straight stakes victory over a very strong field, claim- ing the winner’s share of $39,430. Super Glide Harley placed second and won the $2,500 Speedhorse High- Point Award, sponsored by RaMax Farms. On the same night, APHA hosted the inaugural
Masterpiece Challenge. The APHA Racing Committee has worked hard to establish the Masterpiece Chal- lenge—designed to promote the racing of 3-year old Paints and Appaloosas—and it is off and running. We had a great turnout and look forward to growing this program to make the Masterpiece the biggest race of the year 3-year olds. APHA Executive Director Billy Smith presented a check in the amount of $10,000 to be added to the 2013 Masterpiece Challenge, which now will have a minimum of $25,000 added to the 400-yard race. Horses must be enrolled in this program by December
4 JANUARY 2013 PAINT HORSE RACING
ooking back, 2012 was another great year for Paint rac- ing. Ten horses surpassed the $50,000 earnings mark—
31 of their 2-year-old year—more information can be found at racing.apha.com. CRM Livewire beat the top 3-year olds to claim the inaugural Masterpiece Challenge title, but the stallion did not stop there. Seven days later, “Livewire” traveled to Oklahoma and won the Talimena Handicap in impressive fashion over another group of strong 3-year olds, includ- ing 2011 Champion Flashthechicks, Runaway Argus, Junglebell, Crazy Mother Trucker and Two Timin Trixie. Congratulations to Livewire’s owners, Dan and Kaye Jones, and to their trainer, Matt Whitekiller.
Stallion Programs Many programs have been created to provide incentives
to participate in Paint racing, but our programs are only as strong as we make them. The two oldest and most-rec- ognized programs are the PSBA and Pot O’ Gold. Every year, the Pot O’ Gold Futurity and the PSBA Futurity and Derby are three of the top stakes races—these races are limited to foals of participating stallions. All Paint stallion owners should participate in this program, and breeders are encouraged to breed to participating stallions. For more information, contact Shari Burger at (918) 253- 8156 or burgershari@yahoo.com.
Barrel Racing Incentives The Racing Committee has been working with many
barrel racers who would like to increase the incentives for Paints—particularly, I would like to thank Liana Deweese, Melanie Bearden and Lisa Mullinax for their interest and support. A meeting to discuss ideas is scheduled for Janu- ary 19 at 1 p.m. at the Heritage Place Sale in Oklahoma City. Billy Smith, will be present to discuss the best ways to move forward, and anyone interested in participating is invited to attend. Please spread the word about this meet- ing, and contact me at pancho@awesomechrome.com with questions or for additional information. We would like to thank the entire APHA staff who continue to make Paint Horse Racing a great publication for our industry. As members, we need to support the publication by advertising, taking advantage of the Paint Horse Racing Horses for Sale ads and making sure that we do everything we can to increase subscriptions. Encourage anyone related directly or indirectly to Paint racing to sign up for the free digital subscription. We wish everyone the best of luck for 2013. With your
support and involvement, 2013 will definitely be one to remember and the beginning to a very bright future for Paint racing.
Pancho Villarreal is a special contributor for Paint Horse Rac- ing. To comment on this column, email feedback@apha.com.