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Post by mountainmajesty on Jul 20, 2013 18:44:00 GMT -5
The Rainbow Derby, with a $1 million purse, was just won by Wicked Courage who also won the Ruidoso Derby. He is now one race away (the All American Derby) from sweeping the 3 richest derbies in quarter racing. No horse has ever won all three major Ruidoso derbies. These derbies now have the largest purses they have ever had.
Only one horse won the Triple Crown of Quarter Racing - Special Effort as a 2yo. Maybe Wicked Courage will get his name in the record books on Labor Day weekend.
Wicked Courage is by a young stallion named Captain Courage. I was at the Ruidoso yearling auction when Captain Courage was the high seller for over $600,000. He did not earn his purchase price in earnings (only earned a little over $200,000 and was stakes-placed), but now he's showing himself to be a sire. He's by Mr Jess Perry out of Corona Chick, who has already been featured in a thread in this forum. His stud fee this year was $2,500 -- you can bet that fee will be higher in 2014.
Broodmare sire for Wicked Courage is the incomparable Dash for Cash. Wicked Courage combines three of the most accomplished quarter breeding lines/sires: Mr Jess Perry (Easy Jet), Dash for Cash, and Chicks Beduino (Beduino TB).
Congratulations!
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cait
Active Member
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Post by cait on Jul 20, 2013 18:48:24 GMT -5
the first 2 were at Ruidoso? is the All American also there? wasn't that the race featured in Casey's Shadow? (loved matthau in that!)
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Post by mountainmajesty on Jul 20, 2013 19:09:41 GMT -5
Yes to all your questions.
The three big futurity/derby races are the Ruidoso Futurity/Derby, the Rainbow Futurity/Derby and the All American Futurity/Derby. They typically run in late May/early June, July, and late August/Sept. The closing weekend for Ruidoso is always Labor Day weekend.
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cait
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Post by cait on Jul 24, 2013 13:11:51 GMT -5
question for the 1/4's people - which track is a better facility - los al or ruidoso? which one has better racing - quality, purses etc. ?
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Post by mrdelmarwasmybitch on Jul 24, 2013 17:44:03 GMT -5
fifteen years ago I would have said los al. I have never been to Ruidoso in person so I don't know what it looks like. and purse wise they both pale in comparison to sunland if you are talking about everyday purses. yes los al. and Ruidoso have the big futurities and derbies, but as far as overnights go, they stink. I have been betting los al since I was 15 and mad a good living at it for a long time. I am appreciative that it was here. but its just about over for them I fear. its not the same place it used to be. to many Mexican trainers and owners and way to much nonsense going on. plus there are just no horses, and its getting worse. simple............... no slots= non competitive.
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cait
Active Member
Posts: 3,821
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Post by cait on Jul 24, 2013 19:34:45 GMT -5
thanks wiz - was curious - am wondering how long hialeah will last as a 1/4 track - used to love hialeah - the flamingos - the grounds - the buildings - it was gorgeous when i was a kid - so am glad it's still open even tho it's now in a crappy neighborhood and has 1/4's
does anyone think bringing 1/4's to tracks in trouble might help keep them open?
was there ever much 1/4 racing in the east?
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Post by mountainmajesty on Jul 25, 2013 15:41:38 GMT -5
I've been to Ruidoso a number of times. The setting at Ruidoso is absolutely gorgeous - it's at 7000' elevation in the mountains. Ruidoso itself is a resort town - Ruidoso Downs is just outside of Ruidoso. If you refer to 'the Mountain' in quarter horse racing, you are referring to Ruidoso.
Ruidoso Downs is the quintessential quarter horse track in that it has been the home of the All American Futurity and other major quarter horse races for over 60 years. R.D. Hubbard has made it a priority to create the biggest purses for their three premiere futurities/derbies, and it shows by the large number of entries in the Ruidoso and Rainbow Futurities that have been held so far this year.
In addition, the premiere auction for quarter horse yearlings is held the week-end of the All American Futurity (Labor Day weekend), and the best blooded horses are sold at that time. Ruidoso is absolutely crowded that weekend between the races and auction.
Ruidoso has slots as well as Sunland. Ruidoso also runs TB races from 4-1/2 to 7-1/2 furlongs. More horses run at Ruidoso than Los Al, but Ruidoso's season is basically from Memorial Day to Labor Day. The race circuit in New Mexico starts at Sunland, moves to Ruidoso, then Zia Park in Hobbs NM, then back to Sunland.
I still believe you cannot discount the devastation of the California economy and its effect on the racing at Los Al. It is true that there are more Mexican trainers/owners at Los Al over time, but there are also Mexican trainers/owners at Ruidoso.
Because Los Al runs year-round and Ruidoso is seasonal, it's hard to compare the two tracks. They each serve their separate functions. Racing Challenge championships are often held at Los Al because it is still running in late November. Champion of Champions is always held at Los Al.
The best part about running horses to Los Al, however, is that you can watch your horse race on TVG. That's a strong benefit to out-of-town horse owners/managers.
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Post by mrdelmarwasmybitch on Jul 25, 2013 15:58:19 GMT -5
aren't they still running at Albuquerque?
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Post by mountainmajesty on Jul 26, 2013 3:23:59 GMT -5
They used to have a better race schedule at Albuquerque with some nice NM-bred races, the Senor and Senorita futurities. Now the race schedule has cut back to a few weekends of racing.
Farmington also runs during the same time frame as Ruidoso, and some trainers run horses at both tracks simultaneously. But of course Farmington doesn't have the reputation nor the quality of horses that Ruidoso has.
There are some strong drawbacks to Ruidoso. One is the altitude - a lot of horses that move to Ruidoso tend to colic, so grooms and trainers need to be very cognizant of any signs of colic. Second is the weather - rain and winds come and go in an instant, which makes it really tough to qualify horses when there are 20 trials in one day. One race tailwind, three races later headwind, 6 races later rain and wind. But it's still a beautiful, scenic place.
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