NEWS RELEASE

Georgia Ryon upsets in John Deere Sprint Stakes

Florence, KY . . . September 13, 2008 . . . Georgia Ryon pulled off a major upset in Friday’s $25,000 John Deere Turfway Park Sprint Stakes at Turfway Park, as American Quarter Horses made their debut over Polytrack.

The stakes race not only was a milestone for Quarter Horses on the newest generation of all-weather surfaces but also marked the first time the breed had raced at Turfway in 36 years. The race drew plenty of interest from a large crowd on hand for the track’s Friday night activities, including a barbecue festival.  As the Quarter Horses broke the gate at 11:30 p.m., fans were lined up six and seven deep on the rail.

The winner got off a step slowly from the two-hole but quickly made up ground to post a half-length victory over Dials Struttin.  Dials Struttin, with Juan Delgado up for trainer Tony Cunningham, broke through the gate shortly before the start but was quickly collared and reloaded.  Faye Meeks’ Georgia Halo finished another nose back, crossing the wire third in the 10-horse field. Final time for the 330-yard dash was 16.964.

Georgia Ryon, a four-year-old Bills Ryon mare, won an allowance race at The Red Mile July 18, and the Turfway Park Sprint Stakes was just her second start of the year.  The victory made the trip from near Vidalia, Georgia, well worth the 10-hour drive for trainer Randy Brown and owner Jerald Collins.  “She woke up for us at The Red Mile,” said Brown. “I thought she’d be real good in here.”  Brown also trains Georgia Halo.

Winning owner Jerald Collins said he had planned to send the mare to Louisiana to be bred next year, but her win at the Red Mile changed his mind.  Friday night’s stakes victory sealed the deal and the breeding shed will have to wait. “I don’t know why she woke up like she did, but I told Randy she was in the best shape of her life and ready to go,” he said. “I don’t know how good she could be.”

Winning jockey Howard Pierce, a three-decade veteran rider, said his first experience on Polytrack was a good one. “She left out of the gate a little bit tardy, but she had no problem getting a hold of the track,” he said. “I can’t say a bad word about the racing surface. It takes the jar out of running.  She really seemed to like it.”

Pierce’s sentiments were echoed by everyone in the jocks’ room. “My horse sure ran a good race on it,” said Shanley Jackson, Georgia Halo’s rider. “We were next to the horse that broke through, and he thought it was time to go and hit the front of the gate. When they did spring the gate, he was just a little hesitant to get out of there and broke a step slow.

“I really liked the track,” he said. “You don’t have to worry about potholes, and you don’t have to worry about stepping in holes from another horse’s tracks.”

The trainers were pleased with the Polytrack experience as well. “It’s a good, firm surface,” said trainer Ron Raper, who is ranked sixth nationally by wins. His trainee, Jeannette Hoover’s Jessluvchicks, bore to the outside rail and finished seventh as the 1-9 favorite. “He was a little nervous in the gate, but this horse doesn’t usually get out. He tends to lug in a little. You can’t win them all.”

Georgia Ryon returned a hefty $50.60 to win and keyed a $30,204.80 superfecta. The late-night stakes race, distributed to Turfway Park’s simulcasting network, posted a total handle of $191,883.06.

For further information on Quarter Horse racing, contact KyQHRA Executive Director Anne Doolin at 859-983-0520 or visit the Kentucky Quarter Horse Racing Association website at www.kyqhra.com.

For further information regarding Turfway Park, contact Director of Communications Sherry Pinson at 859-647-4842.

Ten to line up for Quarter Horse sprint at Turfway

September 7, 2008  Florence, KY - A full field of 10 American Quarter Horses entered Friday’s inaugural $25,000-guaranteed John Deere Turfway Park Sprint Stakes at Turfway Park on Friday, September 12. The race marks the national debut for racing American Quarter Horses on Polytrack.

Quarter Horses last raced at the Florence, Ky., oval in 1972 when the track was known as Latonia. American Quarter Horses currently have two pari-mutuel dates in Kentucky, running at The Red Mile in Lexington.  At this year’s meet, July 18 and 19, horses from 25 states competed.

The John Deere Turfway Park Sprint Stakes, for three year olds and upwards, covers 330 yards. The purse carries black-type status in American Quarter Horse racing and includes a $5,000 John Deere premium for Bank of America Challenge-enrolled horses.

Several of the horses entered for the sprint ran at the recent Red Mile meet, including Georgia Halo and Run Likea Streaker, one-two in the 330-yard Los Alamitos Stakes, and Jessluvchicks, who won the John Deere Lexington Challenge Sprint Stakes.

“It’s great to see horsemen who supported us at The Red Mile come back for this important race,” said Anne Doolin, executive director of the Kentucky Quarter Horse Racing Association. “We have horses shipping in from Georgia, North Carolina and Michigan to join three from Kentucky and one from Ohio.  It’s a very competitive field and should provide us a good grasp of how Quarter Horses will handle a markedly different racing surface.  There’s buzz about this race all over the country.”

Georgia Halo and Jessluvchicks will line up side-by-side on the outside. Faye Meeks’ homebred Georgia Halo drew post nine, with regular rider Shanley Jackson aboard for trainer Randy Brown, and Jeannette Hoover’s Jessluvchicks drew the outside post. The six-year-old gelding’s usual jockey, Harold Collins, rides for trainer Ron Raper.

The Los Al win is Georgia Halo’s only previous start this year.  A six-year-old stallion by Thoroughbred sire Gran’s Halo, he has six wins from 21 starts, including three of seven attempts at 330 yards, and earnings of $35,659.

Jessluvchicks has five wins and a third in seven starts this year, including a win at River Downs August 12.  Of his $49,392 career earnings, $37,031 has come in 2008. His trainer, Michigan-based Ron Raper, was the leading trainer at The Red Mile in 2007and 2008 and ranks among the top 10 trainers nationally.

Those two stakes winners will likely face stiff competition just to their inside. Ray Cunningham’s Dials Struttin, with two wins and four seconds in her last six outings, drew post eight. Juan Delgado will ride for Michigan-based trainer Tony Cunningham.

Run Likea Streaker, the Los Al runner-up and one of two entered by North Carolina-based James Locklear, landed in the seven hole. Owned by Stanford Locklear, Run Likea Streaker has the services of Oscar Delgado in the irons.

Oughttobecashedout, who drew post four, is winless in five starts this year but was beaten just a neck her last two outings and ran third in her other three. Owner/trainer Neil Schnecker, from just north of Cincinnati, tabbed Joddie Fortner to ride.

The balance of the field: WRS Sweet Date [post one, Carter Riley to ride]; Georgia Ryon [post two, Howard Pierce]; Streakin Copper Buff [post three, Kelvin Brewer]; Little Bit Whimsy [post five, Tommy Johns]; and Ridin a Easy Streak [post six, John Mitchener].  Both WRS Sweet Date and Jessluvschicks supplemented to the race.

The John Deere Turfway Park Sprint Stakes is carded as race 11. The race will be broadcast via the Turfway Park simulcast signal and will be highlighted on the TVG Network. First race post time is 7 p.m.

Gate-break test set for Tuesday

A couple of Quarter Horses will break from the starting gate in a 330-yard practice work on Tuesday, September 9, at 10:15 a.m. The exercise will gauge how Quarter Horses, who break differently from Thoroughbreds, will handle Polytrack on the break.

One of the two, three-year-old Streakin Traffic, was raffled off at The Red Mile just before he broke his maiden. His new owner, Dave Holzwarth of Georgetown, Ky., recently retired from a career in state government and is thoroughly enjoying his new hobby. Streakin Traffic is the first racehorse for Holzwarth and his wife Sandy, who have reining Quarter Horses.

For further information on the race, contact KyQHRA Executive Director Anne Doolin at 859-983-0520 or visit the Kentucky Quarter Horse Racing Association website at www.kyqhra.com.

For further information regarding Turfway Park, contact Director of Communications Sherry Pinson at 859-647-4842.

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NEWS RELEASE

August 7, 2008

RACING QUARTER HORSES TO TRY POLYTRACK

AT TURFWAY PARK IN SEPTEMBER

American Quarter Horses will race over the newest generation of synthetic track surfaces for the first time on Friday, September 12, when Turfway Park hosts the $25,000-guaranteed John Deere Turfway Park Sprint Stakes. (click the link for Stakes Nomination Form)

The last time American Quarter Horses raced at the Florence, Kentucky, oval was in 1972 when the track was known as Latonia. American Quarter Horses currently have two pari-mutuel dates in the Bluegrass state, running at the Red Mile in Lexington in July. At that recently-concluded meet, horses from 25 different states competed.

The John Deere Turfway Sprint Stakes, for three year olds and upwards, will be contested at 330 yards over Turfway Park’s Polytrack. The $25,000 purse, which carries black-type status in American Quarter Horse racing, includes a $5,000 John Deere premium for Bank of America Challenge-enrolled horses.

"Our patrons have long enjoyed Quarter Horse racing via simulcast but it's a special treat to be able to bring that excitement to them live again,” said Robert N. Elliston, president and CEO of Turfway Park.  “Our Polytrack has been a laboratory since it was installed in 2005, and we're eager to see racing's fastest horses in action over it."

The race promises to be closely observed by those involved in American Quarter Horse racing from coast to coast. “To be running at Turfway Park is just another great opportunity for American Quarter Horse racing to be seen by horse racing fans in Kentucky, and on the national scene via the Turfway simulcast signal,” said Trey Buck, executive director of racing for the American Quarter Horse Association.

“It’s also a tremendous opportunity to see how our athletes perform on an artificial surface, and to be a part of Turfway Park’s race program,” Buck said. “Bob Elliston and his staff have gone out of their way to make us feel welcome. All of us at the AQHA are looking forward to this significant day to our industry.”

Turfway Park, which hosts Thoroughbred racing in three separate meets, was the first pari-mutuel track in North America to install Polytrack. The inaugural   meet with the new surface was in September of 2005. Nationally, American Quarter Horses last raced on an artificial surface at Remington in the late 1980s. That surface, known as Equitrack, was unable to withstand Oklahoma’s summer heat, and it was replaced with the traditional dirt after only a couple of seasons.

“The question of how racing American Quarter Horses will perform on a synthetic racing surface has been discussed numerous times since the 2006 Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit,” said Ed Ashcraft, treasurer of the Kentucky Quarter Horse Racing Association and a licensed trainer.

“While a limited number of running Quarter Horses have trained on new synthetic surfaces around the country, there has never been a pari-mutuel Quarter Horse race over one,” he said. “With several racetracks that conduct American Quarter Horse racing considering installing a synthetic surface, that question needs to be answered sooner rather than later.”

Preference for the Turfway stakes event is based on money earned since September 1, 2007, with second preference to Bank of America Challenge-enrolled horses. $100 early nominations must be postmarked by Wednesday, August 20 and there is an additional $250 starting fee due at time of entry. Mail nominations to Anne Doolin, KyQHRA, 3271 Foxtale Court, Lexington, KY 40517.

Entries close at 10 a.m. on Sunday, September 7. Turfway Park race office phone is 859-647-4705 or 800-815-2806.

For further information on the race, contact KyQHRA Executive Director Anne Doolin at 859-983-0520 or visit the Kentucky Quarter Horse Racing Association website at www.kyqhra.com.

For further information regarding Turfway Park, contact Sherry Pinson, Director of Communications at 859-647-4842.