|
| Paint racing comes
up a winner at Michigan's first Paint Horse
Futurity
FORT WORTH-Lines Of Power lit up Michigan's
Mount Pleasant Meadows racetrack recently with
a commanding victory in the state's first-ever
Paint Horse Futurity. The two-year-old stallion
made history at the July 29th race by becoming
the Wolverine state's first winner of all-Paint-Horse
stakes racing competition.
 |
| Lines Of Power lit up Michigan's Mount
Pleasant Meadows as winner of the first
all-Paint-Horse stakes race in the Wolverine
state. (Photo: Mount Pleasant Meadows) . |
Born and raised in Michigan, Lines Of Power
picked up more than $5,800 in earnings with
the victory for owners Jack Geer of Clare, Mich.,
and Tom Dunlap of Weidman, Mich. Dunlap also
trained the horse.
The debut of all-Paint-Horse stakes racing
in Michigan was made possible with the passage
of state legislation last summer allowing Paint
racing. Following the bill's passage, State
of Michigan Racing Commissioner Annette Bacola
approved an order in August 2000 that amended
the Mixed Race Meeting License at Mount Pleasant
Meadows. Prior to the amendment, only Quarter
Horses, Arabians, Appaloosas and Thoroughbreds
had been allowed to race at the track.
The track is also hosting mixed-breed racing
this year. The Michigan Racing Commissioner
also approved mixed-breed racing at another
track, Great Lakes Downs in Muskegon.
"There is a lot of excitement in Michigan
for Paint Racing," said American Paint
Horse Association (APHA) Racing Director Lex
Smurthwaite, who attended the historic race.
"We fully expect to see more American Paint
Horses racing here in the upcoming years."
Based in Fort Worth, Texas, the APHA has registered
more than 616,000 American Paint Horses since
it was founded in 1962.
|
|
|
As an incentive for the competition, APHA contributed $1,000
in added money to the $14,000-plus total race purse. "We
were glad to join such a dedicated group of people in Michigan
who worked hard to make Paint racing a reality."
Robert Berryhill, director of racing at Mount Pleasant Meadows,
which had the distinction of being the venue for the historic
race, foresees a great future for Paint racing at the track.
"We have a lot of trainers here wanting to find Paints
and buy Paints. They think this is a market that has been
untapped, and I think so, too.
"There have been a lot of Paints in Michigan, but not
a lot of them were running," said Berryhill, adding,
"we'll definitely see an increase now."
A total of 16 states now feature Paint racing. Paint Horses
currently run in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas,
Louisiana, Michigan, Montana, North Dakota, Nevada, Oklahoma,
Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Washington and Wyoming.
When the APHA officially recognized the sport in 1966, only
Texas and Oklahoma held races. That year, 17 starters ran
for $1,290.
In 1996, 305 starters ran in 272 races for purse money of
$1.1 million. In 2000, 553 starters competed in 531 races
for a gross purse of nearly $2.8 million. During those five
years, starters were up 81 percent, the number of races increased
95 percent and purse money grew 146 percent. Also during that
five-year period, six new states entered the Paint racing
picture.
APHA attributes the increases to several factors, including
the growing popularity of the Paint Horse breed in general.
Last year, for example, APHA registered 62,511 horses, compared
to 41,491 horses registered in 1996. That represents a 51-percent
annual registration increase over five years. In addition,
more tracks across the country are hosting Paint racing, which
is driving up purse totals and attracting more Paint racers,
according to APHA.
For more information on American Paint Horse racing, visit
www.apha.com/racing
or call the APHA Racing Department at (817) 834-2742, extension
444.
Paint racing takes off
| Year |
Starters |
Races |
States with
Paint Racing |
Total Purse |
| 2000 |
553 |
531 |
16 |
$2.8 million |
| 1999 |
503 |
367 |
12 |
$2.1 million |
| 1998 |
416 |
331 |
12 |
$1.8 million |
| 1997 |
320 |
265 |
11 |
$1.4 million |
| 1996 |
305 |
272 |
10 |
$1.1 million |
|
