History of Paint Racing
2005: Carols Treasure, a sorrel solid Paint-bred mare sired by Treasured
Too and out of Zelmas Dash AQHA, won three Quarter Horse stakes races at Los
Alamitos Race Course in California and was named the Champion Solid Paint-Bred
Aged Mare and Champion Solid Paint-Bred Aged Horse. Her stakes wins include Easy
Date Quarter Horse Handicap, Miss Princess Stakes, Independence Day Handicap and
the AB What A Runner Handicap. The mare is owned by John Sperry of Garden Grove,
California.
Carols Treasure
Judys Lineage |
Judys Lineage, a sorrel tobiano stallion sired by Special Lineage
TB and out of Judys Chick, became only the second Paint stallion to have sired
starters with earnings totaling more than $2 million. His offspring have
combined earnings of $2,028,698. The stallion is owned by Henry and Chuck Bowlan
of Tecumseh, Oklahoma.
Herbert Graham, American Paint Horse Association Lifetime Breeder and Owner, was
inducted into the Texas Horse Racing Hall Of Fame. Graham owned and bred such
horses as Texas Hero, Raise A Jet, Lonesome Hero, Texas Wildcat and Dakota
Jackson, just to name a few.
Walter Merrick of Sayre, Okla., was recognized with APHA’s prestigious Paul
Harber Award for his tireless contributions to Paint racing during the past 40
years. Merrick bred the famous Easy Jet Too.
Got Country Grip, a 2003 bay solid Paint-bred gelding sired by Country Quick Dash
and out of Got A Grip, finished his 2-year-old season undefeated. The gelding is
owned by Jimmy Maddux of Weatherford, Texas.
Got Country Grip
2006: Got Country Grip, a 2003 bay solid Paint-bred gelding sired by
Country Quick Dash and out of Got A Grip, remained undefeated in 12 starts and
broke the $200,000 earnings mark, as well with $201,800 lifetime earnings by the
end of 2006.
Got Country Grip
Photo courtesy of Gene Wilson & Associates
Calista Corona earned the title of leading Paint money earner, surpassing Izzy
Legal’s earnings of $164,758. On May 28, 2006, Calista Corona, owned by Charles
Trochta and Sammy Hester, became the first Paint Horse to break the $200,000
mark.
Calista Corona
Both Got Country Grip and Calista Corona, a 2002 sorrel solid Paint-bred gelding,
are the only two Paint racehorses in the $200,000 earnings club.
Paint racing experienced its first ever triple-dead-heat win during the
Masterpiece Derby G1 at Los Alamitos Race Course. Texas Exit, Katie Oneal and
Decash posted a time of 17.90 seconds and each earned $10,875 for the win.
Triple Dead Heat
Photo courtesy of Los Alamitos Race Course
Chuck Real Bird, a member of the Native American Crow Nation, and his Paint
racehorse Crow Sovereign were honored with the APHA Legendary Achievement award.
The duo received the award for their commitment to APHA and their success in the
racing world. Real Bird and Crow Sovereign also made history when the racehorse
became the first horse from an Indian nation to win a prestigious APHA racing
award.
Chuck Real Bird
2007: Paint racing experienced a year full of shattered records, top
performers and intense media coverage during 2007. The racing program saw 560
Paint horses start in 761 APHA-recognized races across 18 states, competing for
$5.5 million dollars over the course of the year. Although racing experienced
outstanding participation, names like Got Country Grip, SM Country Snowman and
Texas Hero caught the attention of Paint racing fans everywhere.
Got Country Grip
Got Country Grip— possibly Paint racing’s most famous athlete— had another
impressive year on the track. The 4-year-old Solid Paint-Bred finished the year
undefeated in 15 lifetime races, to surpass the Quarter Horse world-record of 14
undefeated races. Got Country Grip is only two races shy of beating the
Thoroughbred record, to become the winningest racehorse. On his way to the top,
Got Country Grip became the highest-earning Paint racer of all-time with
$247,500.
The gelding, owned by Jimmy Maddux of Weatherford, Texas, was named World
Champion Solid Paint-Bred for the third consecutive year. He also earned the
Champion Solid Paint-Bred Aged Horse and Champion Solid Paint-Bred Aged Gelding
awards, of which he earned the equivalents his 2- and 3-year-old years.
Another Paint racing phenomenon, SM Country Snowman was named World Champion
Regular Registry, Champion 2-Year-Old and Champion 2-Year-Old Colt. The red roan
overo stallion finished the year off as the highest earning 2-year-old Paint
racehorse of all- time. SM Country Snowman, owned by Rafter SM Ranch of Wagoner,
Okla., accumulated $159,383 throughout the year. Only four other Paint
racehorses have earned $150,000 throughout their entire careers.
Also shattering old records was Texas Hero, who became Paint racing’s first
$3 million sire. Owned by Buddy and Ann Albin of Denton, Texas, the 17-year-old
bay tobiano has sired 360 foals with 259 starters, earning a total of
$3,055,109.
Texas Hero
These top Paint racehorses, along with others, helped Paint racing gain worldwide
publicity. Paint racing stories were picked up by numerous media groups,
including National Public Radio (NPR), CBS, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and
Texas Horse Talk magazine. Read more about the history of racing