Judys Lineage foals go 1-2, Speed Bandit wins
in American Paint Classic Futurity RG1

FORT WORTH, TEXAS—After stumbling out of the gate, Speed Bandit regained his ground, finishing first in the $103,386 American Paint Classic Futurity RG1 at Remington Park in Oklahoma City. The 350-yard race took place on April 26.

Photo courtesy Remington Park. Hirez JPEG (1.97 mb)

Speed Bandit		Judys Lineage		Special Lineage		Alydar
						Champagne Woman
				Judys Chick		Walters Chick
						The Lady Sadie
		Rocket Memories		Leaving Memories		First Down Dash
						Sweet Blush
				Above The Odds		Jaguar Rocket
						Dial's Miss Leo

The 2-year-old gray Solid Paint-Bred gelding, sired by Judys Lineage and out of Rocket Memories AQHA, posted the winning time of 17.80 seconds. Ridden under jockey Kenny Muntz, Speed Bandit took home the winning check worth $38,360 for a total lifetime earnings of $48,096. The gelding has won three of his four lifetime races, remaining undefeated at Remington Park. Speed Bandit is owned by breeder Tom Denham of Glenpool, Okla., and was trained by Dee Keener.

Finishing in a close second was Ride Me Hard, who crossed the finish a neck behind Speed Bandit. The 2-year-old sorrel tobiano Paint mare put forth a valiant effort, but came up short, posting a time of 17.83 seconds. Also sired by Judys Lineage and out of A Golden Jet, the mare earned $16,231, increasing her career earnings to $19,135. Ride Me Hard is owned by Michael Pohl of Montgomery, Texas, was trained by Stacy Charette-Hill and ridden by G.R. Carter, Jr.

Awesome Fling, a 2-year-old brown Solid Paint-Bred gelding, finished a length behind with a time of 17.98 seconds for third place, The gelding is owned by Michelle Caldwell of Poteau, Okla., was trained by Matt Whitekiller and ridden by Cody Smith. The gelding, sired by Awesome Chrome and out of Last Fling, earned $9,408 for lifetime earnings of $12,615.

Other Paint Horses (with times) completing the race include Barney Ofield (18.02), Signs Awesome Chrome (18.06), Okey Dokey Treasure (18.10), Flashem Betty (18.21), Takin On Judy (18.21), Awesome Heroine (18.25) and Judy Jackson (18.30).

More about Paint Horse racing
Horse racing has long been one of America’s favorite spectator sports. With the recent growth of the Paint Horse breed, it’s no wonder that Paints have become one of the hottest tickets in the horse racing industry.

Since 1966, when APHA officially recognized the sport, Paint racing has made major strides forward. In that inaugural year, 17 starters ran for $1,290 in just two states—Texas and Oklahoma. In 2007, more than 600 starters competed in more than 700 APHA-recognized races for record purses totaling more than $5 million.

A total of 18 states now feature Paint racing, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. Paint Horses also race in Canada.

“Paint Racing continues to be an opportunity for breeders, owners and trainers to take a serious look at,” said APHA Executive Director Lex Smurthwaite. “The amount of purse money available and the average earning per Paint starter is creating new interest in the Paint racing industry.”

For more information on Paint Horse racing, contact APHA’s racing
department at (817) 222-6444, email racing@apha.com, or visit
paintracing.com.