Boy Of Summer, owned by The Painted Pitchfork Ranch, of Rifle, Colo., won the Grade 3 Pioneer Derby on Jan. 30, 2004, with a time of :19.92 setting a new track record at Los Alamitos Racetrack. Boy Of Summer, who is sired by Meter Me Gone, AQHA, and is out of Summer Gold, outran six other horses in the 400-yard race held at Los Alamitos Race Course in Los Alamitos, Calif., claiming $11,446 in earnings.
Boy Of
Summer
Meter Me Gone
The Signature
Noholme II
Mable Chick Too
Lady Meter Reader
Beduino
Chronometer
Summer Gold
Bully Bullion
Special Effort
Mary Poppins
Indian Summer Too
Indians Image
Summer Too
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 the American Paint Horse Association (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—that held Paint races. Thirty-eight years later, in 2004, 639 starters competed in 785 APHA-recognized races for purses totaling more than $4.8 million.
“Purses have continued to climb upward, along with the number of starters and races offered for Paint Horses,” said APHA’s Racing Director Karen Utecht.
And, Paint Racing will continue growing, Utecht said.
A total of 18 states now feature Paint racing. Paints race on tracks in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Montana, North Dakota, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. Paint racing has even spread into Canada.
The phenomenal growth of the Paint Horse breed is evident in the annual
registration numbers. APHA registered 51,120 horses in 2003, compared
to 24,220 in 1993. That represents a 123-percent increase over 10
years.
Paint racing has grown immensely since 1966 and is increasing in
popularity each year.
“The future is really good, we have owners from other racing breeds getting involved in Paints because we have a steady growth in our program,” said Lex Smurthwaite, manager of the performance and racing department. “It is still relatively easy to get involved and be competitive.”
For more information on Paint Horse racing, contact APHA’s racing department at (817) 222-6444, e-mail racing@apha.com or log on to apha.com/racing.
