COVER 1 - NMHBA SUMMER 2017 low res

Trainer Reaches 4-Figure Win Milestone
story courtesy AQHA
Trainer Wes Giles has reached the
milestone of 1,000 winners. Giles reached
the mark with the help of his Grade 1
winner Apolltical Chad, who on May 28
won his trial to the Ruidoso Derby (G1).
The horse won the Ruidoso Futurity (G1)
last year, and finished fourth in the All
American Futurity (G1).
Giles began training in 1981, and since
then has saddled 6,356 horses that have
brought home more than $18.8 million.
That includes 116 stakes victories.
He is the 37th trainer to reach the 1,000-
win record.
In addition to Apolltical Chad, he has
saddled Too Flash For You, Trendi, Wild Six,
Fast Prize Zoom and champion Gone To
The Mountain to victories in Grade 1 stakes.
He has also saddled the likes of
champions Astica and Jesscuzican.
R.D. Hubbard Signs Agreement To Sell Ruidoso Downs
story courtesy Track Magazine
A group of five businessmen, four from
Texas and one from California, and R.D.
Hubbard have signed a letter of intent
for Hubbard to sell Ruidoso Downs
Racetrack and the Ruidoso Horse Sale
Co. to the group.
In its Monday Report dated April 24,
TRACK Magazine reported that the five
individuals in the group are Stan Sigman,
Gary McKinney, Narciso Flores, and
Johnny Trotter from Texas, and John
Andreini from California. All five men are
heavily vested in the breeding and racing of
American Quarter Horses.
“We are about to start our due
diligence, and in due time we will start the
process of gaining regulatory approval,”
said Sigman, who was elected chairman of
the group. “It’s our goal to close the deal
in the fourth quarter of 2017.”
Hubbard has been a leading Quarter
Horse and Thoroughbred owner
for several decades, and he has had
ownership interests in other tracks,
including Hollywood Park, Zia Park
Los Alamitos and Turf Paradise. He also
currently owns Crystal Springs Farm in
Tularosa, New Mexico.
“I’m not about to quit racing,”
Hubbard told Ben Hudson of TRACK
Magazine. “I still need to win the All
American Futurity. We’re still breeding
mares and making babies. I’ll be at the
sales this year buying horses.
“Nothing will change at Crystal Springs,
except maybe putting an All American
Futurity winner in one of the paddocks,”
he added.
Ruidoso Downs will open its 2017
meet on May 26. Since 1959, the track
has hosted the 440-yard, $3-million All
American Futurity (G1), Quarter Horse
racing’s richest and most prestigious race.
“These men know Ruidoso Downs, and
they are committed to keeping it as the
best place in the nation for Quarter Horse
racing,” said Ruidoso Downs president and
general manager Shaun Hubbard.
The Hotel at Sunland Park is Now Open
The Hotel at Sunland Park Racetrack
opened April 21st of this year.
The 78-room hotel is part of the Ascend
Hotel Collection, a boutique-hotel brand of
Maryland-based Choice Hotels International.
The hotel is located at 1202 Futurity
Drive, just outside the Sunland Park
Racetrack and Casino complex in Sunland
Park, N.M., on the edge of El Paso’s
Upper Valley.
The hotel franchise is owned by
Linderbaugh LLC, a New Mexico
development company led by Ruidoso
native Sumer Linder, who has more than
15 years of casino experience, the company
reported.
Ascend has more than 170 hotels
worldwide, according to Choice Hotels.
For reservation information visit www.
sunland-park.com or call 575-332-9200
10 New Mexico Horse Breeder