The Canada Quarter Horse Cup Futurity (2005) television broadcast won the Multimedia category of the American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) Marketing and Media Awards.

These awards recognize outstanding coverage and promotion of horses, people, and events within the American Quarter Horse industry. The Canada Quarter Horse Cup Futurity is hosted annually by the Rocky Mountain Turf Club in Lethbridge, AB, and is Canada’s richest Quarter Horse race.
continue reading "Horse Racing Alberta celebrates two wins"

by Garry Allison, The Horses, Rocky Mountain Turf Club

They call it the sport of kings, and on October 28 Max Gibb added five more kings to his Horsemen’s Wall of Fame in the Royal Ascot Betting Parlour in Lethbridge, AB.

“For a number of years we haven’t added anyone to the wall, and this fall we are catching up,” says Rocky Mountain Turf Club (RMTC) CEO Max Gibb. “At the start of the Fall Meet we added Ed Calfrobe and family, the Meeks family, Stan Marks and his family, and Dale “Digger” Mortensen.
continue reading "Five Added to Lethbridge Horsemen’s Wall of Fame"

Canadian-born Russell Baze became racing’s winningest jockey December 1 when he broke Laffit Pincay Jr.’s record with a victory aboard Butterfly Belle at Bay Meadows in San Mateo, California.

Win No. 9,531 came in the fourth race, when the Vancouver-born Baze found a hole along the rail and drove through it. He rode the filly down the stretch to win on the Longden Turf course, named for Johnny Longden, who once held the record Baze broke.

“I was sitting behind a wall of horses and I was looking for a way out,” the 48-year-old said. “When (the hole) started developing, I immediately headed for it. I was just glad it stayed open until I could get through it.”
continue reading "Canadian jockey breaks record"

by Garry Allison, The Horses Rocky Mountain Turf Club

One of the true success stories along the backstretch of the Rocky Mountain Turf Club (RMTC) in Lethbridge, AB, is that of Kevin Potts.

The support of a life-long friend, a love of horses, a dream for the future, and the trust of some of the RMTC horsemen, carried this Brocket-born horseman through a rugged period in his life.

Today, Potts sees the world from a different perspective. He’s become a trainer for the stable of Amanda and Allen Fogle, and also trains a Thoroughbred called Sunny’s Thor for his mother Delores and stepfather and former Pikanii Nation Head Chief Philip Big Swan.
continue reading "A Backstretch Success story: A love of horses helps turn life around"

by Allen Hadley

On September 16, 2006, Canada’s biggest and best Quarter Horse race, the Canada Quarter Horse Cup Futurity, was contested for the 10th time at Whoop Up Downs in Lethbridge, AB.

This year, it was auction consignee Its All About Speed that sprinted to a one-length victory, stopping the clock in 17:60 and taking home the coveted cup.

The Alberta-bred colt by Streakin La Jolla earned a lifetime best 102 speed index for owners Shady Lane Stables (Leslieville, AB) and trainer Stan Webb (Granum, AB). Not too shabby, considering the track conditions were extremely muddy and the sky looked like it could open up at any time. Angelle Wilson (Coaldale, AB) handled the adverse conditions easily during her winning ride.
continue reading "‘Its All About Speed’: Alberta-bred Colt Lives up to its Name"

by Garry Allison, The Horses, Rocky Mountain Turf Club

Four horsemen and their families were added to the Rocky Mountain Turf Club (RMTC) Horsemen’s Wall of Fame on September 10, celebrating 110 years of horse racing at Whoop-Up Downs in Lethbridge, AB.

“I felt it was time we honoured some of the people we have been overlooking these past few years,” said RMTC CEO Max Gibb.
continue reading "Four Added to Lethbridge Horsemen’s Wall of Fame"

by Garry Allison, The Horses, Rocky Mountain Turf Club

Grant Erickson, decked in his red jacket and black bowler hat, is all set to sound out the call to post to welcome the horses back to the Rocky Mountain Turf Club (RMTC) in Lethbridge, AB, and kick off the two-month-long Fall Meet starting September 2, 2006.

The Thoroughbreds will be primed for a series of top stake races, the annual $10,000 Arabian Race is all set, as are a few top Paint races, and the Quarter Horse people are also looking forward to their annual $100,000 Futurity.

These, and the regular claiming and allowance races, are all jammed into every three-day weekend between September 2 and the final weekend of November 4 and 5.
continue reading "Racing in Lethbridge: Fall Meet starts September 2, 2006"