Oklahoma is to American Quarter Horse racing
as Kentucky is to Thoroughbred racing.
There are more top American Quarter Horse sprinters bred in Oklahoma each year than in any other state. In fact, there are more horses in Oklahoma than there are in Kentucky. Next time you drive down the road and see horses in a pasture in the Sooner state, chances are about 9 in 10 that you're looking at an American Quarter Horse.
There are more than 49,000 owners of Quarter Horses living in Oklahoma, and although not all of the horses are "racing" Quarter Horses, most carry the heritage of the racing bloodlines somewhere in their pedigrees.
Oklahoma bloodlines have produced the fastest Quarter Horses in the world over the years, and Oklahoma continues to dominate the breeding industry with the quality of breeding stock domiciled in this State.
More than half of the nation's top ten trainers, riders, owners, and breeders of racing Quarter Horses will likely participate in Oklahoma racing at Remington Park during the 2012 race meet.
Horse Racing is Oklahoma
Horse racing is deeply embedded in both the history and culture of Oklahoma.College and high school football may be king in terms of our culture, but horse racing gives football a pretty good run for its money. In fact, Oklahoma City, the home to Remington Park, credits its own existence to the "world's biggest horse race": An estimated 50,000 people - many on horseback - literally raced for land in present day Oklahoma City and surrounding areas in the Oklahoma land run for the "unassigned lands" on April 22, 1989.
http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/L/LA014.html
In 2011, Remington Park drew more than 1.9 million people - more than any single sporting-entertainment destination in the state - to see live racing, listen to live music and play in the Remington Park casino.
Today, there are more than 50,000 people in Oklahoma involved in the ownership of race horses.
The economic impact of American Quarter Horse racing on Oklahoma is estimated to exceed $700 million annually and includes such jobs, goods, and services provided by farmers as raising and selling feed and hay, feed stores, veterinary support services, horse trailer manufacturing plants, truck and trailer dealers, and even the restaurants and hotels that provide services for the out of town and out of state race industry professionals drawn to Remington Park for the live racing season.
Nearly 32,000 jobs in Oklahoma are created because of the horse industry.
Big Purses On Track for 2012
In 2011 the RP Quarter Horse meet paid out just over $13 Million in Purses which was an average of $22,906 per race for Quarter Horses. In 2012, Remington Park will once again offer the Remington Park Oklahoma Bred Futurity and Derby with approximately $1Million in total purse money for purses, breeders awards, and stallion awards. Other major races will include the oldest recognized Quarter Horse Futurity in the industry, the "open to the world" Oklahoma Futurity, the Heritage Place Million Futurity, and the Remington Park Championship which carries an automatic berth for the winner to the 2012 Champion of Champions race in California.For a closer look at the 2012 racing calendar, click here.
For more information on Oklahoma Quarter Horse racing visit:
www.oqhra.com and www.oklahomaracinginfo.com
Promotional TV Spot for the 2010 Heritage Place Futurity
