Los Alamitos Race Course will host the prestigious Champion of Champions on Saturday, Dec. 14. This race, like the Breeder’s Cup Classic in Thoroughbred racing, requires a horse to win selected races to earn a starting berth. The horses who line up for the race represent the best of the sport, and in the 41 editions of the race to date, all but two winners also take home a championship title that same year, while 26 of the winners were world champions in the year of their victory.
The action kicked off this weekend at the historic Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans as the track hosts its Louisiana Champions Day on Saturday, Dec. 8. Top runners from the Pelican State will be featured in three rich stakes races for American Quarter Horses, all featuring purses of at least $100,000. The Fair Grounds has conducted races for more than 140 years.
Los Alamitos will host the Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity on Sunday, Dec. 15. This race offers a $2 million purse and is the third-richest American Quarter Horse race in the country, behind only the $2.8 million All American Derby and $2.6 million All American Futurity.
On the final weekend of the year, Hialeah Park near Miami, Florida, and Sunland Park near El Paso, Texas, will both host significant stakes races.
Hialeah Park is often billed as “the world’s most beautiful race course” and, along with its history, is known for its famed flock of flamingos that live in the infield. On December 29, it will host the $500,000-est. Hialeah Futurity for 2-year-old American Quarter Horse speedsters.
Sunland Park hosts another race with major championship implications – The Championship at Sunland Park. In its 12-year history, all but two of the race’s winners took home year-end champion honors.
By year’s end, American Quarter Horses will race for their share of more than $5 million.
‘Tis the season for great racing and big purses in American Quarter Horse races around the country. In the next month, tracks will award more than $5 million in purses in major horse races, many of which will have an impact on which horses take home the year-end champion honors.
American Quarter Horses are sprint racing horses, covering short distances at high speeds. A top-quality American Quarter Horse can reach up to 55 miles per hour during a race and many of these horses will be on display in prestigious races around the country in the coming weeks. These races are broadcast via live web stream on www.qracingvideo.com.
Founded in 1940, the American Quarter Horse Association is the largest equine breed organization in the world. With headquarters in Amarillo, Texas, AQHA has a membership of more than 280,000 people in 86 countries and has registered more than five million horses in 95 countries.
AQHA’s Horse Racing Aces will attend live races, helping fans learn more about the uniqueness of American Quarter Horse racing, and provide extended coverage via social media during the month. The Racing Aces are individuals who have been involved in American Quarter Horse and Thoroughbred racing as handicappers, racing writers and publicists. The Racing Aces program works to promote the sport, provide fan education services and help develop new fan bases. Like QRacingAces of Facebook and on Twitter at @HorseRacingAces.
If you can’t attend the races in person, watch these races and other great American Quarter Horse racing at AQHA’s Q-Racing Video, available at www.qracingvideo.com.
Find the latest news and handicapping information at www.aqharacing.com.
