Dear Florida Quarter Horse Racing fans,
FQHRA along with John Brunetti and Hialeah Park have kept their promise to the Florida legislature to bring economic development to Florida. In November of this year, 800 to 1000 American Quarter Horses will come to Florida for our inaugural QH meet at Hialeah Park. It is a well backed fact that for every race horse in training, seven jobs are created. Quality QH racing means seven well paid jobs. In this economy, organizations that can create up to 8000 jobs are appreciated. The Florida horse industry is now a $3 billion dollar industry. QH racing and breeding, with a circuit in Florida, can easily double that number.
The meet begins November 28, 2009 and runs Saturday through Tuesday for 10 weeks with 8 QH races per day. The last day of the meet is February 2, 2010. Owners and trainers licenses can be obtained by calling Jill Blackburn with Florida DBPR at 850-921-8031.
There is something for everyone including one $100,000 added derby and two $100,000 added futurities in 2009. There is another $100,000 added derby in 2010 and a maturity with $75,000 guaranteed in 2010. There is a distance stakes series, a sprint stakes series for foals of 2007 and a three year old and up stakes series. All the stakes series have purses of between $20,000 to $30,000 added. There are two stakes races almost every week.
The average purse will be $12,500 and the bottom purse will be $5,000 for $3500 maiden claiming. There will be $4 million added to the horsemen’s purse account. Every starter will receive a minimum of $150.00.
There are currently 28 lucky Accredited Florida Breds that are eligible to race at the 2009/2010 Hialeah meet. These horses will have the opportunity to earn up to $40,000 in accredited Florida Bred breeders and owners awards. Remember that it pays to own and breed Florida breds. To be Florida Bred eligible, a foal must be sired by an accredited Florida stallion OR be foaled in the state of Florida with the mare being bred back to an accredited Florida stallion that year.
We have waited 18 years to race QH’s in Florida and worked with the legislature and tracks for the last four years to make it happen. Now we must work together to insure that this is a successful meet. We need 800 to 1,000 horses to race at this meet in order for it to be successful. This meet is important not only to the economic development of Florida but it will be the beginning of a new demand for quality QH race horses, trainers, grooms, feed, hay and everything that goes with raising horses from all across the country. Florida QH racing will exhibit trickle down economics in Florida and every where QH race horses are bred, raised and trained. Please support this very important meet. If it is successful, it will be the beginning of a circuit of QH racing in Florida.
FQHRA would like to thank the Florida legislature for believing that the QH industry is a vibrant industry capable of bringing quality jobs and economic development to Florida. We plan to do just that. FQHRA would like to thank Hialeah Park and the Brunetti family for working with us to bring QH racing to Hialeah Park. We also want to thank AQHA for supporting our efforts the last four years.
It’s going to be really exciting to watch the fastest horses on earth race in Florida in 2009.
Stephen D. Fisch, DVM
