Northern Cartel leads entire race, wins Yellowstone Downs
Paint Futurity G2
FORT WORTH, TEXAS— A colorful tobiano Paint stallion named Northern Cartel
showed the crowd how fast a Paint can run, winning the Yellowstone Downs Paint
Futurity G2 at Yellowstone Downs on September 12. The 300-yard race offered
$8,194 in prize money and had eight entries. Two-lengths ahead as he crossed the
finish line, Northern Cartel finished well ahead of the pack and posted a time
of 15.39 seconds to earn a 91 speed index.
The flashy brown tobiano colt, sired by Coronas Prospect AQHA and out of
stakes-placed Paint mare Amazed earned $4,096 for his first stakes win,
increasing his lifetime earnings to $4,960. Northern Cartel is owned and bred by
sisters Cheryl and Betty Uphaus of Heritage Stables in Glasgow, Mont. The colt
is trained by Donna Looman and ridden was to victory by Don Proctor. This was a
second-chance for a stakes win for this colt who had previously qualified
second-fastest for the Bucking Horse Sale Futurity in Wyoming, but was scratched
prior to the finals back in May. He is pointed next to race in Lethbridge for
the Whoop Up Downs Paint Futurity in October.
Finishing second was 2-year-old filly, Jetomatic Lady. The filly, sired by Hez
Advanced Class AQHA and out of Jeto Matic Rocket, covered the distance in 15.68
seconds. Jetomatic Lady received a payout of $1,638 to up her career earnings to
$1,798. The filly owned and trained by Roger Overturf of Wyola, Mont.,was ridden
by Dan Kistler.
Stakes-winner Smokin Bear finished third this time for owner Steve Day of
Riverton, Wyom., crossing the finish line in 15.77 seconds and earning $984 to
bring her lifetime earnings to $5,539 she is trained by Jesse Villegas, ridden
by Jeffery Jones.
Other horses completing the field included Short Silk (16.19 seconds), Juder Bug
(16.42 seconds), Sigs Roy Gee Biv (16.56 seconds) and Ignition (16.70 seconds).
Dressed In Brown (15.69 seconds) was disqualified from third to sixth due to
interference in the race.
More about Paint Horse racing
Horse racing has long been one of America’s favorite spectator sports. With the
recent growth of the Paint Horse breed, it’s no wonder that Paints have become
one of the hottest tickets in the horse racing industry.
Since 1966, when APHA officially recognized the sport, Paint racing has made
major strides forward. In that inaugural year, 17 starters ran for $1,290 in
just two states—Texas and Oklahoma. In 2008, more than 570 starters competed in
more than 660 APHA-recognized races for record purses totaling more than $5
million.
A total of 17 states now feature Paint racing, including Arizona, California,
Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota,
Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. Paint
Horses also race in Canada.
"Paint Racing continues to be an opportunity for breeders, owners and trainers
to take a serious look at," said APHA Executive Director Lex Smurthwaite. "The
amount of purse money available and the average earning per Paint starter is
creating new interest in the Paint racing industry."
For more information on Paint Horse racing, contact APHA’s racing department at
(817) 222-6444, email racing@apha.com, or
visit paintracing.com.