Thoroughbred meeting discusses upcoming expo 12/14/2009 12:08 AM By BEN BAUGH Staff writer
ELLOREE -- The South Carolina Thoroughbred Owners' and Breeders' Association meeting Saturday afternoon at the Elloree Training Center featured several speakers and touched on a number of topics.
Betty Rankin and Mary Quarles from the South Carolina's Horsemen's Council discussed the upcoming 2010 South Carolina Horsemen's Council Expo in Camden at the South Carolina Equine Park-Westfall Complex on Feb. 6.
"It's an opportunity to see what other people in the state are doing," said Rankin. "It's been in Pelzer the last few years, this year it's in Camden, and we'd like to take it to other parts of the state."
Alabama residents Drs. David and Diane Harrington, who are both equine veterinarians and have been involved with the Thoroughbred industry since 1994 and have won a South Carolina Residency Race, provided SCTOBA members with an update in reference to the Alabama Horsemen's Benevolent Protective Association, Birmingham Race Course and whether pari-mutuel racing will return to Alabama. The state has been without live Thoroughbred racing since the mid-1990s.
For a horse to be considered an Alabama-bred, a foal has to be foaled within the state of Alabama, and there are no residency requirements, said David.
"What we'd like to do in Alabama is get live racing back," said David, who added that the return of live pari-mutuel racing to the state will be a challenge. "It will be an uphill battle, and a lot of it will hinge on gaming."
Francis Vanlangendonck of Summerfield Sales Inc. in Morriston, Fla., was also a featured speaker and discussed a number of topics at the meeting, including the role of the repository at public auction and yearling sales prep and the importance of breeding to proven horses and their conformation. There are a number of common denominators that will set a horse apart at the sales, such as having good girth and a big shoulder and being well-balanced, he said.
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