Inductees Enshrined, Special Recognition At Ruidoso Racehorse Hall of Fame Ceremony

RUIDOSO DOWNS, New Mexico (June 18, 2011) – Peppers Pride, trainer John Bassett, jockey Jerry Burgess, owner/breeder Johnny T.L. Jones Jr. were inducted into the Racehorse Hall of Fame and publisher Ben Hudson was honored with the first Ruidoso Downs Racehorse Hall of Fame Special Recognition Award before the all-time largest attendance for the enshrinement evening at Ruidoso Downs on Friday night.

The nearly 4-hour event started with the unveiling of the new inductees’ cases in the Racehorse Hall of Fame and followed with dinner and the induction ceremony. Videos, each about 10 minutes in length, were shown for each honoree.

Hudson accepting the first special recognition award started the evening. He co-founded and has overseen TRACK Magazine for 35 years and is also the founder and publisher of the Monday Report. In addition to his tireless work and dedicated on-the-scene coverage of quarter horse racing events, he has been very active in volunteer causes in racing, including obtaining pari-mutuel racing in Texas and the Race Track Chaplaincy of America.

Peppers Pride is the most acclaimed New Mexico-bred thoroughbred in history. Racing for Joe Allen and trained by Joel Marr, Peppers Pride won each of her 19 stakes (14 stakes) and retired with earnings of $1,066,085. Her record of 19 wins from 19 starts is the modern thoroughbred record for wins without a defeat. She is now co-owned by Mike Stinson and has a 2011 filly by Distorted Humor and is bred to Distorted Humor for a 2012 foal.

Bassett came from the Arizona fair circuit to become one of the most import stakes winning trainers in quarter horse racing over the past 20 years. He has earned two wins in the All American Futurity, four wins in the Los Alamitos Million/Two Million, three wins in the Rainbow Futurity, three wins in the Golden State Futurity, and wins in the All American Derby, the Los Alamitos Super Derby and the first running of the Texas Classic Futurity.
Burgess was a premier quarter horse jockey who is now a steward at Lone Star Park near Dallas and Hialeah Park near Miami. He won the All American Futurity aboard Bugs Alive In 75, the Rainbow Futurity on Mighty Deck Three and two stakes races on world champion Dash For Cash. He also rode Cinder Leo, Mr Hay Bug, Chicory Moon and Alamitos Feature to stakes wins.

Jones has been a force in international thoroughbred racing and throughout quarter horse racing. His Walmac Farm in Lexington, Kentucky was home to leading sires Nureyev, Alleged and Miswaki and remains an important breeding operation in central Kentucky. He is actively involved with racing quarter horses and is co-owner of 2-time champion Noconi, champion Brenda Beautiful, champion My Dashing Lady, Champion Of Champions winner The Down Side and Rainbow Futurity winner Planet Holland. He also co-owns Ochoa, who was the third-place finisher in the Grade 1, $500,000 Ruidoso Futurity last Sunday at Ruidoso Downs.

Photo credit to Mike Curran/Ruidoso News

Standing in front of the case honoring the 2011 inductees into the Ruidoso Downs Racehorse Hall of Fame are (left to right) Cody Thurston, Peppers Pride’s farrier; Joe Allen, Peppers Pride’s owner; Armando Gonzalez, Peppers Pride’s groom, Joel Marr, Pepper Pride’s trainer; John Bassett, trainer inductee; Jerry Burgess, jockey inductee; Johnny T.L. Jones Jr., owner/trainer inductee; Guy Mogge, Jr., Jones’ grandson; and Ben Hudson, recipient of the first Ruidoso Downs Racehorse Hall of Fame special recognition award. Peppers Pride was the horse inducted into the Racehorse Hall of Fame.