The Grade 1 $257,208 Graham Paint Futurity on May 29 was the richest race for Paints this year. It was an interesting one to watch this year as Rio Rojo Jessie crossed the finish line in front, but would soon be disqualified for interference. Girls Got Grip was elevated from second place to first with the new results, having finished only a neck behind her. She finished the 350-yard race with a time of 17.71 seconds. The new winner is a full sister to Paint racing’s leading money-earner, Got Country Grip. She takes home $97,743 for the win, making her dam the 2010 and lifetime leading money-earning dam with $572,709 in offspring earnings, and also the first Paint broodmare with progeny earnings over $500,000.

Girls Got Grip is a 2-year-old bay solid Paint-bred filly by Country Quick Dash and out of Got A Grip, by Super De Kas AQHA. She is a full-sister to Got Country Grip, who holds five world champion titles in racing. The filly is owned by Girls Got Grip, LLC, and managed by Jamie Howard of Black Hawk, South Dakota, who owns the dam as well. The partnership is a group of Jamie’s friends who he encouraged to take a chance on the potential of the filly based on her breeding. She has five outs, with two wins, one second and one third. She has earned a total of $111,625 and a 90 speed index. Linda Fox of Maud, Oklahoma, was the breeder and she is trained by Heath Taylor and was ridden by Cody Jensen. Girls Got Grip is expected to run next in the Pot O’Gold Futurity at Will Rogers Downs.

“They (the Girls Got Grip partners) are having a really big time with it now,” said Howard. “All of them made it to the race, except one. There are three of us from South Dakota, one from Denver, Colorado and the other from Atlanta, Georgia. For us it’s like winning the Superbowl!”

Second across the wire officially was Shawne Wind, a 2-year-old sorrel tobiano mare by Country Quick Dash and out of Shawne Chick, by Shawne Bug AQHA. She was bred by Henry and Linda Bowlan of Tecumseh, Oklahoma. She is owned by Alexia Mehrle of Ochelata, Oklahoma, istrained by Matt Whitekiller and was ridden by Cody Smith. She finished the race with a time of 17.97 seconds and earned $43,725 to make her lifetime earnings $56,721.

Finishing third was the Texas-bred sorrel solid Paint-bred stallion, Memory Keeper, who has run the fastest qualifying times for both the Oklahoma Paint Futurity and the Graham Paint and Appaloosa Futurity. He finished fourth in the finals of the Oklahoma and third in the Graham. He ran the race in 18.09 seconds earning $28,292 to make his lifetime earnings $41,568. He is owned and was bred by Jim and Linda Whitener of Cleveland, Texas. C. Gilbreath was the trainer and Jose Montoya was the jockey.

Other horses completing the race, along with times, include WW Granite Treasure (18.12 seconds), Flash Of Silk (18.12 seconds), Oh Country Rose (18.13 seconds), Prize Jive (18.14 seconds), Valdarama (18.36 seconds). Rio Rojo Jessie was disqualified to ninth place. He ran the race in 17.68 seconds. Willy Awesome was scratched.

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 2009, more than 540 starters competed in more than 530 APHA-recognized races for record purses totaling more than $4.7 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.

“With a wealth of top performing Paint racehorses, dedicated owners and talented trainers and jockeys, Paint Racing continues to remain a strong program in the horse industry,” said APHA Executive Director Lex Smurthwaite. “Paint Racing enthusiasts recognized the amount of purse money available and have jumped in to take advantage of the lucrative payouts.”

For more information on Paint Horse racing, contact APHA’s racing department at (817) 222-6444, email [email protected], or visit www.paintracing.com.