From the time he first ventured out to Los Alamitos Race Course as a young college student in 1956 through his induction into the AQHA Hall of Fame in 2006, Ed Allred has never been one to shy away from the challenges of the Quarter Horse sport.
As an owner, Allred has parlayed his first fractional interest in one horse into a racing empire that has earned the Arizona native six AQHA Champion Owner titles. Among the many outstanding runners which have carried the familiar red and yellow Allred colors are Champions Charger Bar and Way Maker.
From his Rolling A Ranch in Atascadero, Allred has developed a breeding program that has led to nine AQHA Champion Breeder titles and earned him the distinction of being the all-time leading breeder of racing Quarter Horses.
Among the many outstanding graduates of the Allred breeding program are Champions Separatist, Hawkinson and Hawkish as well as Los Alamitos Million winner Kingman Kid. It is this passion for the Quarter Horse sport and his never ending eye for the future that in recent years has led Allred to become even more active in the California breeding business by heading the groups that syndicated the stallions Separatist,Walk Thru Fire, Snowbound and most recently Stel Corona. Allred also stands at his Rolling A Ranch the stallion TR Dasher, whose progeny includes Governor’s Cup Futurity and Derby winner Hard Hitting, multiple track record holder and Vessels Maturity and Spencer Childers California Breeders Memorial Championship Handicap winner Freaky, and Dillingham Handicap winner Daddy Dasher.
Of course the engine that drives the California Quarter Horse industry is Los Alamitos Race Course and for the past 17 years Allred has used his position as the track’s owner and Chief Executive Officer to drive the citadel of Quarter Horse racing to new heights. Under Allred’s stewardship, Los Alamitos Race Course has expanded to year round Quarter Horse racing and the Orange County oval has also risen to the enviable position as the only track in the country to annually host four races worth $1 million or more.
Those million dollar plus events, the Ed Burke Memorial Million, the Golden State Million, the Los Alamitos 2 Million, the Los Alamitos Super Derby, join the prestigious $750,000 Champion of Champions as the marquee races of the tremendous Los Alamitos annual stakes schedule. One recent sign of the renewed vitality of the California Quarter Horse sport is the Los Alamitos Equine Sale, another innovation championed by Allred and his sale partner Frank “Scoop” Vessels. Now entering its fifth year of operation, the Los Alamitos Equine Sale has earned its place as one of the sport’s top sale events.
The Vessels family proudly continues the legacy of Vessels Stallion Farm. The 2,000-acre facility is among the finest Quarter Horse and Thoroughbred nurseries in California today. With pedigrees rich in heritage, the “blue hen” broodmares that grace these pastures seasonally foal out new generations of Vessels-bred horses that excel on racetracks across America.
The Vessels family has been a major influence in the Quarter horse breeding and racing industry for over 60 years. In 1999 and again in 2006, Vessels Stallion Farm received the title of AQHA Champion Breeder of the Year. Scoop Vessels is a past President of the AQHA, as well as past President of the California Thoroughbred Breeders Association and a member of the Jockey Club, all while maintaining his place on the board of directors for the Pacific Coast Quarter Horse Racing Association.
Vessels Stallion Farm has a long history of standing leading quarter horse stallions, none more successful than First Down Dash, the breed’s all-time leading sire of money earners with over $67 million. First Down Dash heads a stallion roster that currently includes Fishers Dash, Dash To Chivato and Looking For Chicks, as well as FDD Dynasty and No Secrets Here.
FDD Dynasty's first crop of babies are on the ground and are fantastic individuals! No Secrets Here joined the roster effective with the 2009 breeding season and was bred to over 120 mares in his 1st year at stud. His future looks bright! VSF keeps these traditions alive in the Thoroughbred industry as well, standing leading California sire In Excess (Ire), as well as Jackpot, Momentum, and Quick Action.
“My grandfather would always say, “Large pastures with lots of grass and a good feeding program will produce great racehorses.” That was 60 years ago and we still believe it today.” Frank Scoop Vessels III.
The Vessels family invites their clients and friends to visit the Vessels Stallion Farm website at www.vesselsfarm.com.
As the Los Alamitos Equine Sale celebrates its 5th year anniversary in 2009, I’d like to begin by expressing our most sincere gratitude for your support of this sale and Quarter Horse racing in California. Since the inception of this sale in 2005, nearly 2,000 Quarter Horses have entered this sale ring, a staggering number for a sale this young. I believe that the great support we have received from breeders, consignors and buyers is a reflection of the hard work that every one associated with the Los Alamitos Equine Sale has done to make this the best place to sell or buy a Quarter Horse.
The Pacific Coast Quarter Horse Racing Association, working in tandem with the sale’s founders Scoop Vessels and Ed Allred, has strived to improve on the event each and every year by listening to our buyers and consignors. Among the highlights for the 2009 Los Alamitos Equine Sale is an improved sales office area, a more comfortable sale venue, and a high quality sales catalog that will once again provide the finest bloodlines in the sport and something for every buyer to enjoy.
Once again in 2009 buyers and consignors will have the opportunity to take advantage of the first class sale facility that plays host to the Los Alamitos Equine Sale. The sale facility, located adjacent to Los Alamitos Race Course, allows horses to be showcased in a spacious setting with services for buyers, consignors and onlookers that are second to none.
The Los Alamitos Equine Sale has grown to be an important element of not only the California Quarter Horse industry, but also the entire North American Continent. Each year the interest in our sale grows from our friends in Mexico, Canada and the intermountain region which is a great trend for us to witness. Horsemen travel to Los Alamitos because of the outstanding group of yearling and high quality broodmares offered in the catalog.
This year, the stock that makes up the Los Alamitos Equine Sale will be divided into two sessions. Breeders will have an opportunity to purchase proven broodmares or outstanding broodmare prospects from many of the top sires in the sport during each day of the sale. In addition, yearlings, horses of racing age and mixed stock will also be featured on both days. The format of this two-day session figures to provide excitement right through the final gavel.
In 2008, the Los Alamitos Equine Sale produced a near record sale total of $ 6,037,250 with more than $5.2 million of that figure going to yearling purchases. We are confident that the Los Alamitos Equine Sale will continue with the high standard that we have established since 2005. Last year, 330 yearlings sold at the Los Alamitos Equine Sale reached a $15,996 average with the median price of $7,550. Many of these yearlings have gone on to establish themselves on the racing strip. Just take a look at this year’s fields to the Kindergarten, Ed Burke Million and Governor’s Cup Futurity and you will find sale graduates in each of these outstanding races.
PCQHRA is proud to play a part in the growth of the Los Alamitos Equine Sale and we are equally proud to have joined with the ownership and management of Los Alamitos Race Course in making California Quarter Horse Racing the greatest showcase for sprinters in the nation. In 2009 Los Alamitos will play host to four races worth $1 million or more, the only track in the country to offer such a calendar of million dollar events. The centerpiece events of this program are the three rich futurities on the schedule, the Ed Burke Memorial Million, the Golden State Million and the Los Alamitos Two Million. Plus, the $1 million Los Alamitos Super Derby will be contested on October 30. But you don’t have to wait until the end of October to enjoy great stakes action at Los Alamitos. On the weekend of the sale, the stakes schedule at Los Alamitos will be headed by the renewals of the PCQHRA Breeders Derby (October 2) and PCQHRA Breeders Futurity (October 3).
On behalf of these horsemen and horsewomen who have made California the place to be in Quarter Horse racing, we welcome you to the 2009 Los Alamitos Equine Sale. We hope you make a weekend out of it and again a sincere thank you for your support.