Track Magazine – September 2, 2020 –It’s hard to capsulize the life of a man like Dee Raper in a few short paragraphs. The Quarter Horse industry lost a really good friend when Dee passed away Tuesday at 1 a.m. at the Oklahoma Heart Hospital in Oklahoma City at the age of 83.
Dee’s actual name is Thomas Dearmond Raper. A native of Milburn, Oklahoma, Dee was a horse hauler in his early years. Since 1983, Dee and Betty, his wife of 47 years, bred thousands of mares on their Belle Mere Farm, which moved from Lexington, Oklahoma, in 1992 to its present location outside of Norman. As hands-on stud farm owners, they’ve stood numerous leading sires, including the legendary Easy Jet in 1985, Mr Eye Opener and Bully Bullion. Mr Eye Opener, who died in 2018 at age 28, was scheduled to be inducted into the AQHA Hall Of Fame this year. They stood as many as 13 stallions at one time, breeding more than 1,200 mares in a season.
Their current stallion roster includes Eye N Capo, BV Travelin Soldier and Prized Wagon.
Dee and Betty bred and raced Eye Yin You $193,489, winner of the 2004 Remington Park Futurity G1 and Remington Park Derby G3 the following year.
One of the recent stakes winners bred by Dee and Betty was Eye N Capo, who earned $612,342. The son of Capo De Capi won half of his 24 starts, including the 2016 Dash For Cash Futurity G2 and Evangeline Downs Futurity. The gelding went on to win five more stakes, including last year’s Remington Park Championship Challenge G2 and Sunland Park’s Rio Grand Handicap G2. Dee and Betty also bred and raced Eye N Capo’s dam, Satisfeyen, by Mr Eye Opener.
Dee and Betty also bred 2018 Mr Jet Moore Stakes G2 winner Knockemout Capi $188,958 and G3 stakes-placed winner Takin The High Road $98,192.
Numerous top mares were also boarded at Belle Mere Farm, including Run The Dash, the dam of 10 blacktype-earners, including World Champion Blues Girl Too $2,032,328, the all-time leading money-earning female.
Dee served as president of the Oklahoma Quarter Horse Racing Association from 1993 to 2001 and was an American Quarter Horse Association director. He had a big role in the passage of pari-mutuel racing in Oklahoma in 1983, and worked to expand gaming at the state’s tracks in subsequent years. He was inducted into the Oklahoma Quarter Horse Association Hall of Fame in 2010 and the Oklahoma Horse Racing Hall of Fame two years later. He was honored by the AQHA with the Gordon Crone Special Achievement Award in 2007.
Belle Mere Farm was inducted into the Oklahoma Quarter Horse Hall of Fame in 2019.
Dee is survived by: wife Betty: sons Tommy Raper (Teresa) and Shawn Cisnneros (Angela); daughter Dawn Smith (James); grandsons Matt Raper and Blake Cisneros; granddaughters Rachel Smith (Cale) and Rebecca Miller (Cory); and great-granddaughter Scout.
A celebration of Dee’s life during an upcoming Heritage Place sale is being planned.
CATHEY ACCEPTS DIRECTOR OF RACING HELM AT REMINGTON PARK
OKLAHOMA CITY – When 2023 racing begins at Remington Park, it will start with new guidance in the racing department. Kelly Cathey has accepted the director of racing position and will oversee the operation for all breeds competing at the Oklahoma City facility.
The American Quarter Horse, Paint and Appaloosa Season will begin March 9. The 2023 Thoroughbred Season will get underway in late August.
Cathey brings more than 30 years of experience in horse racing to Remington Park. He first worked with horses in the late 1980s as a teenager, assisting his father who was a trainer. He has also served as a groom, pony person, assistant trainer, valet and assistant starter.
Cathey moved into track management in 1998 at Retama Park in Selma, Texas. He has also worked for Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie, Texas; Sam Houston Race Park in Houston and Will Rogers Downs in Claremore, Okla. He has held nearly every position associated with racing, pari-mutuel wagering and simulcast operations throughout his career.
Since 2013 Cathey has worked for the Oklahoma Horse Racing Commission as a state steward (2013-2015), advancing to the role of executive director of the commission in 2015. He will leave that post to become the director of racing at Remington Park.
“Remington Park and Global Gaming are excited to have Kelly Cathey join our racing team,” said Matt Vance, executive vice president of racing operations at Remington Park. “Kelly has a resume reflective of more than 30 years in the sport, working as a racing executive and regulator. His extensive experience with both Thoroughbreds and Quarter Horses and their respective organizations throughout the region makes him uniquely qualified to lead our racing department at Remington Park.”
Horsemen will bring horses onto the grounds at Remington Park beginning Feb. 6 with the initial morning of training set for Tuesday, Feb. 7. The first night of the spring season falls on Thursday, March 9 and the 50-date schedule continues through Saturday, June 3. ... ’Expand’See Less
It continues to be the goal of Remington Park and OQHRA to provide a race meeting of the highest quality and integrity. As a condition of entry, no horse will be allowed to enter a race at Remington Park unless results of a negative hair test have been provided to Remington Park prior to entry. All pre-entry hair testing will be facilitated by OQHRA. Pre-entry hair tests will be good for 90 days beginning the day after the sample is collected. All tests will expire after 90 days and horses must re-test to remain eligible, regardless of if the horse started in a race within those 90 days. In no event will a horse be eligible to enter a race unless a current negative hair test is on file at Remington Park in accordance with the conditions set forth in the condition book. The Remington Park Racing Office nor OQHRA staff receive the results of hair testing. All test results submitted to Remington Park management will remain confidential. Any horse receiving a positive hair test will be unable to enter until a negative test is obtained, there is no penalty to the trainer.
To better serve horsemen, OQHRA will be setting up offsite testing days at Retama Park, Lone Star Park and Blue Ribbon Downs. The OQHRA testing crew will be available at each location one day, allowing horsemen the opportunity to get horses tested closer to where they are stabled/training. Horses needing to be tested in other states do have the opportunity to have an offsite test done by a state veterinarian working under the auspices of a State Regulatory Agency.
𝗥𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗮 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗸 – 𝗦𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝗙𝗲𝗯𝗿𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝟱𝘁𝗵 Appointments should be made by 2/2/23 by calling (405) 881-5120. Cost of test - $275. These tests will expire on Sunday, May 7, 2023. T̲a̲t̲t̲o̲o̲e̲r̲ w̲i̲l̲l̲ b̲e̲ o̲n̲ s̲i̲t̲e̲ a̲s̲ w̲e̲l̲l̲,̲ a̲p̲p̲o̲i̲n̲t̲m̲e̲n̲t̲s̲ c̲a̲n̲ b̲e̲ m̲a̲d̲e̲ b̲y̲ c̲a̲l̲l̲i̲n̲g̲ h̲a̲i̲r̲ t̲e̲s̲t̲i̲n̲g̲ l̲i̲n̲e̲.̲
𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗸 – 𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝗙𝗲𝗯𝗿𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝟮𝟰𝘁𝗵 Please call ASAP to sign up for this date/location must have a minimum of 40 horses scheduled. (405) 881-5120. Cost of test - $275. These tests will expire on May 26, 2023 T̲a̲t̲t̲o̲o̲e̲r̲ w̲i̲l̲l̲ b̲e̲ o̲n̲ s̲i̲t̲e̲ a̲s̲ w̲e̲l̲l̲,̲ a̲p̲p̲o̲i̲n̲t̲m̲e̲n̲t̲s̲ c̲a̲n̲ b̲e̲ m̲a̲d̲e̲ b̲y̲ c̲a̲l̲l̲i̲n̲g̲ h̲a̲i̲r̲ t̲e̲s̲t̲i̲n̲g̲ l̲i̲n̲e̲.̲
𝗕𝗹𝘂𝗲 𝗥𝗶𝗯𝗯𝗼𝗻 𝗗𝗼𝘄𝗻𝘀 – 𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝟯𝗿𝗱 Appointments should be made by 3/1/2023 by calling (405) 881-5120. Cost of test - $225. These tests will expire June 2, 2023
𝗥𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗼𝗻 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗸 – 𝗙𝗲𝗯𝗿𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝟴𝘁𝗵 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗱𝗮𝘆. Onsite testing during February will be conducted 9:00 – noon, Monday through Friday beginning Wednesday, February 8th. There will be no Hair Testing on Tuesday, February 14th or Friday, February 24th. Tests done in February will expire before the end of the meet. Please review the schedule and test/safe dates posted on OQHRA.com and plan accordingly. Onsite test cost $225.
𝑭𝒐𝒓 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒅𝒖𝒍𝒆 𝒂𝒏 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕, 𝒕𝒆𝒙𝒕/𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒊𝒓 𝒕𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒂𝒕 (405) 881-5120. Full schedule and details can be found at www.oqhra.com
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DEE RAPER
Track Magazine – September 2, 2020 – It’s hard to capsulize the life of a man like Dee Raper in a few short paragraphs. The Quarter Horse industry lost a really good friend when Dee passed away Tuesday at 1 a.m. at the Oklahoma Heart Hospital in Oklahoma City at the age of 83.
Dee’s actual name is Thomas Dearmond Raper. A native of Milburn, Oklahoma, Dee was a horse hauler in his early years. Since 1983, Dee and Betty, his wife of 47 years, bred thousands of mares on their Belle Mere Farm, which moved from Lexington, Oklahoma, in 1992 to its present location outside of Norman. As hands-on stud farm owners, they’ve stood numerous leading sires, including the legendary Easy Jet in 1985, Mr Eye Opener and Bully Bullion. Mr Eye Opener, who died in 2018 at age 28, was scheduled to be inducted into the AQHA Hall Of Fame this year. They stood as many as 13 stallions at one time, breeding more than 1,200 mares in a season.
Their current stallion roster includes Eye N Capo, BV Travelin Soldier and Prized Wagon.
Dee and Betty bred and raced Eye Yin You $193,489, winner of the 2004 Remington Park Futurity G1 and Remington Park Derby G3 the following year.
One of the recent stakes winners bred by Dee and Betty was Eye N Capo, who earned $612,342. The son of Capo De Capi won half of his 24 starts, including the 2016 Dash For Cash Futurity G2 and Evangeline Downs Futurity. The gelding went on to win five more stakes, including last year’s Remington Park Championship Challenge G2 and Sunland Park’s Rio Grand Handicap G2. Dee and Betty also bred and raced Eye N Capo’s dam, Satisfeyen, by Mr Eye Opener.
Dee and Betty also bred 2018 Mr Jet Moore Stakes G2 winner Knockemout Capi $188,958 and G3 stakes-placed winner Takin The High Road $98,192.
Numerous top mares were also boarded at Belle Mere Farm, including Run The Dash, the dam of 10 blacktype-earners, including World Champion Blues Girl Too $2,032,328, the all-time leading money-earning female.
Dee served as president of the Oklahoma Quarter Horse Racing Association from 1993 to 2001 and was an American Quarter Horse Association director. He had a big role in the passage of pari-mutuel racing in Oklahoma in 1983, and worked to expand gaming at the state’s tracks in subsequent years. He was inducted into the Oklahoma Quarter Horse Association Hall of Fame in 2010 and the Oklahoma Horse Racing Hall of Fame two years later. He was honored by the AQHA with the Gordon Crone Special Achievement Award in 2007.
Belle Mere Farm was inducted into the Oklahoma Quarter Horse Hall of Fame in 2019.
Dee is survived by: wife Betty: sons Tommy Raper (Teresa) and Shawn Cisnneros (Angela); daughter Dawn Smith (James); grandsons Matt Raper and Blake Cisneros; granddaughters Rachel Smith (Cale) and Rebecca Miller (Cory); and great-granddaughter Scout.
A celebration of Dee’s life during an upcoming Heritage Place sale is being planned.
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CATHEY ACCEPTS DIRECTOR OF RACING HELM AT REMINGTON PARK
OKLAHOMA CITY – When 2023 racing begins at Remington Park, it will start with new guidance in the racing department. Kelly Cathey has accepted the director of racing position and will oversee the operation for all breeds competing at the Oklahoma City facility.
The American Quarter Horse, Paint and Appaloosa Season will begin March 9. The 2023 Thoroughbred Season will get underway in late August.
Cathey brings more than 30 years of experience in horse racing to Remington Park. He first worked with horses in the late 1980s as a teenager, assisting his father who was a trainer. He has also served as a groom, pony person, assistant trainer, valet and assistant starter.
Cathey moved into track management in 1998 at Retama Park in Selma, Texas. He has also worked for Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie, Texas; Sam Houston Race Park in Houston and Will Rogers Downs in Claremore, Okla. He has held nearly every position associated with racing, pari-mutuel wagering and simulcast operations throughout his career.
Since 2013 Cathey has worked for the Oklahoma Horse Racing Commission as a state steward (2013-2015), advancing to the role of executive director of the commission in 2015. He will leave that post to become the director of racing at Remington Park.
“Remington Park and Global Gaming are excited to have Kelly Cathey join our racing team,” said Matt Vance, executive vice president of racing operations at Remington Park. “Kelly has a resume reflective of more than 30 years in the sport, working as a racing executive and regulator. His extensive experience with both Thoroughbreds and Quarter Horses and their respective organizations throughout the region makes him uniquely qualified to lead our racing department at Remington Park.”
Horsemen will bring horses onto the grounds at Remington Park beginning Feb. 6 with the initial morning of training set for Tuesday, Feb. 7. The first night of the spring season falls on Thursday, March 9 and the 50-date schedule continues through Saturday, June 3. ... ’Expand’See Less
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R̳e̳m̳i̳n̳g̳t̳o̳n̳ P̳a̳r̳k̳ H̳a̳i̳r̳ T̳e̳s̳t̳i̳n̳g̳ I̳n̳f̳o̳r̳m̳a̳t̳i̳o̳n̳
It continues to be the goal of Remington Park and OQHRA to provide a race meeting of the highest quality and integrity. As a condition of entry, no horse will be allowed to enter a race at Remington Park unless results of a negative hair test have been provided to Remington Park prior to entry. All pre-entry hair testing will be facilitated by OQHRA. Pre-entry hair tests will be good for 90 days beginning the day after the sample is collected. All tests will expire after 90 days and horses must re-test to remain eligible, regardless of if the horse started in a race within those 90 days. In no event will a horse be eligible to enter a race unless a current negative hair test is on file at Remington Park in accordance with the conditions set forth in the condition book. The Remington Park Racing Office nor OQHRA staff receive the results of hair testing. All test results submitted to Remington Park management will remain confidential. Any horse receiving a positive hair test will be unable to enter until a negative test is obtained, there is no penalty to the trainer.
To better serve horsemen, OQHRA will be setting up offsite testing days at Retama Park, Lone Star Park and Blue Ribbon Downs. The OQHRA testing crew will be available at each location one day, allowing horsemen the opportunity to get horses tested closer to where they are stabled/training. Horses needing to be tested in other states do have the opportunity to have an offsite test done by a state veterinarian working under the auspices of a State Regulatory Agency.
𝗥𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗮 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗸 – 𝗦𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝗙𝗲𝗯𝗿𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝟱𝘁𝗵
Appointments should be made by 2/2/23 by calling (405) 881-5120. Cost of test - $275. These tests will expire on Sunday, May 7, 2023. T̲a̲t̲t̲o̲o̲e̲r̲ w̲i̲l̲l̲ b̲e̲ o̲n̲ s̲i̲t̲e̲ a̲s̲ w̲e̲l̲l̲,̲ a̲p̲p̲o̲i̲n̲t̲m̲e̲n̲t̲s̲ c̲a̲n̲ b̲e̲ m̲a̲d̲e̲ b̲y̲ c̲a̲l̲l̲i̲n̲g̲ h̲a̲i̲r̲ t̲e̲s̲t̲i̲n̲g̲ l̲i̲n̲e̲.̲
𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗸 – 𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝗙𝗲𝗯𝗿𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝟮𝟰𝘁𝗵
Please call ASAP to sign up for this date/location must have a minimum of 40 horses scheduled. (405) 881-5120. Cost of test - $275. These tests will expire on May 26, 2023
T̲a̲t̲t̲o̲o̲e̲r̲ w̲i̲l̲l̲ b̲e̲ o̲n̲ s̲i̲t̲e̲ a̲s̲ w̲e̲l̲l̲,̲ a̲p̲p̲o̲i̲n̲t̲m̲e̲n̲t̲s̲ c̲a̲n̲ b̲e̲ m̲a̲d̲e̲ b̲y̲ c̲a̲l̲l̲i̲n̲g̲ h̲a̲i̲r̲ t̲e̲s̲t̲i̲n̲g̲ l̲i̲n̲e̲.̲
𝗕𝗹𝘂𝗲 𝗥𝗶𝗯𝗯𝗼𝗻 𝗗𝗼𝘄𝗻𝘀 – 𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝟯𝗿𝗱
Appointments should be made by 3/1/2023 by calling (405) 881-5120. Cost of test - $225. These tests will expire June 2, 2023
𝗥𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗼𝗻 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗸 – 𝗙𝗲𝗯𝗿𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝟴𝘁𝗵 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗱𝗮𝘆.
Onsite testing during February will be conducted 9:00 – noon, Monday through Friday beginning Wednesday, February 8th. There will be no Hair Testing on Tuesday, February 14th or Friday, February 24th. Tests done in February will expire before the end of the meet. Please review the schedule and test/safe dates posted on OQHRA.com and plan accordingly. Onsite test cost $225.
𝑭𝒐𝒓 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒅𝒖𝒍𝒆 𝒂𝒏 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕, 𝒕𝒆𝒙𝒕/𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒊𝒓 𝒕𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒂𝒕 (405) 881-5120. Full schedule and details can be found at www.oqhra.com
*𝑊ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑟𝑒𝑔𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑝𝑎𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑜 𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑜𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑒, 𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑛 𝑎 𝑐𝑜𝑝𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑝𝑎𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑠 (𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑏𝑎𝑐𝑘) 𝑓𝑜𝑟 ℎ𝑎𝑖𝑟 𝑡𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛, 𝑖𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 ℎ𝑜𝑟𝑠𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑜𝑜𝑒𝑑, 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑝𝑦 𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑙𝑢𝑑𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑖𝑛𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛. ... ’Expand’See Less
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