Preview Racing


Talented Fillies In Action In Down With Debt On Saturday
A powerful trio of fillies will headline the $17,500 Down With Debt Overnight Handicap at 330 yards on Saturday at Los Alamitos

© Scot Martinez
Talented Fillies In Action In Down With Debt On Saturday

LOS ALAMITOS, CA—JUNE 24, 2022— Led by the blossoming Being Difficult, Hall of Fame owner and breeder Ed Allred will have a powerful trio of fillies ready to headline the $17,500 Down With Debt Overnight Handicap at 330 yards on Saturday at Los Alamitos.    

Trained by James Glenn, Jr., Being Difficult has been a treat to watch this season. The Foose filly has won three of her four starts this season and will enter the stakes debut after posting a 3/4 length win over allowance foes on May 28.

The Allred-bred’s only loss this year was a third-place finish in her trial to the Los Alamitos Oaks when finishing behind Governor’s Cup Futurity winner She Goes Up and the Grade 1 stakes finalist Sweet Dasha Fire. Being Difficult did not make her racing debut until last December and by all accounts, the wait has been well worth it.              

Allred will also be represented by Autumn Handicap winner Lovely Evening and Fred Scane Stakes winner Hitters Count. The field will also feature Daytona 1000, who defeated both Hitters Count and Lovely Evening when they meet in an allowance test on June 5. The field will also feature graded stakes finalists Run By Your Cartel and World Famous Mia and the allowance placed Rumorsa.

Honoring The 1994 World Champion

When she was 14, Tara Haddad told her father, George, that all she wanted for Christmas was a horse. Haddad made her daughter’s Christmas an unforgettable one that year, as he purchased that first horse, a Quarter Horse mare named Shugardeck for her daughter.

The two didn’t know much about horses, but they learned quickly. The two attended classes on equine health and Haddad would later become interested in racehorses after watching the movie “Casey’s Shadow.”  

Haddad met trainer Charlie Bloomquist and purchased a 2-year-old filly from him I Owe You Me. A year later, Bloomquist saddled I Owe You Me to victory in the Governor’s Cup Derby.

In the breeding shed, the mare was bred to First Down Dash and the resulting filly was named Down With Debt. In her fourth race at two, Down With Debt ran third in the 1992 Dash For Cash Futurity while facing a great cast that included Sables Secret, champion Mega Dash and Grade 1 winners Avison, FirstDown Touchdown and Awesome Blossom. 

In 1993, she won six of 11 races including the Grade 1 Anne Burnett Handicap, now known as the Mildred Vessels Memorial Handicap. In the Champion of Champions, she finished an impressive second, beaten only by the great Refrigerator. At four, Down With Debt fulfilled the promise of greatness. She was undefeated in her first six races, beating male rivals in the Grade 1 Go Man Go Handicap, Grade 1 Vessels Maturity and Grade 1 AQHAChallenge Championship. In all these races, Bloomquist gave the leg up to jockey John Creager.

In December of 1994, Tara hurried to Los Alamitos in the mist of her second year of veterinary school at Oklahoma State University to catch Down With Debt’s last race of the season. 

Looking to complete the dream season, Down With Debt ran fourth to the legendary ‘Fridge in the Champion of Champions. On January 19, 1995, Tara skipped class to join her father at Heritage Place for the announcement of Down With Debt as world champion. The Christmas that kept on giving, Down With Debt became the 20th mare to be named AQHAWorld Champion.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

For more info, please contact larace@losalamitos.com.  Follow us on Twitter or Instagram at @losalracing or visit us online at losalamitos.com.