SAN ANTONIO, TX—JULY 7, 2015—The Texas Horse Racing Hall of Fame will honor individuals who have enriched the tradition and sport of horse racing in Texas on September 12 at Retama Park near San Antonio.

The celebration will be held before and during that evening’s racing program, starting at 5 p.m. (CDT). It will include hors d’oeuvres, valet parking, cocktails, a gourmet buffet dinner, cigar roller, induction of the honorees, and a silent auction.

All proceeds from the gala, which is open to the public, will benefit the Saddle Light Center; Groom Elite; and the Race Track Chaplaincies at Lone Star Park, Sam Houston Race Park and Retama Park.

The 2015 inductees are the late Dan Urschel and his wife, Jolene; Lukin Gilliland Sr., former Texas senator Ken Armbrister, the late Stanley Beard, and Sammy Jackson; and the Thoroughbred No Le Hace.

The JoAnn Weber Distinguished Service Award will be given to TRACK Magazine owner Ben Hudson.

Dan an Jolene Urschel

Texas ranch owners Dan and Jolene Urschel made a big impression in the horse racing industry in a short period of time. The Urschels took the racing’s spotlight in 1979, when their big bay colt, Pie In The Sky, defeated Streakin Six to win the $1.2 million All American Futurity. Then, in 1981, the Urschels paid an unprecedented $1 million for a 2-year-old in training named Special Effort, who would become the only horse to win Quarter racing’s Triple Crown as a 2-year-old and the first 2-year-old to earn over $1 million.

Urschels also owned and/or bred such renowned winners as Leading Spirit, Mighty Deck Three, Glo Billy Sims, Jumbo Pacific, Flying Rockette, Strawfly Special and more.

Dan Urschel wasn't known to let a few dollars stand between him and a winning horse, making some of the most record setting horse purchases of his time. The Urschels were lifetime members of the AQHA.

Dan Urschel died last September at his ranch in Canadian. The couple was the third leading buyer at the 2014 Ruidoso Select Yearling Sale the prior weekend. Jolene Urschel continues racing their stable in the name of Urschel 3-Bar-D Ranch, LLC and their great-granddaughter, Kharlottie Grace, continues their legacy to this day as the sixth generation of the Urschel family to be involved in Quarter Horse racing.

Lukin Gilliland Sr.

Gilliland was a lifelong horse owner, breeder, and legal counsel to horse owners and breeders for a wide range of equine matters, including the buying, selling, foal sharing and syndication of Thoroughbreds. He started breeding Quarter Horses in 1965, and the horses he bred competed in futurities and derbies in Texas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Florida, California and Oklahoma.

Gilliland’s homebreds include Grey Daze, the winner of the 2014 TQHA Sale Futurity (RG2) at Retama. In 1980, Gilliland co-founded Oak Cliff Thoroughbreds, and under his leadership, Oak Cliff bred and raced horses in ten states and six other countries.

One of the more notable horses produced by Oak Cliff Thoroughbreds was Sunday Silence, who won the 1989 Kentucky Derby (G1) and Preakness Stakes (G1) and earned $4,968,554. Oak Cliff’s horse Skywalker won the 1985 Breeders’ Cup Classic at Santa Anita Park.

Senator Ken Armbrister

Armbrister served two terms in the Texas House of Representatives before being elected to the Texas Senate. During his 20-year tenure in the Senate he carried the Texas Racing Commission’s first Sunset legislation that stood in place during the formation of the Commission.

In 2001, Armbrister was part of the delegation that visited New York to bring the Breeders’ Cup to Texas. For three legislative sessions, he carried legislation to legalize video lottery terminals at race tracks. Armbrister currently works as a lobbyist with the Texas Star Alliance and resides in Round Rock, Texas.

Stanley Beard

Beard was born in Houston, and he purchased his first horse in 1947. He served on the Texas Thoroughbred Association (TTA) board of directors from 1986-2000 and served as President of TTA from 1988 to 1989. Beard has the distinct honor of being one of only three people to receive all three major awards presented by the TTA.

Beard also served on the boards of the Breeders’ Cup and Texas Horse Racing Hall of Fame, and he was president of the Texas Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association. In addition to breeding and racing, he was involved in dairy farming, feed sales, and real estate. Beard’s contributions to Texas horse racing were only surpassed by his knowledge of the sport and the stories he was known to tell about the horsemen involved and the horses he owned.

Sammy Jackson

Jackson was a respected member of the racing community throughout the country. He started his career in the racing industry in an unlikely place -- the valet lot of Delta Downs Racetrack in Vinton, Louisiana -- at the age of 16. Thirty years later he would end his career as the Texas Racing Commission’s Deputy Director of Finance and Administration.

Jackson graduated from McNeese State University with a degree in accounting in 1987 and served as the Delta Downs’ staff accountant until the Louisiana State Racing Commission hired him as an assistant chief auditor and accountant the next year. His skill in horse racing mathematics were renowned, and the Texas Racing Commission offered him a job in 1994.

The pari-mutuel wagering rules in Texas Jackson developed later became the starting point for the national model rules. In 2002, he was promoted to Deputy Director for Pari-Mutuels and Licensing; over the next few years he also oversaw the Finance and Information Technology departments.

No Le Hace

In 1972 a chestnut colt named No Le Hace captured the imagination of San Antonio, partly because of his name but mostly because of what he did on the race track. Both the San Antonio Express-News and the San Antonio Light newspapers sent reporters to cover his notable races, including the Louisiana Derby and the Arkansas Derby, both of which No Le Hace won.

The reporters were also in attendance when he ran second in the Kentucky Derby and then the Preakness. Subsequently he was sold to Japanese interests that shipped him to Japan for stud duty.

JoAnn Weber Distinguished Service Award: Ben Hudson

With more than 40 years of experience in the Quarter Horse business, Ben Hudson has made quite a name for himself. He purchased his first registered American Quarter Horse as a teenager in the 1950s. After attending college at Texas Christian University on a journalism scholarship and spending the next four years serving the Navy during the Vietnam conflict, Hudson was named Associate Editor of The Quarter Racing Record.

In 1972, Hudson was involved in the formation of a horse management and reproductive program at Tarleton State University. In 1975 Hudson co-founded TRACK Magazine, which quickly grew into one of the nation’s leading publication for American Quarter Horse breeders and owners. In the Late 1970s, Hudson became a member of the American Quarter Horse Association’s Racing Committee and helped form the group’s Racing Council.

In 1992, Hudson was a founding partner of Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie, Texas. Nine years ago, he was named Director at Large of the American Quarter Horse Association. Over the years he has been given many awards for his authoritative excellence pertaining to all Quarter Horse matters.