RUIDOSO DOWNS, NM—JUNE 25, 2016—Owners John and Sue May, trainer Bill Leach, jockey Casey Lambert and All American Futurity winner Ochoa were inducted into the Ruidoso Downs’ Racehorse Hall of Fame on Friday night at Ruidoso Downs.

A record, fun-loving crowd filled the All American Turf Club. “I remember when we just had 30 or 40 people,” said Ruidoso Downs’ owner R.D. Hubbard. “Look at this. It’s great.”

Every year one owner/breeder, one trainer, one jockey and one horse are inducted into the Hall of Fame. This makes for a very select group for each induction.

The Ruidoso Downs’ Racehorse Hall of Fame is located on the second floor and admission is free with Turf Club admission during racing days, Friday through Monday.

John May died on December 10, 2014 at the age of 84. John and Sue May were married for 61 years and lived in Fort Stockton, Texas for 60 years. They bred, owned and raced quarter horses for 40 years and most of the horses were registered in Sue’s name.

The two-time champion Prospect To The Top is prime example of their breeding program. The stallion was the 2011 champion three-year-old colt and the 2012 champion aged stallion.

Prospect To The Top was officially bred by Sue and the Mays also bred his first two dams. Prospect To The Top is by Coronas Prospect and Sue May owned his dam Fantastic Polly.

Sue May also co-bred champion Easily Smashed. He raced for the partnership of Sue May, trainer Leach and Carol Child. The Mays were among the ownership group of his dam Smash It (TB).

Easily Smashed won the Sun Country Futurity at Sunland Park and then became the 1981 champion three-year-old colt after winning the Kansas Derby and running third in the Rainbow Derby at Ruidoso Downs.

Leach, who won the 1983 Kansas Futurity with Double Dutch Bus, also excelled at training thoroughbreds. He trained Smash It (TB) to win the Ruidoso Thoroughbred Futurity.

Miss Einstein (TB) was a multiple stakes winner for Leach that earned $105,205 and then became a superlative producer. Co-owned by Leach Racing when competing, Miss Einstein is the dam of stakes winners Mr. Wizard ($441,742), Beau Wizer ($400,562), Lady Genius ($353,142) and Double Smart ($347,698).

Jockey Casey Lambert is the son of 2015 Ruidoso Downs’ Racehorse Hall of Fame inductee Cliff Lambert and they are the first father-son duo in the Hall of Fame. Cliff had hip-replacement surgery on Tuesday and attended the ceremony on Friday night.

Casey, 50, retired at the end of the 2015 Ruidoso season and was the leading thoroughbred jockey for the summer season. He won more than 2,700 thoroughbred races and more than 500 Quarter Horse races since he began riding at age 16.

The most famous horse that Casey ever rode is Mine That Bird, winner of the 2009 Kentucky Derby. Lambert rode the three-year-old in the WinStar Derby (now the Sunland Park Derby) that year, just weeks before the horse upset the field at Churchill Downs. He points to Heritage Of Gold, third-place finisher in the 2000 Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Distaff, as the best thoroughbred he’s ever ridden. He states that 1995 champion aged mare Special Phoebe is the finest quarter horse he has ridden.

Owned by Johnny T.L. Jones’ J Bar 7 Ranch, Monty and Katsy Cluck with Doug Benson, Ochoa is the all-time leading money earning quarter horse at $2,781,365. He earned $2,620,553 of that total at Ruidoso Downs.

At Ruidoso Downs, Ochoa won the All American Futurity, Rainbow Derby, Mr Jet Moore Stakes and the All American Derby. He is the sixth horse to win the All American Futurity and the All American Derby. The gelding was the 2011 champion two-year-old and the 2012 champion three-year-old.

Ochoa, trained by Ruidoso Downs’ Racehorse Hall of Famer Sleepy Gilbreath, dominated the 2011 All American Futurity by one-and-one-half lengths and the 2012 All American Derby by one-and-one-quarter lengths.

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