{"id":1290,"date":"2007-11-30T00:32:34","date_gmt":"2007-11-29T17:32:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ebarrelracing.com\/articles\/?p=1290"},"modified":"2007-11-30T00:32:34","modified_gmt":"2007-11-29T17:32:34","slug":"15-straight-wins-got-country-grip-sets-new-racing-record","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ebarrelracing.com\/articles\/industry\/15-straight-wins-got-country-grip-sets-new-racing-record\/","title":{"rendered":"15 straight wins: Got Country Grip sets new racing record"},"content":{"rendered":"

FORT WORTH, TEXAS<\/strong>\u2014Many have dubbed him the world\u2019s fastest racehorse, but Got Country Grip now has a new claim to fame. The two-time World Champion Paint racehorse made his mark in history on Nov. 24, after winning his 15th consecutive race.<\/p>\n

Got Country Grip, along with his owner Jimmy Maddux, trainer Brandon Parum, jockey G.R. Carter, Jr., and a large following of fans, waited patiently for the moment when the 4-year-old gelding would earn his 15th straight victory to surpass the Quarter Horse world record of consecutive wins held by Josie\u2019s Bar, Destiny Drummer and Pies Royal Request. All three Quarter Horses won 14 consecutive races, but lost on their 15th trip. The long-awaited moment came during the Olympia Joe Handicap at Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie, Texas.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were worried about this race because he has only had two outs this year and he was coming off a lung infection,\u201d said Maddux. \u201cThe track was sloppy because of the rain and this was the record-breaking race, so I think there was a lot more apprehension than usual, but he showed us what we does best.\u201d<\/p>\n

The newest record holder, sired by Country Quick Dash and out of Got A Grip, finished with a 1 \u00be-length lead over the next closest runner despite having somewhat of slow start, while posting a time of 19.90 seconds in the 400-yard race.<\/p>\n

\u201cG.R. never uses his whip on this horse,\u201d said Maddux. \u201cHe didn\u2019t seem to come out of the gate as fast as usual so G.R. tapped him on the shoulder once. It was like Grip figured out what he was here to do and he took off.\u201d<\/p>\n

Grip\u2014as he is known as around the barn\u2014earned $12,200 of the $20,000 purse, increasing his lifetime earnings to $247,500. The bay gelding is also the highest money-earning Paint racehorse.<\/p>\n

During the race, Grip was followed by Appaloosas Jess Streakin\u00a0 (20.28 seconds) and CMB A Legacy (20.42 seconds). Horses completing the field included Keep Him, Peewees Pride, Skirt Chasin Kid (ApHC) and Elisa Star (ApHC).<\/p>\n

The making of a champion<\/strong>
\nGrip\u2019s story begins long before he ever set hoof on the racetrack. When the now- champion Paint Horse was only weanling, Jimmy Maddux of Weatherford, Texas, acquired him in a trade. Although Maddux wasn\u2019t sure about the trade, his trainer Brandon Parum saw something special in snotty-nosed bay colt.<\/p>\n

Maddux, who has been previously quoted as saying he attributes much of his success to Parum, trusted the champion trainer and success seemed to follow. Grip earned his first victory in a maiden race at Remington Park on April 10, 2005. The gelding continued to win 6 more races throughout his 2-year-old year, including the Graham Futurity at Lone Star Park where he earned $73,219. For his undefeated season, Grip was named 2-Year-Old Solid Paint-Bred Gelding, 2-Year-Old Solid Paint-Bred Champion and Solid Paint-Bred World Champion.<\/p>\n

Got Country Grip\u2019s earnings also helped Maddux to be named as Leading Owner, Parum as Leading Trainer and G.R. Carter, Jr. as leading jockey.<\/p>\n

The following year, 2006, wasn\u2019t any different for those associated with Grip. The wins continued to come as G.R. Carter, Jr., guided the bay gelding to 5 wins in as many starts. The crew\u2019s highlight of 2006 was earning a speed index of 109 during the OHA Paint and Appaloosa Derby RG2 at Fair Meadows in Tulsa, Okla. Grip earned the same champion honors as a 3-year-old as he did the prior year\u20143-Year-Old Solid Paint-Bred Gelding, 3-Year-Old Solid Paint-Bred Champion and Solid Paint-Bred World Champion.<\/p>\n

Grip\u2019s wins again helped name Maddux as Leading Owner and Parum as Leading Trainer. He also attributed to Linda Fox\u2019s Leading Breeder award.<\/p>\n

Although \u201cTeam Grip\u201d has continued their winning ways in 2007, this year proved more difficult. With limited races for Paint Horses over 3-years-old, Grip\u2019s opportunities to race were slimmed down. But the biggest problem seemed to be getting enough horses entered to hold a race.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo one wanted to race against him,\u201d said Maddux. \u201cWe\u2019d get him entered or word that we were going to enter him would get out and the horses would start dropping out of the races.\u201d<\/p>\n

Racing only three times this year and running in the seventh post each time, Grip proved he was still the dominate Paint on the track. His first two victories came April 21 and May 27 at Remington Park in the Mr. Lewie Memorial Handicap and National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum Stakes, respectively. After a six-month layoff of racing, Grip earned his latest victory.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a good feeling to win that one,\u201d said Maddux.<\/p>\n

The 2007 running champions have yet to be named, but according to the November\/December 2007 issue of Paint Racing News<\/em>, Got Country Grip is the leading Solid Paint-Bred Aged Gelding.<\/p>\n

What the future holds<\/strong>
\nNow that Grip and his faithful crew\u2014the gelding has stayed with the same trainer and been ridden by the same jockey his entire career\u2014have reached their newest and possibly sweetest milestone, they have their sights set on the future.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s time to go for the big one,\u201d said Maddux, referring to the modern day Thoroughbred record of 16 straight victories held by Citation, Cigar and Hallowed Dreams.<\/p>\n

Maddux says he has two races in mind for the gelding next year, and he will wait and see where to go from there. Grip\u2019s crew hopes to give him as many opportunities as possible to run.<\/p>\n

When asked about his record-setting Paint horse, Maddux replies, \u201cHe\u2019s just a good horse. Oh my gosh, he\u2019s just a good horse. That is what he loves to do\u2014just run.\u201d<\/p>\n

More about Paint Horse racing<\/strong><\/p>\n

Horse racing has long been one of America\u2019s favorite spectator sports. With the recent growth of the Paint Horse breed, it\u2019s no wonder that Paints have become one of the hottest tickets in the horse racing industry.<\/p>\n

Since 1966, when APHA officially recognized the sport, Paint racing has made major strides forward. In that inaugural year, 17 starters ran for $1,290 in just two states\u2014Texas and Oklahoma. In 2006, more than 600 starters competed in more than 800 APHA-recognized races for record purses totaling more than $5.3 million.<\/p>\n

A total of 18 states now feature Paint racing, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. Paint Horses also race in Canada.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe future is really bright for Paint racing,\u201d said Lex Smurthwaite, APHA\u2019s executive director. \u201cOwners from other racing breeds are getting involved with Paints because of the strong and steady growth of our program. It is still relatively easy to get involved and be competitive.\u201d<\/p>\n

For more information on Paint Horse racing, contact APHA\u2019s racing department at\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 (817) 222-6444, email racing@apha.com, or visit paintracing.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

FORT WORTH, TEXAS\u2014Many have dubbed him the world\u2019s fastest racehorse, but Got Country Grip now has a new claim to fame. The two-time World Champion Paint racehorse made his mark in history on Nov. 24, after winning his 15th consecutive race. Got Country Grip, along with his owner Jimmy Maddux, trainer Brandon Parum, jockey G.R. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36,14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1290","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-apha","category-industry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ebarrelracing.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1290","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ebarrelracing.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ebarrelracing.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ebarrelracing.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ebarrelracing.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1290"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ebarrelracing.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1290\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ebarrelracing.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1290"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ebarrelracing.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1290"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ebarrelracing.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1290"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}