SHELBYVILLE, IN—SEPTEMBER 21, 2021—Indiana Grand Racing & Casino is proud to host the 2022 Bank of America Challenge Championships and the track is already making plans for the arrival of the event next fall.
In cooperation with the American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) and Heritage Place, Inc., all yearlings involved in both the September sale as well as the November sale will be eligible for a $15,000 special incentive bonus.
“We wanted to do something to start the conversation about the Challenge Championships coming to Indiana in 2022,” said Eric Halstrom, Vice President and General Manager of Racing. “By offering an added incentive, we hope sale buyers will take an extra look at next year’s Juvenile Challenge and make plans early to head to Indiana.”
All yearlings will be eligible for the $15,000 incentive. It will be awarded to the Heritage Place Yearling Sale graduate who is the highest official finisher in the Juvenile Challenge Championship next year at Indiana Grand.
“This is a great partnership with Indiana Grand, the AQHA and Heritage Place,” said Janet Van Bebber, Chief Racing Officer at AQHA. “We’ve never offered anything like this before and we are always looking for innovative ways to promote the Challenge. We hope this will spur owners to participate in next year’s Juvenile Challenge.”
Approximately 700 yearlings are cataloged in 43rd annual Heritage Place September Yearling Sale, set for Friday, Sept. 24 and Saturday, Sept. 25. An additional 200 yearlings are expected in the 44th annual Fall Mixed Sale at Heritage Place set for Friday, Nov. 5 and Saturday, Nov. 6.
In 2019, 32 percent of the starters in the Juvenile Challenge came from the Heritage Place Yearling Sales. Eight of the 10 finalists were sale graduates, showing the large support for the Bank of America Juvenile Challenge Championship from the Heritage Place Sales.
“Being able to offer such a unique incentive for our yearling sale graduates is really exciting,” said Spence Kidney, General Manager of Heritage Place, Inc. “We are glad to be the first round of this partnership that will culminate at Indiana Grand next fall.”
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The Q-Racing Videos Distaff Challenge was one of two on the card in preparation for the Bank of America Challenge Championships set for Saturday, Oct. 23 at The Downs at Albuquerque. Jose Contreras of the Los Alamitos broadcast team provided additional racing analysis at Indiana Grand, which will host the 2022 event in October next year. Preparations are already underway to provide the backdrop for the Quarter Horse showcase coming to Indiana next season.
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