2014 Hall of Fame Inductees
Dr. Jerry Rheudasil, DVM
Dr. Jerry Rheudasil, DVM
He was a man of many accomplishments and honors despite the fact that he shunned publicity. He was recognized as the Equine Practitioner of the Year in 1987 by the Texas Veterinary Medical Association and as 1988 Horseman of the Year by the Texas Quarter Horse Association. He was a past president of the Texas Quarter Horse Association and a former member of the Board of Directors of the American Quarter Horse Association and the Texas Thoroughbred Breeders Association. Dr. Rheudasil was also a major donor of time, money and expertise in the passage of pari-mutuel legislation in Texas.
Dr. Rheudasil owned or shared ownership in such horses as the 1983 All American Futurity winner On A High, Rainbow Futurity winner Yankee Win and All American Derby winner Mito Wise Dancer. He often ponied his own horses at the track. On A High was bred by Rheudasil; he sold part interest in the horse to Preston Carter, Jr. and B. F. Phillips, Jr. during the horse’s two-year-old season. He was the supervising veterinarian at Phillips Ranch for 10 years and managed the operation of the ranch after the death of B. F. Phillips. Dr. Jerry Rheudasil passed away April 28, 1989.
Art Preston
Art Preston
With his brothers J.R. and Jack Preston, Art established Preston Stables in Lexington, Kentucky and then campaigned under their Prestonwood Farm banner in the heart of central Kentucky’s famed Bluegrass region. Their best horses include Da Hoss, who won the 1996 Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1) and returned two years later to win another Mile, and Groovy, runner-up in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1), Eclipse Award champion sprinter in 1987 and a member of the Texas Horse Racing Hall of Fame. The brothers also campaigned 1999 Eclipse Award champion older male Victory Gallop, best remembered for spoiling Real Quiet’s Triple Crown bid in the 1998 Belmont Stakes (G1).
Preston Stables’ top star is Flat Out. Winner of the Suburban (G2) and Westchester (G3) in 2013, Flat Out is a two-time winner of the Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) at Belmont Park. He finished third in the 2013 edition of the Jockey Club Gold Cup, then won his last start in the Grade 1 Cigar Mile at Aquaduct.
Preston and his brothers – Jack and the late J.R. – have partnered on numerous ventures involving gas and oil as well as real estate, thoroughbred operations, cattle ranches, restaurants, and geothermal power generation companies. Preston’s companies “have developed and sold numerous oil and gas assets in Texas, Louisiana, Colorado, Michigan and Appalachia, with cumulative sales prices (including production revenue) in excess of $1 billion.”
They turned out to be the perfect primer for their thoroughbred interests. “In the oil business you get a dry hole and lose 80% of the time,” Preston said. “It’s like racing—if you persevere, you ‘may’ hit the big one.”
Cecil Perkins
Cecil Perkins
It has been said that Perkins kept the association active when staff morale was at an all-time low. He even substantially increased membership during this bleak period. Perkins also created the Thoroughbred Magazine and was especially instrumental in guiding the staff and restructuring revenues resulting in what is today an outstanding organization.
In addition to keeping spirits high prior to passage of pari-mutuel legislation, he was also a well-respected Hill Country area realtor and president of the Austin Board of Realtors. Perkins also acted as executive director for the Texas Horse Racing Association and helped orchestrate several large-scale fundraisers that helped bring about the passage of pari-mutuel racing in Texas. He owns and lives at his Witch Doctor Farms, just outside of Austin in Bee Caves.
Joe McDermott
Joe McDermott
During his high school years, Joe enjoyed being a tie down calf roper, as well as being a varsity starter in football, basketball, and tennis. He received a 4 year full scholarship to Rice University to play basketball, where he became the leading scorer in the Southwest Conference. He was a star player for the Owls from 1949-1951 and received the Distinguished “R” Man award from Rice University in 1982. After graduation, Joe served two years in the Army, part of which was spent playing basketball for Army’s team, the Comets. Once out of the service, he played basketball for Bud Adams’ semi-pro team for a few years. Joe then ventured into the commercial real estate business, successfully developing many Houston landmark locations such as Town & Country, Northwest Crossing, Champions, Cypress Station and other commercial developments in the area.
McDermott was able to transfer his success from the business world to horse racing. His McDermott Ranch was a leading Quarter Horse and Thoroughbred breeder for more than 30 years, with an impressive list of Thoroughbred stallions including The Prime Minister, Texas City, Ruhlmann, Smile and Kentucky Derby winner Spend a Buck. McDermott Ranch was the leading Thoroughbred breeding farm in Texas in 1999 by progeny earnings, founded in 1968 in Madisonville, Texas, primarily as a Quarter Horse facility. Joe moved the ranch near Waller in the early 1990s and focused exclusively on Thoroughbreds.
McDermott served on the TTA Board of Directors from 1979 to 1985, including two years as president of the TTA. He was twice named Texas Breeder of the Year in 1981 and 2001, and he bred and owned or co-owned two Texas Champions, Boy’s Nite Out and Lights on Broadway. For his contributions on the racetrack, as a breeder, and in the board room, he was honored with the T.I. “Pops” Harkins Award.
Joe has also enjoyed great success with Quarter Horses, as he bred All American Futurity winner Pie in the Sky and owned a half-interest in the great Quarter Horse stallion Easy Jet.
Leo Wood
Leo Wood
However, when his day jobs ended, he would break and train horses locally in Lubbock. In 1973, Leo went to Ruidoso and won the Rainbow Futurity with Flying Rockette. In the 70s and early 80s, Leo was one of the top 10 trainers in the nation. He believed that the harder you worked, the luckier you were. He also had a reputation for breaking horses that no one else wanted to ride.
Leo trained Pie In The Sky who won the All American Futurity in 1979. The purse for the race was $1 million, and the first place pay-out for owners Dan and Jolene Urschel was $437,500. Leo took his share of the winnings and used it for a down payment on 90 acres in Lubbock. This is the land where Blane Wood, Leo’s son, now has his training farm. Blane said “I wanted him to win it (the All American Futurity) because he deserved to win it. He worked hard to get to the All American.” Blane was part of Leo’s barn crew by that time, and it was he who ponied Pie In The Sky to the starting gate that Labor Day.
Leo also trained Mighty Deck Three and was, in large part, responsible for the building of Lubbock Downs. He is considered a true pioneer of quarter horse racing by his contemporaries. Leo Wood passed away in 1995 at the age of 55.