2004 Hall of Fame Inductees
Ben Hudson
Ben Hudson
Track has been around for 29 years. During that time, the publication has been the recipient of many awards, including a National Addy Award from the American Advertising Federation in 1983 and an AQHA National Sprint Award in 1996 for the best published horse photograph.
In the late 1970s, Hudson became a member of the American Quarter Horse Association’s Racing Committee and was instrumental in the formation of that group’s Racing Council. In 1987, Hudson became one of the 150 nationally-elected directors for the AQHA, and he has become the association’s longest acting director from Texas after 16 consecutive years.
In 2001, Hudson was elected to the AQHA’s Racing Council, a nine-member group that oversees all of the AQHA’s racing activities. He is currently Vice-Chairman of the AQHA Racing Council.
Hudson purchased his first American Quarter Horse as a teenager in the 1950s. Over the years, he has been involved in the appraisal or sale of some of the most priminent horses in the history of the AQHA.
Anne Burnett Tandy
Anne Burnett Tandy
In addition, she was a founder of the American Quarter Horse Heritage Center and Museum. Ms. Burnett Tandy was an Honorary Vice-President of the AQHA.
In 1949, Ms. Burnett Tandy purchased Grey Badger II, he most famous match-racing horse of the time. Top stallions Streakin Six, Dash For Cash, and Special Effort all stood at her 6666 Ranch.
Ms. Burnett Tandy was the granddaughter of Samuel Burk Burnett, who bought a small herd of cattle carrying the 6666 brand and built a ranching empire.
In 1990, Ms. Burnett Tandy was posthumously inducted into the AQHA Hall of Fame.
Nelson Bunker Hunt
Nelson Bunker Hunt
He made his fortune in the oil business, and he has been involved in racing for over a half-century.
Hunt has campaigned four champions, and his horses such as Dahlia, Exceller, and Vaguely Noble have won top races both in the U. S. and in Europe.
Hunt left the sport in 1988, but he returned in 1999 and quickly took back up where he left off. Since his return to racing, Hunt has taken the leading owner title at Sam Houston Race Park and Fair Grounds. Moreover, in 2003 he ranked 21st nationally with 68 wins and 31st nationally in earnings with nearly $1.9 million.
Hunt served four years as a member of the Texas Thoroughbred Association board of directors in the 1980s, and that association awarded him with their T. I. “Pops” Harkins Award for lifetime achievement in June of 2004.