SPENCER L CHILDERS

Stakes Highlights:

-Won the 2006 Go Man Go Handicap with Be A Bono

-Won the Golden State Derby in 2005 with Diller A Dollar

-Won the Golden State Futurity with Be A Bono in 2003

-Won the Governor's Cup Derby with Last Shall Be First in 2002

-Won the Los Alamitos Super Derby with Be A Bono in 2004

-Won the Los Alamitos Winter Derby in 2004 with Be A Bono

-Won the Spencer Childers Championship with Be A Bono in 2004, 2005, and 2006

-Won Vessels Maturity with Be A Bono in 2005 and 2006

        Spencer Childers will celebrate his 94th birthday on Dec. 21 and has been involved in quarter horse racing at Los Alamitos Race Course for more than 50 years.  Childers first visited Los Alamitos in 1953 when the track was located on the other side of the railroad tracks and the Clubhouse had yet to be built. A former president of the Pacific Coast Quarter Horse Racing Association, Spencer is an AQHA Director Emiritus, a life member of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association and is currently a director of the Los Alamitos Quarter Horse Racing Association. Spencer purchased his first quarter horse more than 50 years ago. His racing stock has featured Black Easter Bunny, who as a dam of seven foals became the foundation of his breeding program. Spencer was the AQHA Co-Champion Breeder in 1996, an honor he shared with Edward C. Allred.  Spencer has been married to his wife, Florence, for more than 60 years and she also shares his love of horses. The couple stand Be A Bono's sire, Bono Jazz, at their Childers Ranch in Fresno.

        Be A Bono provided Childers with the richest win of his career in the $864,850 Golden State Futurity in 2003.  In addition, Be A Bono gave the owner one of the greatest thrills of his life when he was named World Champion Quarter Horse for 2004. In route to the sport's top honor, Be A Bono also won the Spencer Childers California Breeders Championship, a race named for the 92-year-old owner.  "It was embarrassing, to be very frank," Childers said about winning a race named after him.  "But it would have been more embarrassing if we lost." Be A Bono also became  Childers' first runner in the Champion of Champions since Black Sable ran third to Mr Doty Bars in 1979. Be A Bono finished second by a nose to longshot Cash For Kas in the Champion of Champions.

      "Everyone involved in this sports dreams of having a horse good enough to run in the Champion of Champions," he said. "It's exciting to be part of the Champion of Champions once again."  Yet when asked last year about his greatest accomplishments, Childers said, "I'd rather shoot my age in golf. But there's the problem, I'm too young right now."
 Childers' top runners include Black Easter Bunny, who as a dam of seven foals became the foundation of his breeding program, Kansas Futurity winner Bunny's Bar Maid and 1996 champion Uncas. The latter helped Spencer earn the title of AQHA Champion Owner in '96 after Uncas and Luva Secret combined to win four major futurities. That same year, Spencer also campaigned Outlasting and Jazzing Dreams to help make him the fourth-ranked owner by money earned and the fifth-ranked owner by wins.

  Spencer won the Governor's Cup Derby and Dash For Speed Handicap with Last Shall Be First in 2002. This year, Spencer will enjoy the thrill of watching his freshman sire's Bono Jazz first crop of 2-year-olds. 

 Spencer was also the AQHA Co-Champion Breeder in 1996, an honor he shared with Edward C. Allred. At his Childers Ranch in Fresno, Spencer stands Champion Aged Stallion Bono Jazz, who enjoyed a super campaign on the racetrack as he finished third in the Spencer Childers California Breeders Championship Handicap. 

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Spencer Childers honored with Frank Vessels, Sr. Memorial Award
           
            Spencer Childers was presented with the 2004 Franks Vessels, Sr. Memorial Award at the PCQHRA Awards Banquet on Tuesday, January 11. Childers, 93, was recognized for his outstanding contributions to the sport of Quarter Horse racing. Childers has been an owner and breeder of Quarter Horses for more than 50 years.

            Quarter Horse racing in California wouldn't be standing here tonight without Spencer Childers, said Ed Allred, the owner and CEO of Los Alamitos Race Course. You can't say enough good things about Spencer.

            Spencer has never been the type of person to throw rocks at something from far away, added AQHA President Frank Scoop Vessels. Spencer is the type of person that will stand in the middle of a problem and will fight for what he believes is right. Quarter Horse racing owes a great deal to Spencer Childers.

            In accepting his award, Childers said, Quarter Horse racing has been a great part of my life as well as my wife's life. I see around this room and I think of the people here as my friends and I hope they think of me as a friend.