FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                       
SEPTEMBER 5, 2009

CONTACT LOS ALAMITOS PUBLICITY
714-820-2690

SGT PEPPER FEATURE WINNER WAS ALWAYS THEIR TOP CHOICE

LOS ALAMITOS RACE COURSE, CYPRESS, CA... The Dicksons and
the Visschers still don't know which one of them saw Making
Choices first. Kris Dickson believes she spotted the handsome
and quiet son of A Regal Choice before anyone else during the
2007 Los Alamitos Equine Sale. Pat Visscher and her daughter,
Yvonne, are pretty sure that the Ed Allred-bred runner caught
their eye first. It really does not matter who saw him first,
the key is that they all liked what they saw when they first
laid eyes on the chestnut yearling with the attractive white
blaze. 

"Who saw him first? That's still a mystery," Kevin Dickson
said. "But we all liked the same horse."

Having agreed on their affinity for Making Choices, the
Dicksons and Visschers teamed up to buy him for the bargain
price of $11,000. Purchased as a colt but now a gelding, the
3-year-old runner has paid for himself plus a lot more. He
qualified to both the 2008 Governor's Cup Futurity and PCQHRA
Breeders Futurity on the way to earning nearly $40,000 during
his freshman year, and so far in 2009 he has qualified to the
Governor's Cup Derby and is now a stakes winner after an
impressive victory in Saturday's $25,000 Sgt Pepper Feature
Handicap at Los Alamitos. Trained by Pat Visscher, Making
Choices has won three of 10 lifetime starts and his earnings
of $13,750 in the Sgt Pepper Feature have pushed his career
bankroll to $63,397.

"He is the type of horse that is a great advertisement for
the Los Alamitos Equine Sale," Kevin Dickson added. "He was
purchase for a low price but he has turned into a great
value. He's a good story." 

The Dicksons, both accountants in South Orange County, are a
good story as well. The couple has been together for 10 years
and has been married for the last six years. Kevin proposed
to Kris at Santa Anita Park. One afternoon at Santa Anita,
the Dicksons talked about how much fun it would be to stand
in the winner's circle as owners one day. They became
involved in partnerships of Thoroughbreds shortly after.  

"We got into Quarter Horses because we live in Orange County
and Los Alamitos is a local track for us," Kevin added. "We
work during the day and coming out to the races at night is
the best thing." 

Sometimes it's husband that is most involved in the
racehorse ownership, but that is not the case with the
Dicksons. "We are equally involved," Kris added. "We both
enjoyed the races even before we got married. In fact our
interest in racing is one of the things that helped form our
bond. I was yelling tonight as loud as I've probably ever
yelled in my life," she added. "This was a great thrill. I
can't wait to show my co-workers on Tuesday the pictures and
the trophy of this race."  

"We'll have to take turns," Dickson added with a smile. 

"Pat deserves a ton of credit for this win," he added. "She
works very hard with all of her horses. We are very excited
and very proud right now." 

Next, a vacation could be in store for Making Choices, who
covered the 350 yards in :17.381. "We'll see how he pulls up
from this race," Kevin added. "We'll have to see what Pat
thinks. Maybe we'll talk about the Los Alamitos Winter
Championship (in February of 2010)."

A half brother to the stakes placed runner Pritzi Miss and
from the same family as Los Alamitos Million Futurity winner
Kingman Kid, multiple Grade 1 winner Make It Anywhere,
three-time AQHA Champion Separatist, and AQHA Champion Way
Maker, Making Choices finished 3/4 lengths ahead of runner-up
Blues Man Too, who is a half brother to2007 World Champion
Blues Girl Too. Igreedycuzisepertist, the heavy 1-5 favorite,
broke through the gate prior to the start but still ran a
solid third. Revv It Up, a two-time stakes winner and the
only filly in this race, was fractious before the start and
then appeared to stumble a little bit leaving the gate on the
way to an eighth place finish. The complete order of finish
is as follows; Making Choices, Blues Man Too,
Igreedycuzisepertist, Feature David, BF Regal Rage, Iona
Corona, Avitar, and Revv It Up. 

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