Childers, Cordoza to be honored

Legendary owner-breeder Spencer Childers and leading jockey-trainer Danny Cardoza will be inducted into the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame during the American Quarter Horse Association convention in March 2002 in Dallas.

Childers has been involved in California Quarter Horse racing for over 50 years. His program hit high gear in 1956 when he purchased champion Black Easter Bunny, the dam of champion Bunny's Bar Maid. In 1996, a Childers trainee named Uncas was voted champion 2-year-old gelding. Childers was honored as 1996 champion owner and co-champion breeder with longtime friend Ed Allred.

Voluptuary, currently in the Childers barn, is the second-fastest qualifier to the Gold Rush Derby on June 29 at Los Alamitos.

Cardoza retired as the all-time leading rider at Los Alamitos and is now a leading trainer.

A nine-time leading jockey at Los Alamitos, Cardoza won 2,528 races at the Orange County track and won the Champion of Champions with world champion Dashs Dream (1984) and world champion Gold Coast Express (1986).

Cardoza is the only person in Quarter Horse racing history to score the unique double of winning a $1 million race as a jockey and a $1 million race as a trainer. He rode Pie in the Sky to win the $1 million All American Futurity in 1979 and he trained champion Dashing Knud to win last year's $1.254 million Los Alamitos Million.

In 1999, he trained champions Old Habits and Hateful Hanna.