BLUE RIBBON DOWNS in Sallisaw celebrated the 20th anniversary of modern-day pari-mutuel racing in Oklahoma Saturday by honoring employees who have worked at the track 20 years or longer. The employees received gifts and were presented to the public in the winner's circle. At the ceremony are, from the left, Janine Schaub, mutuels director; Tom Clark, Oklahoma Horse Racing Commission (OHRC) chief steward; Delores Mitchell of Sallisaw, former OHRC member; Sharon Cole of mutuels; Sherry Lenington of mutuels; Ruby Phillips from mutuels; Shirley Ellis, racing secretary; Donna Jones from the OHRC; Mike Cusimano, OHRC identifier and tattooer; Fred Woody from the video department; and Harley Crosby, clerk of scales. Crosby won the first Thoroughbred race under pari-mutuel rules on the filly Ye Song when Blue Ribbon Downs became the state's first pari-mutuel racetrack.
(TIMES Photo by Sally Maxwell)