Brooks, Blue Ribbon Downs inducted into Hall of Fame

Legendary Sallisaw trainer Rex Brooks and historic Blue Ribbon Downs were enshrined into the Oklahoma Quarter Horse Racing Hall of Fame in a Saturday induction ceremony at Shawnee’s Grand Casino. Brooks spent 57 years as the preeminent trainer in Sequoyah County, and earned 3,000 wins at race tracks across Oklahoma, as well as from California to Indiana and Louisiana, with some of his most memorable wins coming at New Mexico’s Ruidoso Downs. Brooks was joined by grandson Kaleb and son Rex Dale Brooks. Meanwhile, Blue Ribbon Downs was once the first, last and only words in the Oklahoma horse racing lexicon as the state’s first parimutuel track before being supplanted by Oklahoma City’s Remington Park. Bryan Warner, deputy principal chief of the Cherokee Nation that now owns BRD, accepted the enshrinement trophy. In addition to the Hall of Fame induction ceremonies, the OQHA honored its 2022 racing champions. Troy Carter of Sallisaw was recognized as the leading quarter horse trainer for money earned at Fair Meadows Race Track in Tulsa.