Kristy Batie Photo

  Noted Washington and equine industry photographer and horse owner Duane Hamamura died in his Auburn home of heart failure on January 29, 2011. He was 57.

  Born and raised in Auburn, Duane was a 1971 graduate of Auburn High School. He studied photography at Green River Community College and in the mid-1970s went to work for the Auburn Globe-News, Renton Record-Chronicle and Kent News-Journal and was still taking photos for those southend area newspapers after they changed their names to the Valley Daily News, South County Journal and King County Journal. More recently he worked as a photo technician for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

 The soft-spoken man, affectionately known as "Hammer," was a frequent visitor to tracks throughout the greater Pacific Northwest and California, and especially Emerald Downs.

  Duane's photos graced many issues of the Washington Thoroughbred, both on the cover and in featured stories, as well as most recently in the 2011 WTBOA calendar. His trio of photos featured in February, April and July are striking examples of the subjects and emotion captured in his work.

  Highly esteemed by his peers, Duane was not only a prize-winning equine  photographer -  as a two-time winner of the Mark Kaufman Media Award - but set his skills to capture moments at local sports events ranging from baseball, basketball, track to gymnastics and swimming.

  Over the years Duane and his close friends Kari and Joe Toye partnered to race a small stable, which included 1996 top claimer of the meet Tajun.

  Passionate about Thoroughbreds, Duane maintained a personal sports library, which includes tapes of races and commentaries from both Longacres and Emerald Downs. And he made many a pinback button to commemorate a winning horse or equine event in his custom-designed specialty printing sideline.

  As Mark Moschetti wrote in his "Tribute to Duane Hamamura: A Quiet Man Who Spoke Volumes with His Photography," it was with soft-spoken professionalism that "Duane Hamamura's photography spoke volumes."

  Duane is survived by his mother Ritsuko Hamamura; and sisters, Joyce Hamamura and Sharon Harris.

  Visit Duane's photo gallery on Facebook at http://on.fb.me/i7VGX7 to view a small sample of his varied and extraordinary work.

  Services for him will be held at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, February 5 at the White River Buddhist Temple at 3625 Auburn Way N., Auburn, Washington 98002.

  2009 Washington horse of the year Reba Is Tops capped off her illustrious race career with a 2 1/4-length victory in the $70,000 Wishing Well Stakes on January 30. It marked her third start and second victory in 2011. The Mark Glatt-trained mare also won an about 6 1/2-furlong allowance/$62,500 optional claiming race on January 21 and had finished third in the Monrovia Handicap (G3) on January 2. All three of her most recent starts were contested over Santa Anita's downhill turf course.

  After trailing last for the first half-mile in her final effort, Reba Is Tops, ridden by Joe Talamo, "rallied five-wide in midstretch" to finish strongly in a time of 1:13.25 over the firm course. The bay mare paid $8.40 as the second betting choice in the field of nine.

  Unraced at two, the now seven-year-old daughter of He's Tops-Miss Kyama, by Present Value, has been a stakes winner in each of her last four seasons for owners Kenny Marshall, Gordy Jarnig and Eric M. Schweiger.

  "That was the most awesome race I've ever seen," said Jarnig, who watched the race from Emerald Downs. "On the backside I said she had no chance. This is so great. She deserves to go out a winner and to go out sound."

  Reba Is Tops, who was bred by C.E. "Rich" and Ann Richardson, improved her record to 14-6-4 from 29 starts and her $454,709 total places her in 13th placed among all Washington-bred runners.

  Reba Is Tops has now been retired and is scheduled to be sent to Kentucky to be bred to Broken Vow.

  On January 27 The Jockey Club released the names of the 99 colts and geldings and 92 fillies weighted on the 2010 Experimental Free Handicap. Topping the males was Eclipse Award winner Uncle Mo, with 128 pounds. Eclipse Award winner Awesome Feather topped the distaff division with 123 pounds.

  All two-year-olds who finished in the top four in a graded or listed stakes (must be an open race which is valued at $75,000 or more) run in the continental United States in 2010 were eligible to be weighted by the racing secretary committee, which this year was comprised of Ben Huffman (Churchill Downs), P.J. Campo (NYRA) and Thomas S. Robbins (Del Mar Thoroughbred Club).

  Among the male runners with Washington connections weighted were Jack and Theresa Hodge and partners' Willcox Inn (Harlan's Holiday) at 115 and Wesley Ward's homebred Madman Diaries (Bring the Heat) at 114. Washington-bred Couldabenthewhisky (Harbor the Gold) was weighted with eight others at 106.

  Mark Dedomenico and partners' multiple stakes-winning Cathy Crunches (West Acre) was among the four fillies assigned 107 pounds and Game to Run (Game Plan) out of Washington-bred Run Kaitlyn Run, by Rio's Lark, was among eight at the 104 level.

  Portland Meadows held their richest race in over two decades when a field of eight sophomore distaffers contested the $82,700 Portland Meadows Oaks on January 29. The race was one of a trio of stakes run on a rare Saturday card at the Rose City oval.

  Mark Dedomenico LLC, John Carver and trainer Jerry Hollendorfer's Alec's Moon was the odds-on choice and dominated her peers with her 6 1/2-length win in the mile race. The Kentucky-bred daughter of Malibu Moon-Bello Cielo, by Conquistador Cielo, took her first added money event in a time of 1:40.13. She was one of five winners for jockey Joe Crispin on the card, who also was aboard McFadden Memorial Stakes winner Tomcat Jake.

   Early leader Formal Plan dropped back to fourth before finishing with good energy to earn second. Owned by trainer Jennifer Tooley and her partner Bradley Brooks, it was only the California-bred daughter of Formal Gold-Choice Plan's second start, following her impressive maiden win just 11 days earlier. Margaret Root's Oregon-bred stakes filly Chick Power (Seattle Shamus-Happy Chick) finished another 4 1/4 lengths back in third place.

  Alec's Moon improved her record to 3-2-0 from seven starts and the half-sister to stakes winner Alya Bella has earned $97,585.

  The Oaks, the second of the qualifying races in the Black-Eyed Susan 2.2 bonus series, drew three starters from California, including the winner and fourth place Love You So. Lilacs and Lace captured the first race in the series on New Year's Day when she won the California Oaks at Golden Gate Fields and Pomeroys Pistol took the series' third race, the Forward Gal Stakes (G2) at Gulfstream Park, the day after the Portland feature.

  A horse owned by Dedomenico and Hollendorfer also finished first, by 4 1/4 lengths, in the $25,000 Governor's Speed Handicap, as Checkinuponyou sped to a quick 1:10.20, only to have that runner disqualified to fourth for bumping the two horses on his inside, Carry On John and Ricky Ricky, soon after the start of the six-panel race. Art McFadden's Getrdonegotrdid, a four-year-old Kentucky-bred son of Hero's Tribute-Way It Should Be, by Stalwart, was awarded the win, his sixth in 11 starts. Ron Crockett Inc.'s Carry On John, a seven-year-old Kentucky-bred gelding (Boundary-Carrie Can) was given the second place purse and John and Laurie Ansell's stakes-winning four-year-old Oregon-bred Ricky Ricky (Seattle Shamus-By a Country Mile) was placed third in the field of nine older runners.

  Ridden by Mark Anderson and trained by Jim Fergason, Getrdonegotrdid has earned $41,175.

  Both Getrdonegotrdid (2008) and Oaks runner-up Formal Plan (2010) are WTBOA September sale graduates.

  The final stakes on the weekend Portland card was the $11,900 McFadden Memorial Stakes, a mile race open to three-year-olds. Two-to-one favorite Tomcat Jake led from gate-to-wire to score a six-length win for his Oregon owners and breeders Dr. Ryland and Jo Ann Harwood. Ryland also trains the winning son of Seattle Shamus-True Kitty Cat, by True Confidence, who finished the race in 1:41.52. It was the third win in five starts for Tomcat Jake, who has earned $19,230.

 Re Run Stables' California-bred Back of the Bus, a gelded son of Minister's Wild Cat-School Meeting, finished three-quarters of a length better than Hurliman Enterprises LLC's third place Midda's Gold Touch, a stakes-winning Oregon-bred son of Harbor the Gold-Ashleys Attitude.

  On February 1 it was announced that, following an agreement with the board of directors of MI Developments, Frank Stronach will take control of the racetrack assets of the former Magna Enterprises Corporation, which had been dissolved last year. Among those assets are Portland Meadows, Santa Anita Park, Golden Gate Fields and Gulfstream Park.

  Multiple graded stakes winner Preachinatthebar, who won the 2004 Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes and two other graded stakes among his four black-type victories, has been relocated from Jim and Marilyn Helzer's JEH Stallion Station in Oklahoma to Robert, Phyllis and Todd Pulse's Pulse Ranches in Union Gap for the 2011 breeding season. The stud fee is yet to be determined for the gray/roan son of champion and Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Silver Charm. He will stand for a live foal guarantee with special consideration to stakes-winning or stakes-producing mares.

  A Hollywood Park maiden special weight winner at two, Preachinatthebar would win eight more races in his 32-race career and place in four additional stakes, including the Grade 2 San Diego (twice) and San Pasqual handicaps while racing for Mike Pegram. He also finished fourth in four other Grade 2 California stakes. The Bob Baffert-trained runner earned $836,339 and had a 10.53 SSI. His wins came from eight to ten furlongs, with five coming at the 1 1/16-mile distance.

  Preachinatthebar's first major win came in March of his three-year-old season when he defeated St. Averil and Harvard Avenue in the $250,000 San Felipe at Santa Anita Park.

  At four he added four allowance wins at Hollywood Park and Del Mar and then scored back-to-back victories in the Tokyo City Handicap (G3) at Santa Anita and the Texas Mile Stakes (G3) at Lone Star Park as a five-year-old. He also just missed in the San Diego Handicap, finishing a nose behind 2005 Kentucky Derby winner Giacomo in the 1 1/16-mile event that season, and though he would place in the San Pasqual at six, his final stakes win came in the 2006 Windy Sands Handicap, a mile race at Del Mar .

  The top earner among the 13 stakes winners sired by $6.9-million earner Silver Charm, Preachinatthebar was the first foal produced out of $216,812 stakes winner Holy Nova, a daughter Silver Deputy who won the Great Arizona Shoot-Out Futurity. She is also the dam of 2010 French stakes winner Royal Revival, by King's Best, who had been a $411,460 sales yearling in France in 2008; and German Group 3-placed Nolas Lolly, a daughter of Lomitas.

  Holy Nova is a full sister to $1,062,251 stakes winner Bare Necessities, who won a trio of Grade 3 races. Both mares are out of $214,375 stakes-placed Shrewd Vixen, who was a daughter of Horse of the Year Spectacular Bid and French champion Theia (Fr). Theia is also the dam of Grade 2-placed Tanker Port and stakes-placed Winnie the Slew.

  He entered stud at JEH Stallion Station in 2008. His oldest foals are two-year-olds of 2011.

  In recent news from the Auburn track, a new mount fee schedule will be implemented for the 2011 meet. In an agreement between the Washington HBPA and The Jockeys' Guild, the fees for mounts finishing fourth or lower have been upped to a $55 minimum from the previous $45.The new rate, which ranges from $55 to $115, depending on the caliber of the race, was approved by the Washington Horse Racing Commission.

  Through January 28, 2011, Gibson Thoroughbred Farm's Parker's Storm Cat leads the Washington sire rankings with four winners and $102,520 in earnings. In second place as of that date is Woodstead Farm's He's Tops with $59,466. Two days later He's Tops' earnings would grow to $105,546 after his multiple champion daughter Reba Is Tops won the Wishing Well Stakes at Santa Anita Park.

  George Todaro's homebred filly Cell Line Forever won the $25,000 Glendale Handicap, a 1 1/16-mile race over Turf Paradise's grass course, by 1 1/4 lengths on January 29. The four-year-old California-bred daughter of Globalize-Three Tee Three, by Silver Deputy, improved her record to 4-2-2 from 13 starts and has earned $56,032 for the Seattle scientist. Wade Rarick trains Cell Line Forever, who was ridden to the win by Jake Barton.

  Four-year-old Soprano Selection, a British Columbia-bred daughter of Tribunal out of Follow the Music, by Rahy, who is owned and trained by Don Schnell, won her second start, a maiden/$30,000 optional claiming race at Turf Paradise on January 28. The filly had finished second in her initial outing, on January 10, and has earned $14,370.

  Dale Mahlum's homebred Miss Sandra Sue, a three-year-old California-bred daughter of Bertrando and half-sister to Washington champion Marva Jean and four other stakes horses, won her second outing, a six-furlong maiden special weight race at Golden Gate Fields on January 28 by three-quarters of a length. The filly, which is out of the stakes-winning French Legionnaire mare Chasseur Dame, is trained by Frank Lucarelli. 

  El Dorado Farms LLC's four-time leading Washington sire Matty G had a new Argentine winner on January 19, at San Isidro, when his five-year-old Argentine-bred daughter Aurina, out of Acgaparrada (Arg), by Johnny's Prospect, won a 1,600-meter maiden race.