October 2011 has been quite the month for Gibson Thoroughbred Farm stallion Parker's Storm Cat. In addition to having his offspring win two Maryland Million Day stakes (Ben's Cat and Sloane Ranger), his son Pagan Cat won one of the West Virginia Classic day stakes.

  Then, on October 30, Parker's Storm Cat's leading earner, five-year-old Ben's Cat, glided to a two-length victory in the $67,750 Laurel Dash Stakes run at Laurel Park. Originally scheduled for the turf, the Laurel stakes was run on the dirt over a sloppy track. Ben's Cat, who has now won six stakes, and nine over his two-year racing career, finished the six-panel sprint in 1:11.11. There had been some talk of Ben's Cat running in the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint (G2), but when funding for the $100,000 supplemental fee failed, breeder-owner-trainer King Leatherbury decided to run the Maryland-bred in the Laurel Dash, improving the gelding's record to 14-2-0 from 19 starts and upping his bank total to $778,230.

  Sloane Ranger, one of three stakes winners and five stakes horses for Parker's Storm Cat in 2011, added his third stakes placement of the year when the five-year-old gelding ran third in the $150,000 Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash Stakes at Laurel Park on October 22. The Pennsylvania-bred runner out of Toppenish, by You and I, has earned $289,612.

  On October 27, Parker's Storm Cat had his 31st winner of the year when his three-year-old daughter Fight Cat, a Pennsylvania-bred filly out of Maiden Stone, by Grindstone, won a six-furlong maiden special weight race at Penn National in her second lifetime start.

  Two-year-old Properly Snowbound, an Idaho-bred Quarter Horse son of former Washington stallion Snowbound, took the $100,000 Los Alamitos Wild West Futurity on October 23. It was the gelding's fourth win in five starts and upped his earnings to $48.963. Los Alamitos ran a 12-stakes card on October 28, the day before the track featured the $1.2-million Golden State Million Futurity for juvenile Quarter Horses. Among the dozen stakes on the Saturday card was the $125,000 Red Cell Distance Challenge Championship Stakes (G1), which was won by Washington-bred four-year-old Yin Your Eyes, whose dam, Apollo Snowbound, is a daughter of Snowbound.

  Peter Axmaker and Roy Brewer's homebred Love's a Blast, a three-year-old Washington-bred daughter of Storm Blast-Lorrains Love, by Sauce Boat, made it two for two after she came home with a 5 1/2-length win in a 5 1/2-furlong allowance race at Turf Paradise on October 24. She gave rooky trainer Cody Axmaker his fourth victory in a dozen starts.

  2011 Washington Racing Hall of Fame rider Vicky Baze came home aboard her 2,030th winner on October 28 when she rode One Call to Victory in the $35,000 Walter R. Cluer Memorial Stakes at Turf Paradise. It was the rider's 48th win in 2011.

  Trainer Jerry Hollendorfer and Dr. George Todaro's two-year-old runner Bluegrass Story, a Kentucky-bred daughter of Bluegrass Cat-Norma's Legacy, by Red Ransom, won a six-furlong maiden special weight race at Golden Gate Fields on October 29. Also on the 29th in California, but at Santa Anita, Al and Sandee Kirkwood's Mandated Bliss took a 6 1/2-furlong allowance test for Washington Hall of Fame trainer Kathy Walsh. The three-year-old California-bred son of Perfect Mandate-Flyindownbaylaurel, by Alphabet Soup, improved his record to 3-1-2 from eight starts and has earned $90,150.

  Jack and Teresa Hodge's Oakcrest Farm and partners' Grade 3 stakes winner Upperline finished second by less than a length behind Senada in the $125,000 Rood and Riddle Dowager Stakes held at Keeneland on October 23. It was the eighth stakes placement in 17 starts for the four-year-old Kentucky-bred daughter of Maria's Mon-Snowflake (Ire) and pushed her bank total to $387,108.

George Andrew Sedlock

  George Sedlock, of Bellevue, passed away on October 22, 2011, at the age 83 after a two-year battle with brain cancer.

  George was born in Cleveland on January 22, 1928, to Andrew and Susan Sedlock and grew up in the Ohio city. After attending Case Western Reserve University he married Norma Livengood in 1947.

  George spent his entire professional career in the container box industry. In 1966, George jumped at the chance to move to the Pacific Northwest as the general manager of the Container Corporation of America plant in Renton. He knew of the beauty of this area after spending his army basic training at Ft. Lewis. He purchased Ridgeway Packaging Corporation in 1972, and built and ran the company as its president until he sold it when he retired at 55.

  George's passion for horse racing had begun as a youth, when he worked as a chalk boy in the clubhouse at Thistledown.

  After his retirement, George and Norma purchased their first runners in 1982, Doonable and Marketal, the latter would go from lower-level claiming horse to stakes winner. The couple's G & N Thoroughbreds would race many top stakes winners in the following two decades, including Washington champion Colonel Stevens, who sired their homebred stakes winners Military Hawk, Washington's champion handicap of 1992, and Cadette Stevens. Others who ran in their silks include top Pacific Northwest stakes winners Crowning Meeting, who was named the top sprinter at the 2002 Emerald Downs meeting, Singing Year, Military Force, Funny Tale, Erin's Lord and B. Charlie. The Sedlocks were the top money-earning owners at the 1997 Emerald meeting.

  George served as the secretary-treasurer for Emerald Racing Association and was instrumental in establishing Emerald Downs, being an initial investor in the Northwest Racing Associates LP. The longtime WTBOA and WHPBA member also contributed to the building of the Morris J. Alhadeff Sales Pavilion and WTBOA offices as a "benefactor" in 1997.

  Missing the Cleveland Browns, and before Seattle had a professional football team to root for, George became an avid Husky football fan. He went on to support many other University of Washington sports. including women's basketball and softball.

  His others interests included photography, the many cars he owned during his lifetime and movies. George will be remembered for his integrity, behind-the-scenes generosity, amazing facility with numbers and wry sense of humor which he maintained until the end.

  He was preceded in death by his son, Thomas; and is survived by his wife, Norma Sedlock; daughter, Janet (Rhea) Wallace; daughter-in-law, Greta Sedlock; grandchildren, Matt and Jana Endicott and Kyra Wallace; and his siblings, Richard Sedlock, Robert Sedlock and Marilyn Engle.

Frank J. Warnke

  Former longtime Washington state lawmaker Frank J. Warnke, 78, of Auburn, died on September 23, 2011.

  He was born on May 18, 1933, in Montana, where he was raised until the Warnke family moved to Auburn while Frank was a youth. He graduated from Auburn High School.

  Frank served in the Coast Guard and worked for The Boeing Company for a decade before becoming involved in state politics.

  He was first elected to the Washington State House of Representatives in 1964 and represented two South King County districts in the Washington House and Senate in his 20 years as a legislator. During his tenure he served as the chairman of the Labor and Commerce Committee and also as Democratic Caucus chairman. Among his successful projects was the formation of the Auburn Game Park.

  Frank was respected by both Republicans and Democrats alike for his fairness, integrity and loyalty. He served six terms in the state House and two terms in the state Senate and was known for his ability to work cooperatively across the aisle to solve problems.

  In 1967 Frank was hired by the Public School Employees of Washington to help form their labor union. He became the organization's executive director in 1974, a post he held until he retired in 1991.

  After he retired as a legislator, he started Advocates Inc., a successful public relations and lobbying firm. It was during this time that he became Washington's Thoroughbred industry lobbyist, served on racing's political action committee and was a friend to racing who represented the whole industry.

  According to former WTBOA general manager Ralph Vacca, "Frank was a real asset to the Washington Thoroughbred industry, even before he became the industry's lobbyist. During his time as a state senator and while he served on the powerful Labor and Commerce Committee, he helped support bills which aided the industry. And because of his integrity and the respect of fellow politicians, he became a big ally for our industry."

  In 2003, Frank was awarded the WTBOA President's Award "in appreciation and ongoing dedication to public and community service and for his many contributions which have benefited the Thoroughbred industry in Washington State."

  Frank enjoyed fishing in Washington, Montana and Canada and also was an avid deer and elk hunter.

  He was also a past commanding general of the Association of Washington Generals service organization, whose members act as official ambassadors of trade, tourism and goodwill for the state.

  He is survived by his wife of more than 60 years, Beverly; son, Kurtis (Tamara) Warnke, of Shelton; daughter Karla (Roger) Flygare, of Federal Way; grandsons, Ehren (Ashley) and Ryon; great-grandchildren, McKenzie, Gavin and Matthew; sisters, Laura Bade, of Seattle, and Jean Smith, of Renton; and brother, Edward McMeel, of Harlem, Montana.