OKLAHOMA CITY, (AP)--Jack Brooks bets on his own motivation to succeed, and wins.

Spurring quarter horses to race their personal best is second nature for Brooks after 46 years in the horse racing industry.

In 2004, Brooks was inducted into the American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) Hall of Fame. And he remains the only eight-time winner of the All American Futurity title awarded by the AQHA. Winners receive $1 million.

"That's a record that will never be broke," Brooks said.

The previous All American Futurity record holder was trainer Newt Kegg, who won the honor three times during the 1950s.

"These horses, they're kind of like raising your family, they're kind of like kids," said Brooks.

A horse's whinny overlapped Brooks' slight Oklahoma cowboy twang. The scent of hay permeated the cool air at Remington Park.

"You know, every one of them is a little bit different," he continued. "As you go and start teaching them things, they'll start telling you what they want to do. It's just like a baby when we start galloping them, break them, get them to going."

A day's work of training becomes a step that soon hastens a horse's velocity to a sprint. Vigor and reward produces a champion. Brooks knows the horse is making progress when it tugs on its bit during a gallop.

"They're wanting to go and they tell you what they want to do if you just pay attention to them," he said.

Brooks is optimistic about the Oklahoma horse racing industry

"We got the gaming this past year now," he said. "Our pots are better right here at Remington this year. And I think it will really get good as time goes."

Riders are usually not hard to find, however not as many young riders are as interested in being a jockey these days as in the past, he said.

September through March are his intense horse training months. His days become less hectic after May.

He owns the Jack Brooks Racing Stables in Luther. His wife Wynona is a certified public accountant, and their son Tim Brooks of Edmond is a dentist.

He thought about becoming a cattle buyer during the late 1950s when working for Wilson and Company in Oklahoma City's "packing town." However, he soon found himself without a job when Wilson shut down.

Reared on a cattle ranch in Blanchard, Brooks' hadn't forgot that his neighbor north of town was W.W. Wilson, a horseman who had won the All American title from the AQHA.

"I galloped for him and that's how I got started in horses," Brooks said.

Brooks was an energetic 22-year-old in 1959 when his horse racing career burst forth beyond the opening gate. Horse racing was on a smaller scale 45 years ago. Brooks' venues were mostly obscure races at places such as the Woodward and Enid fairs.

He recalled his eyes fixed on an All American Futurity race that same year. "It has been on my mind since that day," he said.

In 1962, he trained the winning horse in the Oklahoma Futurity.

"That really got me started, to get better horses and better livestock," Brooks explained.

His first All American win came 10 years later in 1979.

Quarter horses are born to run and it's up to an expert trainer to develop their speed. Brooks champion horses seem to give him 110 percent in racing potential because he's taught them to like winning.

"You teach them to like it," he said. "And if they like it, that's usually the ones that are runners and they learn what that competition is, that will to win."

Eyesa Special has been Brooks' fastest horse by winning a quarter of a mile race in 21:02 seconds during the 2000 All American Futurity Finals in New Mexico.

Every horse trainer dreams of winning the All American, he said. And the slim gray-haired cowboy rarely takes his mind off horses.

"That's all I ever think about," Brooks said. "It's my life. It's all I know. I never did nothing else. It is my life. Everybody says, 'What do you want to accomplish? Why do you want to keep doing it?'

"Well, there's something there--the competition. You can't quit."

Date: 4/21/05