Go Man Go - Ownership and Registration Problems

Ownership and Registration Problems

In 1955, when Go Man Go was a two-year-old, A.B. Green bragged that he intended to buy the horse from Ferguson. Although Ferguson did not want to sell, he felt he had to at least set a price. After hearing rumors that Green was prepared with a cashier's check for $40,000 (approximately $347,000 as of 2013), Ferguson set the price at $42,000 cash (approximately $364,400 as of 2013) and twenty-one breedings to the stallion. To Ferguson's surprise, Green had that much cash available; Ferguson felt compelled to sell Go Man Go. Two years later, at a Los Alamitos race meet, Green claimed that his newest horse, Double Bid, could outrace Go Man Go. This incensed Ferguson, who had just entered Go Man Go's full brother Mr Mackay in a race with Double Bid. Ferguson bet Green $42,000 (approximately $347,500 as of 2013) against Go Man Go that Mr Mackay would beat Double Bid in the upcoming race. Mr Mackay won the race, and Ferguson regained ownership of Go Man Go. Later in 1960, because he also owned Go Man Go's full brother, father, and mother, he sold Go Man Go to Frank Vessels Sr. and Bill and Harriet Peckham for $125,000 (approximately $982,000 as of 2013). Later, however, all three horses retained by Ferguson died prematurely.

Green ran into problems with Go Man Go's registration. At that time, the AQHA had two types of registration, the Appendix and the Tentative. Appendix-registered horses were the offspring of Thoroughbreds and either Tentative-registered Quarter Horses or Appendix-registered Quarter Horses. Go Man Go was originally registered in the Appendix, as his dam was an Appendix-registered mare. The way to advance out of the Appendix into the Tentative registry was to qualify on performance grounds and pass a conformation examination conducted by the AQHA. Go Man Go certainly qualified under the performance criteria, but his conformation was such that he resembled a Thoroughbred more than he resembled a Quarter Horse. Green knew that in order to increase his stud fees—the price paid for the right to breed a mare to a stallion—Go Man Go needed to acquire a regular registration number instead of his Appendix number. So Green appealed to the Executive Committee of the AQHA, which had the authority to award Tentative numbers to horses regardless of conformation exam results. In both 1956 and 1957, the committee declined to take action, waiting to evaluate the quality of Go Man Go's first foals before making a decision. Finally, in 1958, they awarded Go Man Go number 82,000 in the Tentative registry.