R.D. HUBBARD
R.D. Hubbard was an influential horseman who was born in Smith Center, Kansas, on June 13, 1935. He was the youngest of eight children. He worked in his family’s icehouse and attended Butler Community College in El Dorado, Kansas. Upon graduation, he became a teacher.
Hubbard left teaching to become a glass salesman in 1959. Nine years later, he became president of Safelite Auto Glass. In 1978, he formed his own company, AFG Industries, which he helped grow into the second-largest glass manufacturer in North America.
During his first years in the glass business in Kansas, Hubbard and his boss, Art Lankin, became interested in Quarter Horses. While they started with show horses, it quickly became apparent that racing was more lucrative, which launched Hubbard’s career in the racing industry.
In his own name, he has bred the earners of more than $4.7 million, and owned, bred and raced many more in partnerships. Among the many horses he was involved with are champions Brenda Beautiful, Denim N Diamonds, Feature Mr Bojangles, Ketel Won, My Dashing Lady, Noconi, Stoli and Super Sound Charge.
He also raced Thoroughbreds, with such luminaries as Corwyn Bay (IRE), Gentlemen (ARG), Stravinsky and many more.
Many great horses came from his Crystal Springs Farm, first located in Kentucky and now in New Mexico.
Hubbard bought Ruidoso Downs in 1988 with partner Dr. Ed Allred, and eventually became the sole owner until he sold it in 2017.
“Dee Hubbard meant as much to the Quarter Horse business as anyone we’ve ever seen,” said Lowell Neumayer, manager of the Ruidoso Sale Co. “If it hadn’t been for Dee, I don’t believe there would be a Ruidoso Downs. After working hard to get gaming in New Mexico, several attempts had failed. He stayed committed until it passed and racing could prosper.
He also built and operated The Woodlands, a dual greyhound and racehorse facility in Kansas City, Kansas. In addition, Hubbard has been chairman of Hollywood Park and Turf Paradise, and he headed a group that was awarded the license to build Zia Park in 2003.
He helped create the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, and as a member of NTRA’s board of directors, he co-founded its Racing Integrity and Drug Testing Task Force.
Hubbard and his wife, Joan Dale, founded the R. D. and Joan Dale Hubbard Foundation in 1986; The Shoemaker Foundation, formed in 1991; and the Hubbard Museum of the American West in Ruidoso Downs, New Mexico.
The R.D. and Joan Dale Hubbard Foundation supports charitable causes for which the two have special regard. To date, the foundation has given more than $47 million to educational scholarships to Hubbard’s alma mater, Butler County Community College; the Shoemaker Foundation; the Racetrack Chaplaincy of America; American Quarter Horse Foundation; projects in poor communities in southeastern New Mexico; medical research; and additional causes.