Loretta Hardy is somewhat of a legend at Sunland Park Racetrack and Casino, which opens its live horse racing season Dec. 5.
Loretta has had quite a career in the sport. Her husband, the late Fred Hardy, was one of the most successful jockeys and horse trainers in the history of the Southwest. Loretta took up training herself and turned out some winners, too. She has been a member of the horse racing family at Sunland Park Racetrack since it opened in 1959. She and her husband made El Paso their home then and she’s still working at Sunland today at the age of 85, staying busy as a ticket seller.
As the live horse racing season approaches, please excuse her if she brags a little about her son, Kyle Hardy. You see, Kyle, 66, is now a powerlifting world champion in his age group. He capped off his career in that field with a 337-pound bench press at the International Powerlifting League World Championships in Las Vegas, Nevada, last year. And now, adding to Loretta’s joy, Kyle and his wife are coming to El Paso to spend Loretta’s 86th birthday and Thanksgiving Day with her. Her birthday is the day before Thanksgiving.
AS REPORTED in the Albuquerque Journal, Kyle’s success in lifting is astonishing considering he weighed 98 pounds when he was 16 years old. He had dieted so he could follow in his father’s footsteps and become a jockey. But that future ended when he started eating ice cream after his tonsils were removed. He liked it so much he began to put on weight. As he grew up he worked for his parents’ training stables, served three tours in Vietnam and became a world history teacher at Truman Middle School in Albuquerque.
In his spare time he took up weightlifting and you should see him now. He’s 5 feet 6 inches of solid muscle with a big chest and huge arms.
He says his wife, Sandra, wasn’t much impressed with his powerlifting career until they went to Las Vegas. “Then she thought it was cool,” he said.
His mother, Loretta, seems pretty cool about it, too.
TRIVIA QUESTION: Joe Namath led the New York Jets to a Super Bowl victory. But can you name the team he was on when he ended his NFL career? Answer at end.
SO WHAT does my crystal ball think about the UTEP women’s basketball chances this coming season? I hated to ask, but readers are wondering and I had no choice. I took it out of its drawer and put the question to it. “There you go bothering me again,” the obnoxious orb said. “So now you want to know how the Miners’ women’s team is going to do.”
It cleared its throat and continued, “Well, it looks like a tough go after last season’s performance when they even sold out the Don Haskins Center. I never thought I’d see the day. But the team has lost three key players – the point guard, a forward and the post woman. Those are crucial positions.
“BUT, AND this is an important ‘but,’ the Miners have a great coach in Keitha Adams. She’s won three conference championships and two NCAA bids and reached the finals of the WNIT during her time with the Miners. She’ll come up with something. The cupboard isn’t completely empty. She has an experienced guard returning and seven players between 6 feet and 6-feet-3 plus promising newcomers.
“Maybe no NCAA is in the cards this season but there’ll be plenty of victories.”
I thanked the crystal ball and, gratefully, put it back in its drawer.
ANSWER to trivia question: The Los Angeles Rams.