Bustamante Qualifies Into Lassie Futurity(RG2) After Stepping Out On His Own

David "T-Bone" Bustamante saddled his first stakes qualifier as a trainer in last Friday's $339,931 Lassie Futurity(RG2) trials at Delta Downs.

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VINTON, LA—APRIL 29, 2019—David Bustamante, affectionately known around the racetrack as 'T-Bone', scored a qualifier into the LQHBA Lassie Futurity(RG2) after recently taking out his trainers license. He has been a longtime assistant to several notable trainers.

After the trials were contested for the upcoming $339,931 Lassie Futurity(RG2) on April 26 at Delta Downs in Vinton, Louisiana, the Bustamante trained Boobookitty held on to the final spot to enter the field of the 330-yard stakes event to be contested on May 17, 2019.

It was Bustamante's first attempt to qualify a two-year-old into a futurity, and with his cousin Randy Edison in the irons, the Jumpn Chic filly ran a time of :16.929 to make the field.

A Racing Family

Trainer David 'T-Bone' Bustamante comes from a racing bloodline with his family history deeply entrenched in the Quarter Horse racing world.

Bustamante's father, Johnnie Bustamante, was a mainstay in Ruidoso from the late 1960's on into the mid-1980's. According to the Ruidoso Downs media guide, Johnnie Bustamante rode in five All American Futurities(G1) and trained two runners in the 1980's that started in that Labor Day Classic.

Johnnie Bustamante was also a long-time assistant to Ruidoso Racehorse Hall Of Fame trainer Bubba Werner, and was the regular gallop rider for All American Derby(G1) winner Mito Wise Dancer.

David Bustamante also has three brothers who have thrived in the racing industry. His brother J. Ray and Justo 'Bugsy' Bustamante are thoroughbred trainers throughout the Texas racing circuit, and his brother Rudy was also stakes winning jockey for many years in Quarter Horse racing.

Other than being in racing since childhood, David Bustamante has been a regular on the Louisiana Quarter racing scene for quite some time. Bustamante has had stints as the assistant trainer to such notable trainers as Kenny Roberts, Bill McIntosh, Lanny Keith and many others throughout his racing career.

This year (2019) marked the change in career that saw him branch out on his own, and now he has a qualifier in his first attempt with Boobookitty in the Lassie Futurity(RG2).

"This filly does everything right," said Bustamante. "Jockey Donald Watson had been taking her and was the regular rider, but he had to another obligation in her trial race. But she just stands in the gate properly and goes down the racetrack just like you want one to do. We are just so grateful and happy to have qualified with her."

The LQHBA Lassie Futurity(RG2) finals start off the weekend of stakes at Delta Downs on May 17th, with the 2-year-old males counterparts taking part in the finals of the $369,405 LQHBA Laddie Futurity(RG2) on May 18th. A full field of Louisiana-bred three-year olds will also take center stage on Laddie Futurity night in the $50,000 Vinton Stakes at 400 yards.