by Bill Heller, for the Harness Horse Breeders of New York State

Latham, NY — Talk about a long layoff. After 17 years in hibernation, New York State harness breeder awards will return to life on June 8 when the first New York Sire Stakes event of 2008, a 3-year-old filly trot, is held at Saratoga Gaming and Raceway.

The trustees of the Agriculture and New York State Horse Breeding Development Fund approved the breeder awards unanimously last year and announced them on April 2.

The breeder awards will be offered for eligible 2- and 3-year-olds at each level of New York Sire Stakes racing — the Sire Stakes, State Fair, Late Closers and County Fairs — who finish first through fifth in races. The award percentages will correspond to the purse percentages for the top five finishers in a race, 50-25-12-8-5 percent, respectively.

To be eligible, the horse must be nominated to the New York Sire Stakes or be subsequently entered into sire stakes events. The breeder is defined as the owner of the mare at the time of mating as declared to the United States Trotting Association. In the case of multiple breeders, the Fund will contact the first breeder listed on the USTA’s registration papers. It will be the breeder’s responsibility to ensure accurate records are kept on all progeny.

“We’ve been working on this for a year,” Peter Goold, executive director of the Fund, said in mid-April. “Our breeder awards program is just one more reason to breed Standardbreds in New York State.”

Initially, funds for the awards will be derived from 10 percent of the Fund’s New York State Breeding Farm Account — which accrues revenues received by the New York Sire Stakes from July 1 through June 30, coinciding with the New York Sire Stakes purse year.

The Fund estimates that breeder awards for the 2008 racing season will be as high as $1 million, which would be one-sixth what the new Pennsylvania breeders awards will reach in 2008 thanks to the successful infusion of slots revenue at Pennsylvania racetracks beginning Nov. 14, 2006.

“The reality is that breeders awards in any program are always at the expense of the purses,” David Hanson, president of the Harness Horse Breeders of New York, said April 21. “Our purses project to be slightly over $15 million this year; Pennsylvania’s is $10 million.”

Legislation approving video lottery terminals (VLTs) at New York State’s harness tracks, Aqueduct Racetrack and Finger Lakes Gaming and Racetrack was passed in October, 2001. Saratoga Gaming and Raceway became the first New York State track to offer VLTs on January 28, 2004. New York’s other harness tracks followed: Monticello, Batavia, Buffalo Raceway, Tioga Downs, Vernon Downs and most recently Yonkers Raceway, which added VLTs on Oct. 11, 2006.

New York State’s original harness breeder awards program began in 1977 and lasted through 1991 “when revenue became too low to adequately provide the monetary awards,” according to the New York Sire Stakes.

“New York State has a rich history in horse racing, which has always made it a desirable racing state,” Dan Hogan, chairman of the Fund and also chairman of the New York State Racing and Wagering Board, said. “With the return of the breeders’ awards for the New York Sire Stakes, we hope to turn the spotlight on New York State as a desirable place to breed Standardbreds as well.”

Keeping competitive with Pennsylvania’s burgeoning breeder awards won’t be easy. In the first eight days of the Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs 2008 meet, members of the Pennsylvania Harness Horsemen’s Association had already earned $75,000 in bonuses, according to PHHA President Earl Beal, Jr. The bonus of 20 percent for any Pennsylvania owned, trained or sired winning horse, was created by the PHHA Board of Directors specifically for the 2008 meet.

Horses could earn up to a 60 percent bonus: 20 percent of the 2008 bonus, 20 percent if the victory came in a Pennsylvania-sired race, plus an additional 20 percent if a horse meeting the first two conditions won from post position nine. That only happened once in 2007, but many horses would have qualified for the 40 percent bonus from the first two criteria last year.

Additionally, purses have been raised from 10 to 15 percent at Pocono Downs from 2007.

Last year, both state residents and out-of-state residents who bred their mares to Pennsylvania stallions shared $5.8 million, with stallion owners receiving $600,000. This year’s distribution will change, increasing the percentage to breeders who keep their mares in Pennsylvania.

Residency premiums in New York will begin with mares bred in 2009, Hanson said. For now, he sees the breeders awards as a positive: “I think it’s a nice thank you for participating in the program.”

For further information contact: Joe Spadaro – HHBNYS Web site Coordinator via e-mail at joespa@nycap.rr.com or by Cell at (518) 744-5144.