from the Agriculture and New York State Horse Breeding Development Fund

Schenectady, NY — The New York Sire Stakes has announced annual Breeders Awards for the 2018 racing season, totaling $1 million. Payment packages will be mailed to the recipients over the coming days. The full list of awards can be found at the New York Sire Stakes website.

The Breeders Awards program provides rewards for each level of New York Sire Stakes racing: Sire Stakes, Excelsior Series and County Fairs. The awards are residency based, rewarding breeders who keep their mares in New York State for at least 180 days during the year of conception, thereby contributing to the agricultural economy. The program is designed to stimulate New York State’s agriculture sector and support New York farms.

Top award winners in 2018, with key earners in parenthesis, include: Blue Chip Bloodstock Inc.-$165,587.44 (Plunge Blue Chip, Quincy Blue Chip); Winbak Farm-$87,405.15 (Courtly Choice, My Delight); Crawford Farms LLC–$58,525.64 (St Somewhere); Richard Balog-$44,833.48 (Helpisontheway); and Steve Jones-$43,541.87 (Hickfromfrenchlick).

“Breeders are the foundation of the harness racing industry. We are proud to support the investment they make in maintaining exceptional broodmares right here in the Empire State when breeding to New York-registered stallions,” said M. Kelly Young, executive director, Agriculture and New York State Horse Breeding Development Fund. “As the demand and quality of New York horses continues to be strong, so will the economic and agricultural benefits that the Standardbred breeding and racing industries provide to the State of New York.”

This year, the equivalent of nearly 20 percent of a 2-year-old’s earnings were returned to their breeder and more than 15 percent of a 3-year-old’s earnings were returned to their breeder. This calculation is made each year depending on the pool of resident mares and the Sire Stakes program earnings of the resulting foals. In addition, 12 breeders earned more than $15,000 in Breeders Awards and 161 different entities will receive funds in 2018.

The largest single Breeders Award earner this year was Helpisontheway (Chapter Seven). The 3-year-old trotting filly, who won on the Night of Champions, earned $262,000 of her $485,000 in purses this season in the New York Sire Stakes program. Her performance alone returned $40,846.43 to breeder Richard Balog.

The top Breeders Awards earners over their 2- and 3-year-old seasons combined were all fillies. Pacer Alexis Faith earned $54,230.79 for breeder Melvin Segal during her Sire Stakes career. Close behind were trotters Lucky Ava, who earned $52,803.99 over two years for breeder Little E LLC, and Plunge Blue Chip, who scored $49,300.05 for breeder Blue Chip Bloodstock.

The New York Sire Stakes is the state’s premier harness racing program for 2- and 3-year-old Standardbreds designed to stimulate the breeding, buying and racing of Standardbred horses in New York State. It is the nation’s oldest harness racing program of its kind and has served as a model for state-bred racing programs.