david anderson | Horse Racing Free Tips

Ontario Breeding Program Sees Growth In 2021

Over the last four weeks, The Jockey Club released its annual statistics for the North American breeding industry and Ontario showed positive gains across the board.

The number of Ontario-sired live foals reported to The Jockey Club through Oct. 4 was up 2.6 percent over last year, the number of stallions registered in the province increased by 12.5 percent and the number of mares reported bred through Oct. 18 was up 13.9 percent. Ontario was the only jurisdiction with positive gains in all three categories.

“Ontario, in terms of growth on the breeding side, is the number one jurisdiction in North America,” said David Anderson, Breeder Representative on the board of Ontario Racing and member of the Thoroughbred Improvement Program (TIP) Committee. “I just got back from the fall sales and quite honestly that's all everyone wants to talk about, are our programs. I think they are innovative and they are forward thinking, and we're going to bolster our numbers and bolster our quality going forward.”

Among the programs drawing interest from breeders and owners are the 2021-22 Mare Recruitment (MRP) and Purchase Programs (MPP), and the new for 2021 Ontario Sire Heritage Series and Sales Credit Program.

The Mare Recruitment and Purchase Programs offer breeders incentives totaling $800,000 for bringing new in-foal mares to the province. The MRP offers all breeders a $5,000 (CDN) incentive for every new mare brought to the province to foal in 2022, while the MPP gives Ontario residents a rebate of up to 50 percent, to a maximum of $25,000 (CDN), on the purchase price of an in-foal mare from an Ontario Racing recognized public auction. Mares enrolled in both programs are then eligible for a $2,500 (CDN) incentive if they are bred to a registered Ontario Sire in 2022.

“Last time we did the program was two years ago and we exhausted all the funding, we had to turn people away. And we got 129 new mares in the province, of which 79 of them bred back to Ontario sires,” said Anderson. “I think there's a lot of potential here in the province of Ontario going forward.”

The Ontario Sire Heritage Series saw Ontario Sired three-year-old colts and geldings and three-year-old fillies accumulate points in a trio of $80,000 legs at Woodbine and Fort Erie Racetracks over five, six and seven furlongs. The $100,000 finals, the Lake Ontario and Ashbridges Bay Stakes at 1-1/16 miles, are slated for Friday, Nov. 19 at Woodbine Racetrack with Reload offspring Red River Rebel and Sunsprite leading the way in the colt/gelding and filly point standings. A total of $70,000 in bonuses will go to the top three point earners in each division.

In addition, owners with registered Ontario Bred horses competing in claiming races at Woodbine and Fort Erie Racetracks earned credits for the Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society (CTHS) Ontario yearling and mixed sales each time their horse visited the winner's circle this season.

“Hopefully with some of the new programs, like the new Heritage Series, it's going to create new demand for the Ontario Sired horse,” said Peter Berringer, president of the Ontario division of the CTHS. “You have to be optimistic when the numbers show we've stabilized, and increased slightly, and are trending in the right direction.”

The post Ontario Breeding Program Sees Growth In 2021 appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Ontario’s Breeding Industry Shows 2021 Growth

Statistics for Ontario's part in the North American breeding industry were among The Jockey Club (TJC)'s annual reports released recently, with Ontario showing positive gains across the board.

The number of Ontario-sired live foals reported to TJC through Oct. 4 was up 2.6% from last year, while the number of stallions registered in the province increased by 12.5% and the number of mares reported bred through Oct. 18 was up 13.9%. Ontario was the only jurisdiction with positive gains in all three categories.

“Ontario, in terms of growth on the breeding side, is the number one jurisdiction in North America,” said David Anderson, breeder representative on the board of Ontario Racing and member of the Thoroughbred Improvement Program (TIP) Committee. “I just got back from the fall sales and quite honestly that's all everyone wants to talk about, are our programs. I think they are innovative and they are forward thinking, and we're going to bolster our numbers and bolster our quality going forward.”

Among Ontario's programs are the 2021-22 Mare Recruitment (MRP) and Purchase Programs (MPP), as well as the Ontario Sire Heritage Series and Sales Credit Program. For more information, visit tip.ontarioracing.com or contact tbprogram@ontarioracing.com.

The post Ontario’s Breeding Industry Shows 2021 Growth appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

McCormack Sees Early Return From Ontario Mare Purchase Program

In the fall of 2019, Bernard McCormack took advantage of Ontario's Mare Purchase Program to acquire Uncle Mo mare Aunty Mo at the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale.

The mare, a $22,000 (USD) purchase, was in foal to Tourist and delivered a handsome colt in February 2020. In September the youngster was the fourth highest seller at the Canadian Premier Yearling Sale, hammered down for $120,000 to Al and Bill Ulwelling, helped along by his 2-year-old full-sister Mo Touring's first-out victory at Gulfstream Park in June.

“It's a great program assisting our local breeders in retooling their broodmare band and bringing in some new blood,” said McCormack of the Mare Purchase Program, which provided him a 50 percent (CAD) rebate on Aunty Mo's initial purchase price. “The sales in Kentucky are full of mares that could do well in our program, and so when you are sent shopping with a de-escalator for cost of roughly 40 percent, depending on the exchange rate, it pays a lot of initial bills with the new purchase.”

McCormack also took advantage of the program when he added Queen Martha, a $16,000 (USD) acquisition from the Fasig-Tipton Mixed Sale, to his broodmare program in February 2020. The mare's English Channel colt sold for $30,000 (USD) this fall at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale, less than one month before his 3-year-old full-brother, British Royalty, won the Breeders' Stakes.

“We had an outlay of $38,000 and we have those results, and they're not results that we had to wait years and years for, they're results that happened almost right away,” said McCormack, whose Cara Bloodstock currently houses six broodmares in Janetville, Ontario. “In terms of getting your money back, you get the check from the Mare Purchase Program, and then you get to breed them back — and breed them to an Ontario sire, you can get a little dividend if you do that — and so everywhere you look it's supporting the breeder.

“It's a program that I have my clients look at closely and pay attention to, and I know it's been hard to get across the border, but things are starting to open up so this opportunity might actually be a little bit more available, given that people can actually travel to the sales as the US border opens.”

For 2021-22 the Mare Purchase Program offers Ontario residents a 50 percent rebate, to a maximum of $25,000 (CAD), on the purchase of any in-foal mare sold for a minimum of $10,000 at seven Ontario Racing recognized public auctions. The maximum benefit to any individual or entity is $75,000 CAD and, upon purchase, mares must meet the Ontario Resident Mare requirements.

In addition, the Mare Recruitment Program offers non-residents the opportunity to receive a $5,000 rebate for each mare brought to Ontario to foal in 2022, to a maximum of $25,000 (CAD). Mares must be new arrivals to the province, or have changed hands through a recognized public auction for a minimum purchase price of $5,000 (USD), and must meet the Ontario Resident Mare requirements.

Breeders who participate in either program are also eligible for a $2,500 (CAD) incentive for all enrolled mares who are then bred to a registered Ontario Sire in 2022.

Complete details and eligibility requirements for all three incentives are available on the Ontario Thoroughbred Improvement Program (TIP) website.

“Two years ago we brought in 129 new in-foal mares to the province, of which 79 of them were bred back to Ontario sires. Ontario is one of, I think, three jurisdictions in North America where our live foals reported actually went up,” said Ontario Racing TIP committee member David Anderson. “So the program is working, and we've tweaked it a bit this year, increasing some of the caps, lowering the floor to allow more people to get in, making it easier for the local breeders. It's the only one of its kind in North America and I would encourage all Ontario breeders to take advantage of it.”

The post McCormack Sees Early Return From Ontario Mare Purchase Program appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Little Brown Jug Win Caps Off Crazy Good 10 Days for Anderson

The 3-year-old pacing gelding Captain Barbossa didn’t look that good on paper in Thursday’s Little Brown Jug, one of harness racing’s most prestigious races. He was 0 for 11 on the year and 3 for 25 lifetime and was facing some of the best horses in his division. Even co-owner David Anderson conceded that victory seemed unlikely.

But Captain Barbossa came through, finishing second in the first heat and then winning the final by 1 1/2 lengths. He may not have been the best horse in the race, but he had the hottest owner. Since the first day of the Keeneland September sale, Anderson, a self-described “little guy from Canada,” is on a run he never could have imagined.

“I’m in quarantine now and I’m ready to bust out and buy a lottery ticket,” he said from his home in Ontario. “That’s how lucky I feel right now.”

It started on the first day of the Keeneland sale when his Anderson Farms sold a Medaglia d’Oro filly out of Orchard Beach (Tapit) for $1.6 million to Shadwell. It was the most ever paid at auction for one of his horses. Six days later, a horse he bred, Gretzky the Great (Nyquist), won the GI Summer S. at Woodbine, which is a “Win and You’re In” race for the GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf. Then came his win in the Jug.

The streak of good results continued Sunday when another horse Anderson bred, Hard Not to Love (Hard Spun), was a late-closing second in the GII Zenyatta S. at Santa Anita.

“I’ve been around this business long enough and having grown up in it, I know the highs are so high and the lows can be so low,” he said. “When you are fortunate enough to have a run like I had you just kind of sit back and enjoy it. You always know what is around the corner.”

While luck is often involved when someone goes on a tear like this, Anderson’s streak is the result of years of planning. He took over Anderson Farms when his father, Bob, died in 2010 and hit the reset button. He sold every mare he had but one and would also decide to cut back on the farm’s Standardbred operation.

His plan was to focus on quality. He now has 25 mares, which, he says, is a threefold increase from what he had just four years ago.

The first foal out of Orchard Beach was bought for $1.1 million by Coolmore and became a Group III winner in England, so Anderson had high expectations when the dam’s latest yearling entered the Keeneland ring.

“When you get it to that level at Keeneland, where you have the biggest owners in the world in on her, it becomes a question of who wants her most,” he said. “Did I think she was a $1-million filly? Absolutely. She’s the best filly I ever raised and certainly the most athletic. I was very proud and very humbled and thrilled that Shadwell got her.”

Anderson sold nine yearlings at Keeneland for a combined $2,433,000. The hope is that one or more will turn out to be as good as some of the stars produced by Anderson in recent years. Hard Not to Love is a Grade I winner who has earned over $530,000. Anderson also bred Wonder Gadot (Medaglia d’Oro), the 2018 Queen’s Plate S. winner whose earnings topped $1.5 million.

“I don’t think of myself as being a big breeder,” he said. “I have a small broodmare band and we’re kind of grassroots people. We do it old school. I have surrounded myself with the best people and we’ve been very, very lucky.”

Standardbreds were a major part of the Anderson operation under Bob Anderson. But his son decided to focus his attentions on breeding Thoroughbreds and got out of the Standardbred game. When the Thoroughbred operation got to be on solid footing, he ventured back into harness racing, starting at the 2017 sales.

“After building up our Thoroughbred broodmare band, I decided to dip my toe back in the water with the Standardbreds,” he said. “I had been down the breeding route. My business model is to breed and sell Thoroughbreds and buy and race Standardbreds. I love racing Standardbreds. I love the people. I am hoping I can continue to buy a couple every year and continue to get lucky.”

Anderson and partners paid $70,000 for Captain Barbossa at the 2018 Lexington Selected Yearling Sale. Up until the Jug, it looked like the best they could have hoped for from the son of Captaintreacherous was that he would continue to pick up checks. He had made most of the major 3-year-old pacing events, but couldn’t find the winner’s circle.

“This horse has been such a bad luck horse in terms of the draws,” Anderson said. “We were a victim of bad draws. Maybe he’s not the best horse out there but we always thought he was a good horse.”

To win the Jug a horse must qualify in a heat and then come back a few hours later to race in the finals. Captain Barbossa was sent off at 20-1 in his heat and managed to finish second. It was then that Anderson started to believe his horse had a serious chance of winning the final.

The Little Brown Jug is harness racing’s most unique race. It is held on a Thursday afternoon as part of the Delaware (Ohio) County Fair. It doesn’t have the biggest purse in the sport, but it is rich in tradition and, in non-COVID years, can attract crowds in the neighborhood of 50,000.

“There is so much history,” Anderson said. “It’s a race that every owner wants to win. That trophy is such a unique trophy. Everyone in racing knows what it is and what it represents.”

This time Captain Barbossa got the perfect trip, sitting third behind the two heat winners who battled through fast early fractions. Driven by Joe Bongiorno, the gelding passed the tired leaders, took over approaching the far turn and could not be caught.

“The Little Brown Jug. What can I say? It’s America’s race,” Anderson said. “To win that and be on that wall with so many other great champions, so many other great owners , trainers and drivers, it’s a real feather in my cap. I have a lot of people to be thankful for.”

The post Little Brown Jug Win Caps Off Crazy Good 10 Days for Anderson appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post