New York-breds | Horse Racing Free Tips

New York Breeding Fund Adopts Mare Residency Rule Changes

In a public meeting subject to the Open Meetings Law, the Board of Directors of the New York State Thoroughbred Breeding and Development Fund on Oct. 29, 2020 adopted new rules concerning the residency requirements for dams of New York-bred foals, including certain mares that were purchased at public auction on or after Nov. 1, 2019.

It is anticipated that these new rules will become final upon publication in the State Register of New York on or about Nov. 18, 2020, and shall have retroactive effect with regard to eligible mares purchased at public auction sales occurring on or after November 1, 2019.

The new rules establish definitions for resident mares and non-resident mares and set forth program eligibility requirements for their foals. Under the new rules, a resident mare would be a mare that is continuously in residence in New York State from date of conception in New York State or within 120 days after her last cover in the year of conception occurring outside of New York State and that remains in the state until foaling the following year, with no breed-back required. Mares that maintain their New York State resident status can be covered each season by a stallion located anywhere in the world.

A non-resident mare would be a mare that does not qualify as a resident mare. However, under the new rules, a non-resident mare that is purchased in foal through public auction will be deemed to be a resident mare for all purposes if all of the following conditions are satisfied: (1) the mare is purchased for at least $50,000 in the public auction, (2) the mare is present in New York State within 15 days after the sale is concluded, (3) the foal from public auction mare is foaled in New York State and (4) the mare thereafter is continuously in residence in New York State from within 120 days after her last cover in the year of conception of another foal and remains in residency until foaling.

Breeding Fund chairman John Poklemba noted, “These changes will bring the New York Thoroughbred Breeding Program more in line with other states by removing perceived barriers to mares locating here. Also, by allowing high-priced mares to establish residency by moving to New York after they are purchased at auction, we expect to see even more quality New York-breds following in the hoofprints of Grade 1 winners such as Tiz the Law and Simply Ravishing.”

Breeding Fund executive director Tracy Egan said, “The Board can review the threshold price annually at its summer meeting and adjust it up or down as needed to recruit quality mares.”

There is an incentive to purchase New York-sired New York-breds pegged to these rule changes. One year after adoption, the Fund and NYRA will begin providing up to $650,000 per year in purse bonuses to owners. The bonus will be $5,000 every time a New York-sired New York-bred wins at the maiden special weight or allowance level at NYRA's tracks.

While the measure adopted by the Breeding Fund's board states that it starts in November of 2019, in practice the new rules would become effective starting with the mixed sales in November 2020 and the foal and breeding seasons of 2021.

For a complete description of these newly adopted rules, click here.

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Change to New York Breeding Fund Mare Rules

The New York State Thoroughbred Breeding and Development Fund (NYTBDF)’s board of directors announced Friday the adoption of new rules concerning the residency requirements for dams of New York-bred foals, including certain mares purchased at public auction on or after Nov. 1, 2019.

Under the new rules, a resident mare is a mare continuously in residence in the state of New York from date of conception in New York or within 120 days after her last cover in the year of conception occurring outside of New York and that remains in the state until foaling the following year, with no breed-back required. Mares that maintain their New York state resident status can be covered each season by a stallion located anywhere in the world.

Under the new rules, a non-resident mare purchased in foal through public auction will be deemed to be a resident mare for all purposes if all of the following conditions are satisfied: (1) the mare is purchased for at least $50,000 in the public auction, (2) the mare is present in the state of New York within 15 days after the sale is concluded, (3) the foal from public auction mare is foaled in New York and (4) the mare thereafter is continuously in residence in New York from within 120 days after her last cover in the year of conception of another foal and remains in residency until foaling.

“These changes will bring the New York Thoroughbred Breeding Program more in line with other states by removing perceived barriers to mares locating here,” said Breeding Fund Chairman John Poklemba. “Also, by allowing high-priced mares to establish residency by moving to New York after they are purchased at auction, we expect to see even more quality New York-breds following in the hoofprints of Grade I winners such as Tiz the Law and Simply Ravishing.”

It is anticipated that these new rules will become final upon publication in the State Register of New York on or about Nov. 18 and shall have retroactive effect with regard to eligible mares purchased at public auction occurring on or after Nov. 1, 2019.

“The Board can review the threshold price annually at its summer meeting and adjust it up or down as needed to recruit quality mares,” said Breeding Fund Executive Director Tracy Egan.

One year after adoption, the Fund and New York Racing Association (NYRA) will begin providing up to $650,000 per year in purse bonuses to owners. The bonus will be $5,000 every time a New York-sired New York-bred wins at the maiden special weight or allowance level at NYRA’s tracks.

While the measure adopted by the Breeding Fund’s board starts in November 2019, in practice the new rules would become effective starting with the mixed sales in November 2020 and the foal and breeding seasons of 2021.

For more information and a complete description, click here.

The post Change to New York Breeding Fund Mare Rules appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Mr. Buff Strikes Again To Lead Empire Showcase Day Winners

Chester and Mary Broman's Mr. Buff got back on track to take the $175,000 Empire Classic Handicap in front-running fashion for the second straight year, putting the finishing touches on a thrilling day of New York-bred stakes action on Saturday's annual Empire Showcase Day card at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.

Winning trainer John Kimmel praised the Bromans for their continued support of his barn and the New York-bred program, which shined on Saturday with eight stakes worth $1.2 million.

“They have been with me since their inception in the thoroughbred game,” said Kimmel. “They've been big supporters and sent me a lot of top well-bred New York-breds over the years.

“They have really taken the New York-bred program to another level,” added Kimmel. “No one has done what he's done and bred his mares to the best stallions in the marketplace – Tapit, Storm Cat, American Pharoah, Justify – he's really tried to prove that you can raise a good horse in New York.”

A hard-knocking 6-year-old, Mr. Buff began 2020 with smashing wins in the Jazil and Haynesfield at Aqueduct, the latter of which was a 20-length tour de force against state-breds that netted him a sparkling 106 Beyer Speed Figure, but he was well beaten in each of his last two starts. His disappointing results in the Grade 1 Whitney and Grade 2 Suburban this summer led to many jumping off his bandwagon in the 1 1/8-mile Empire Classic for 3-year-olds and up on the main track, as he was sent off as a distant 7-2 second choice in the wagering.

Breaking from post 2 with regular rider Junior Alvarado aboard, Mr. Buff broke sharply and went out to lead the field through sensible splits of 23.50 seconds for the opening quarter mile, 47.56 for the half, and 1:11.50 for three-quarters, and while he readily yielded a soft lead in the stretch of the Whitney in his most recent outing, he had no such trouble on Saturday as he powered home a 3 1/4-length winner over a talented group of late-runners.

Mr. Buff completed the distance in 1:48.75 and returned $9.40 on a $2 win wager, and the win gave the millionaire his 15th victory from 40 career starts for the Bromans, who also bred the Friend Or Foe gelding.

“He's a 17.1 [hands] horse with a huge stride length,” said Kimmel. “The key is to get to the top of the lane and switch to his outside lead turning for home. I knew then it was over and there was no way they were going to beat him at that point.”

Alvarado said he was determined to make Mr. Buff's challengers work for a shot at defeating the defending champ.

“The big horse is back. I couldn't be any happier for him. I really wanted to do it for him. He deserves it. He's the best older New York-bred,” said Alvarado. “I like him when he takes a hold of the bridle. That's how he likes to be ridden. I just got out of there running. I wasn't intending to get to the lead. I just wanted to get him out of there going forward and take my position, whatever it will be.

“He's a horse that can go 22 and 45, too, but I just gunned him out of there to get a good position,” continued Alvarado. “If anyone else wanted the lead they were going to have to work hard to get it, I wasn't going to give it to them easily today.”

Bankit came out on top of the host of pursuers that lined up to take their shots at Mr. Buff in the stretch of the Empire Classic. The son of Central Banker trained by Steve Asmussen had similarly gone off form in recent starts after a promising start to his 4-year-old campaign, but he closed strongly on the inside and finished a clear second by three lengths over Sea Foam.

Heavy favorite Funny Guy had to settle for fourth in his return to the statebred ranks. The John Terranova trainee had previously beaten Mr. Buff in the Commentator on June 12 at Belmont and won the John Morrissey at Saratoga against New York-breds, but he couldn't get back to his best form in the Empire Classic and finished a neck behind Sea Foam.

Winston's Chance, Chestertown, and Evaluator completed the order of finish. Our Last Buck was scratched.

In the $175,000 Empire Distaff for fillies and mares at 1 1/16 miles on the main track, the class-dropping Lucky Move turned heads with an impressive sustained rally around the far turn that propelled her to victory for trainer Juan Carlos Guerrero and owner Ten Strike Racing.

A 6-year-old daughter of Lookin At Lucky, Lucky Move had been a frequent visitor to the New York-bred ranks over the winter at Aqueduct Racetrack, but the remainder of her 2020 campaign was spent in open company stakes races, which produced a win in the Obeah at Delaware Park in late spring. Despite her credentials, she was sent off at 4-1 in the Empire Distaff and fittingly made a four-wide blitz under Irad Ortiz, Jr. around the turn to seize control of the lead in upper stretch, with enough left in the tank to hold off a late-charging Mrs. Orb for a 1 3/4-length victory.

Bred by Maltese Cross Stables and Stonegate Stables, Lucky Move returned $10.40 as the third choice in the wagering and completed the distance 1:43.36.

Fellow 6-year-old mare and race favorite Ratajkowski finished fourth, just behind Makingcents in third. Singular Sensation, Forever Changed, and Critical Value completed the order of finish.

Trainer Daniel Velazquez made a splash on Empire Showcase Day taking the first two stakes on the card, which were also the first two stakes scores of the young conditioner's career.

Laobanonaprayer kicked off the stakes action on Empire Showcase Day with an emphatic upset in the $150,000 Maid of the Mist for 2-year-old fillies at a mile on the main track, which she won by 5 1/2 lengths at odds of 8-1.

Owned and trained by the mid-Atlantic based horseman Velazquez, Laobanonaprayer entered the race as a maiden but surged to an easy win in the stretch after settling off the early pace and drafting behind runners around the turn before being tipped into the clear by jockey Kendrick Carmouche turning for home.

Laobanonaprayer, a daughter of Laoban bred by Christina Deronda, completed the distance in 1:38.06 and returned $19.20 on a $2 win wager. Her breakthrough score happened to coincide with her donning blinkers for the first time in her young career.

Co-favorite Frost Me finished second, 1 1/2 lengths ahead of Chasing Cara, who was followed home by Party At Page's, Infringement, and Mashnee Girl. Cara's Dreamer was scratched.

Velazquez, who saddled his first winner in 2009, waited 11 years to notch his first career stakes win but needed a little more than a half hour to record his second stakes victory when Brooklyn Strong followed his stablemate with a 2 1/4-length score in the $150,000 Sleepy Hollow for juveniles going one mile in Race 3.

Like his stablemate the race prior, Brooklyn Strong stayed off the pace before showing late speed. Eagle Orb led the seven-horse field through the opening quarter-mile in 23.63, the half in 47.17 and three-quarters in 1:11.86.

In the stretch, Brooklyn Strong continued to close strong under Jose Ortiz, overtaking Eagle Orb in the final furlong before drawing away to complete the mile in 1:37.16.

“We came in very confident with both horses. We loved the distances for them,” said Velazquez.

“You kind of foresee it and wish it but you don't know if it's going to happen, but it happened,” Velazquez added about his remarkable day. “There was a lot of hard work going into this.”

Owned by Mark Schwartz and bred by Cheryl Prudhomme and Dr. Michael Gallivan, Brooklyn Strong, off at 7-2, returned $9.60 and earned blacktype for a second consecutive stakes after running third in the Bertram F. Bongard on October 2 at Belmont.

Eagle Orb ran 2 1/4 lengths clear of the favorite Breadman for second. Hold the Salsa, Masked Marauder, Let's Workout and Boss Bear completed the order of finish.

Lawrence Goichman homebred Myhartblongstodady made every pole a winning one to run her current win streak to four in the $150,000 Ticonderoga for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up going 1 1/16 miles on the firm inner turf in Race 4.

Trained by Jorge Abreu and perfectly piloted by Jose Lezcano, the 5-year-old Scat Daddy mare marked off moderate splits of 25.11, 51.05 and 1:14.51 with Short Pour tracking in second. The dark bay, who picked up her first stakes win last out in the Yaddo on September 4 at Saratoga, enjoyed a 2 1/2-length lead at the stretch call and despite bearing out in the stretch run extended her winning margin to three lengths in a final time of 1:44.66.

War Canoe earned place by a neck over Niko's Dream with Wegetsdamunnys, Pecatonica and Short Pour rounding out the order of finish.

Sent to post as the even money favorite, Myhartblongstodady returned $4.20.

Ronald A Brown's Tribecca led gate-to-wire in the 43rd running of the $125,000 Hudson going 6 1/2 furlongs for 3-year-olds and up in Race 7 to give Carmouche his second score of the afternoon.

Trained by Chris Englehart, the 6-year-old Bustin Stones gelding set swift splits of 22.27, 45.29 and 1:09.54 under pressure from Arthur's Hope. Under siege from Captain Bombastic and Big Engine in the stretch run, Tribecca continued to find more and powered home a three-length winner in 1:16.01.

Bred by Laurel Least and Joseph Lech, Tribecca improved his record to 39-13-5-5.

A loaded renewal of the $150,000 Mohawk in Race 8 went to 6-5 favorite Somelikeithotbrown, who prevailed by 1 1/2 lengths in the 1 1/16-mile turf event for 3-year-olds and up, a division that has routinely produced some of the finest performances in the New York-bred ranks.

After trainer Jimmy Bond's Rinaldi broke on top over Belmont's inner turf course, the speedy Somelikeithotbrown, who's historically been at his best on the lead, was ridden aggressively to the front by Hall of Fame jockey Javier Castellano. Their gambit paid off handsomely as, despite carving out some taxing early fractions on a firm turf course that had some give to it, Somelikeithotbrown stayed on resolutely in the stretch to easily thwart a challenge from Therapist.

The win marked the first time Somelikeithotbrown faced fellow statebreds since he broke his maiden by eight lengths as a 2-year-old at Saratoga in August 2018. The talented son of Big Brown, bred in tandem by Hot Pink Stables and Sand Dollar Stables, won the Grade 3 Jack Ruby Steaks as a sophomore and the Grade 2 Bernard Baruch at the Spa earlier this year against open company for trainer Mike Maker.

Owned by Skychai Racing LLC and David Koenig, he completed the distance in a rapid 1:42.02 and returned $4.50.

Therapist finished second, 2 1/2 lengths in front of Somelikeithotbrown's stablemate Cross Border, whose resume entering the race was nearly as impressive as the winner's. Dot Matrix, Sanctuary City, and Rinaldi rounded out the order of finish. Yankee Division and Opt were scratched.

Parx-shipper Collegeville Girl schooled the field in the $125,000 Iroquois in Race 9, rallying from last-of-10 heading into the turn before surging under jockey Joel Rosario in the stretch. Angled out wide in the straightaway, the 4-year-old Central Banker filly picked off rivals one-by-one before overtaking Timely Tradition in the final sixteenth and fending off Prairie Fire by a half-length.

Trained by Richard Vega, Collegeville Girl, bred by Andy Beadnell, won for the second time in three career Belmont starts, returning $48.20 as a 23-1 longshot. Owned by Robert Brittingam, Salvatore De Bunda and Wire To Wire Stable, she completed the 6 1/2-furlong sprint for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up over Big Sandy in a final time of 1:16.48.

Prairie Fire, trained by Linda Rice, edged Timely Tradition by a neck for second. Officer Hutchy, Espresso Shot, Fair Regis, Bertranda, Spin a Yarn, Newly Minted and My Roxy Girl completed the order of finish.

Live racing resumes on Sunday at Belmont with a 10-race card highlighted by the Grade 3, $100,000 Athenia. First post is 12:40 p.m. Eastern.

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Breeders’ Cup Presents Connections: Birthday ‘Wishes’ Come True For Meg Levy

Meg Levy can't remember how she heard about the $500 Thoroughbred mare needing a home in February of 2017, but she's incredibly glad she decided to go see “Four Wishes” on the way to the Fasig-Tipton sale that afternoon.

The daughter of More Than Ready had been abandoned by a previous owner after running up a board bill. She had a Revolutionary foal on the ground and was in foal to the same sire, as well, but Four Wishes wasn't likely to be particularly commercial – the mare's catalog page was not inspiring, and she'd raced five times without ever finishing better than sixth.

It was Levy's birthday, though, and something told the founding owner of the Bluewater Sales consignment agency to bring the mare home. Three and a half years later, the $500 rescue mare has turned into a fairy tale success: Four Wishes' Laoban filly, Simply Ravishing, won the Grade 1 Alcibiades at Keeneland on Oct. 2.

“You just can't make it up, truly, we all need a good story right now,” Levy said. “I was lucky enough to be there when she crossed the finish line! Keeneland is kind of strange and spooky without people there, but you can move around so freely and be really close to the racetrack, and we kind of ran with her to the wire.

“Four Wishes really had all the negatives: she couldn't run a jump, and they always say never buy a mare with two blank dams, well, she had them. … It sounds kind of cheesy when I tell the story, but we'd never had anything happen like that for ourselves.”

After purchasing Four Wishes in February of 2017, Levy sent the mare to Stone Gate Farm in New York in the hopes of making her Revolutionary foal somewhat commercially viable. After the mare foaled a colt that April, Levy decided to send her to first-year sire Laoban on her husband's breeding right.

Four Wishes and her colt came home to Kentucky in the summer, and the following April her Laoban filly was born in the New York.

Levy's son, Ryder, saw the filly first. He sent his mother a text message with a photograph of the filly out in the field.

“Looks like a bunch of early breeders awards to me,” he wrote.

Those words proved prophetic down the road, but there were more bumps in the road before Simply Ravishing's long-predicted success.

Four Wishes' Revolutionary colt was not accepted to the New York-bred sale and brought a final bid of just $8,000 when sold at Fasig-Tipton October in 2018. He wound up headed to Peru, and Levy doesn't know whether the now 3-year-old has yet raced.

Four Wishes was bred to Daaher next, also on a breeding right, but she suffered a dystocia due to the foal's large size, and sadly that foal did not survive. The mare was badly bruised, Levy said, and was given a year off from the breeding shed to recover.

All that happened shortly before Levy was preparing to send Four Wishes' Laoban filly to the 2019 Fasig-Tipton New York-bred sale.

“Laoban foals were really selling well, and they were all pretty athletic looking,” Levy remembered. “I was already at the sale, and the crew at the farm was loading the horses on the trailer to ship them up to me. They sent me a text, as people sending me bad news tend to do, that once she got on the trailer she really wasn't happy and kicked the wall so hard she tore up her hind foot.

“She was going to be just fine, but obviously she had to get off the van and couldn't go to the sale. I was really disappointed and admittedly pretty grumpy about it.”

Levy re-entered the filly in the Fasig-Tipton October sale, and hoped that her impressive physical would be enough to draw the right kind of attention.

“As she was growing up, she just was so simple,” Levy said. “She was always stunning, always in motion, always the right weight, always shiny, always correct. There was none of this messing around business with awkward stages; she just stood out.”

Though she lacked a commercially attractive pedigree, the filly's good looks were enough to draw the attention of trainer Ken McPeek. His final bid of $50,000 was enough to land the filly.

“She was just the kind of filly Kenny likes, real athletic-looking,” Levy said. “He doesn't care about the page so much, and I knew he'd give her every chance.”

Levy had known McPeek since the time she had galloped for John Ward, and then worked with him at 505 Farm. When Levy first opened her consignment business in 1999, McPeek was one of her first successful customers.

Oddly enough, it was with another filly who had two blank dams on her catalog page. This filly had trouble passing the veterinary inspection; of 12 vets who scoped her airway, only McPeek's vet gave the filly a passing grade.

McPeek landed the daughter of Dehere for $175,000 at the 2000 Fasig-Tipton July sale, and the following year Take Charge Lady won Keeneland's Alcibiades.

Take Charge Lady had great success on the track, winning a total of five Grade 1 races and $2.4 million, and she went on to immeasurable success as Broodmare of the Year and dam of two Grade 1 winners, Take Charge Indy and champion Will Take Charge.

The similarities between the two fillies' storylines are the kind of thing that just can't be made up, Levy said, laughing. She remembered attending the 2001 Alcibiades and cheering Take Charge Lady to victory.

“I knew so little [about industry protocols] back then,” said Levy. “I ran across the rail to get to the winner's circle for the photo, and I'm sure everybody in there was like, 'Who is this girl?'”

A more seasoned veteran now, Levy was still emotional after Simply Ravishing's big win in the Alcibiades. Her son Ryder, now 29, had been such a huge fan of the filly's from the very beginning, and he'd surprised his mother by asking the farm manager to name Levy the sole breeder for the first time in her career.

McPeek stayed in touch about the filly through her early training, sending videos of Simply Ravishing's progress ahead of her first start.

“I thought, 'Well, she looks pretty good,'” Levy recalled. “I had taken our farm manager to brunch on that Sunday that she ran for the first time, and I missed her race and then my phone just started blowing up when she broke her maiden at Saratoga.”

After her maiden victory on the turf, McPeek stepped Simply Ravishing up to New York-bred stakes company. The race came off the grass, and the filly won by several lengths.

“I thought, 'Wow, this is pretty crazy,'” Levy said. “When he entered her in the Alcibiades, though, I thought, 'Hmm, could this really happen?'”

Apparently, Wishes do come true.

Simply Ravishing winning the Darley Alcibiades

Simply Ravishing won the Alcibiades by 6 1/4 lengths, completely dominating the competition in an impressive gate-to-wire performance. She's likely to be one of the favorites in the upcoming Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies on Nov. 6 at Keeneland.

“After this filly won, I actually ran into the guy who'd had Four Wishes at a reining show,” Levy said. “I tried to ask him about her first filly, by Revolutionary, but I guess he sold her as a riding horse prospect and didn't remember much more than that.”

Levy posted a snapshot of Four Wishes' story on social media following the Alcibiades win, and has enjoyed the excited reaction of so many of her friends. One major Kentucky breeder even told Levy's husband that after learning about the story, he went out and rescued a mare himself.

Four Wishes was bred to Speightster for 2021, and Levy is excited to see what the future will bring with her miracle mare. The entire story reminds Levy of a conversation she had with breeder Helen Alexander when she first got into the business.

“I remember asking her to lunch years ago, because she was someone I've always respected from the very beginning,” Levy said. “I asked if I could pick her brain, said, 'I'm trying to find my way and I really need some advice.' She just kind of said, basically, 'Breed your mares well, take care of them well, and they'll take care of you.' She actually called to congratulate me after Simply Ravishing won!”

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