NY Stallion Incentives Proposed To Reverse ‘Dangerous Trend’

With a 60% majority of New York-bred foals now sired by out-of-state stallions, the board of directors for the New York Thoroughbred Breeding and Development Fund (NYTBDF) is reaching out to the state's stallion owners to try and spark incentivization ideas that might swing that balance back toward in-state sires.

Chief among the concepts that have the most traction so far are 1) recalculating the splits of the fund so that more money flows to stallion owners; and 2) changing rules at tracks so that eligibility in New York-bred races would be based on the virtue of a sire standing in the state, regardless of where his offspring are foaled.

At Tuesday's NYTBDF meeting, board member Joe McMahon, who runs McMahon of Saratoga Thoroughbreds, articulated key points from a recent several-hour conference call he organized among 10 in-state stallion owners to “get the pulse of what they were feeling in the business.”

McMahon said that of those 60% of outside-sired foals dropped in New York, the “vast majority” were by Kentucky stallions.

“The trend is, and it has been over the last 10 years, more and more Kentucky-sired New York-breds,” McMahon said. “So that's having a bad effect on the stallion business in New York. It's having a bad effect on selling the 'get' of New York stallions in New York. It's having a negative effect on selling seasons to New York stallions.”

McMahon said the issue that repeatedly got hammered home during the conference call was, “What can we do to help change that, because it's a dangerous trend? If it continues to go up like that, it's going to be very hard to fund a stallion business in New York if only 30% to 40% of the mares are willing to breed to a New York stallion.”

In the brainstorming session, McMahon said the stallion owners tried to limit the scope of what could be done to things that do not require the cumbersome process of changing the state's breeding laws via the legislature.

One suggestion on the restructuring of fund payments involved changing the owners' awards so that the fund would not pay owners' awards in open races at New York Racing Association (NYRA) tracks. McMahon said that change would not apply to Finger Lakes, because its use of that bonus system is an integral part of the racing program there.

Regarding changing the eligibility status, McMahon said such a move would bring New York in line with programs in other states and in Canada.

“We could change that, and get more field size, and get more New York-sired product running in New York races,” McMahon said. “That would be a real incentive for people to use New York stallions, because they would have dual eligibility. They would be eligible for races in New York, and they'd be eligible for races in their own state, wherever they happen to foal.”

McMahon added that the owners of those horses sired by a New York stallion but not foaled in the state would not garner award payments from the fund. It's strictly a way to make them eligible for races.

“The racetracks are desperate to increase entries,” McMahon said. “They are in a terrible situation, and it's going to get worse, because the purses all around the country are getting higher and higher…. As it is right now, they are in a real fight to keep horses racing in New York…

“There's an opening for discussion with NYRA on this thing. It would benefit NYRA by virtue of adding more horses into their eligibility program, and it would certainly incentivize New York people to breed to New York stallions.”

McMahon termed the eligibility-tweaking idea as having “zero impact on the industry from the point of view of taking money from somebody or redistributing money” while also providing “significant value” to the progeny of those New York stallions.

NYTBDF board member Najja Thompson, who serves as the executive director at New York Thoroughbred Breeders, Inc., said the conference call was “a good first step in meeting with stallion owners to hear their utmost concerns, and now we want to take the steps to get into the research” and seek additional commentary from other stakeholders.

Separately, Adam Lawrence, the NYTBDF's registrar, gave an update on the October 2020 rule amendment concerning mares who sold at public auction for $50,000 or more coming into the state to foal.

Lawrence explained that rather than being required to be bred back to a New York stallion to maintain the eligibility of those foals, those mares are now allowed to leave the state to be covered elsewhere. They can return within 120 days and eventually drop that second foal in New York, with both offspring eligible to be registered as New York-breds.

“We did this to increase the number and quality of mares in the state,” Lawrence said.

In 2021, Lawrence said, 115 total new mares entered the state after being purchased at public auction, with 42 of them having hammered for $50,000 or more. Eight were bred back to New York stallions.

In 2022, 80 auctioned mares came into the state, with 32 of them having sold at $50,000 or above (breed-back numbers for this season are not yet complete).

“I think this is around what we were expecting. We were hoping for maybe 50 or so $50,000-sale  mares,” Lawrence said. “We're a little bit below that, but it's still definitely a big difference–[195] new mares in the state from public auction in the last two years, with 74 total above $50,000.”

McMahon asked Lawrence if the NYTBDF was compiling data on who bought those mares. Lawrence replied that he didn't have those details, but that he could get them prior to the next board meeting.

McMahon said it's important to know, because it was his belief that “the stallion farms bought most of the mares. Of the 115 that were brought in '21, the number was extremely slanted towards people who owned stallions who bought those mares. So I'm just wondering if that's a trend. I think it's something we should be tracking.”

The NYTBDF is a public benefit corporation that oversees the registration process for foals and stallions and distributes incentives in the form of awards. The money provided by the fund comes from a percentage of the state's Thoroughbred racing handle, plus video lottery revenues at Aqueduct and Finger Lakes.

The post NY Stallion Incentives Proposed To Reverse ‘Dangerous Trend’ appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

NYTB Appoints Thompson to NYRA, NYTBDF Boards

New York Thoroughbred Breeders has announced Executive Director Najja Thompson will be appointed, as the NYTB’s representative, to the New York Racing Association Board of Directors and the New York Breeding and Development Fund Board of Directors, made effective at a Dec. 18 meeting of the Board. Thompson’s appointment fills the vacancies created with the resignation of former Executive Director Jeffrey Cannizzo, who will join NYRA on Jan. 1 as Senior Director of Government Affairs.

“I feel very fortunate to represent the interests of breeders in New York with this opportunity,” said Thompson. “The state of New York plays an integral part as a leader in our industry, and I’m honored to play a direct role in continuing to better our sport as a member of both the NYRA and the New York Breeding and Development Fund Board of Directors.”

Thompson, a graduate of Florida State University and Vice President of the Turf Publicists of America, worked in various roles in the marketing department, communications office, and most recently in the human resources department at NYRA prior to joining the NYTB Dec. 14.

“The NYTB Board of Directors is pleased to have Najja represent us on both the NYRA and New York State Development and Breeding Fund Boards,” said Thomas Gallo, President of the NYTB. “With his background, experience, and expertise he will be able to be an innovative force in synergizing the accomplished members of all boards to forward the interests of breeding and racing in New York. I am confident he will usher us into a new era of strength through unity in building a bigger and better Thoroughbred Horse industry in New York.”

The post NYTB Appoints Thompson to NYRA, NYTBDF Boards appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

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.

Source of original post

Verified by MonsterInsights