Tag: Pennsylvania Leaderboard

It doesn't take long for a good Pennsylvania-bred to make serious money for their connections within the state's program, and Disco Ebo displayed this notion to perfection through the first two months of 2023.

The 4-year-old Weigelia filly earned a combined $78,540 in breeder's awards, stallion owner's awards, and owner's bonuses through Feb. 28, to pace all horses within the program.

That money was earned by a pair of allowance sprint victories through the first two months of the year, both at Parx Racing.

On Jan. 24, Disco Ebo took a four-wide trip through to a powerful stretch drive to prevail in a six-furlong race by two lengths under jockey Frankie Pennington. The same rider was aboard on Feb. 15 when Disco Ebo led at every point of call in a 5 1/2-furlong race to win easily by 6 3/4 lengths.

After the cutoff date for these rankings, Disco Ebo added a victory in the Penn's Landing Stakes on March 7 at Parx, once again getting loose on the lead and drawing off to win the 6 1/2-furlong race by 6 3/4 lengths as the overwhelming favorite. The Penn's Landing was Disco Ebo's third career stakes victory, and her first since taking the Youngstown Oaks at Mahoning Valley Race Course on Nov. 21 of last year.

Robert Reid Jr. trains Disco Ebo for the partnership of Cash Is King and LC Racing. Because the filly was both bred and sired in Pennsylvania, she was eligible for a 40 percent owner bonus on her purse earnings for races at Parx. For those two victories, her owners earned an additional $28,560 because of her status in the Pennsylvania-bred program.

Disco Ebo was bred in Pennsylvania by Stephen and Susan Quick's St. Omer's Farm, which earned $39,984 in breeder's awards for the filly's two victories. Horses bred and sired in the Keystone State are eligible for a 40 percent purse bonus on non-maiden races.

For a pair of victories, Disco Ebo earned WynOaks Farm, the home of sire Weigelia, $9,996 in stallion's awards. Registered Pennsylvania-breds by a state-resident sire earn a 10 percent bonus on purse for first-through-third efforts at tracks within the state.

Disco Ebo was the centerpiece of a big two months for veteran sire Weigelia, whose offspring occupied each of the top five spots among total Pennsylvania incentive earners.

That start to the season put Weigelia comfortably in the lead among stallion's award incentive earners through the first two months of the year, with his total of $43,770 safely outpacing second-place Uptowncharlybrown at $29,368. After playing second fiddle to cornerstone Pennsylvania sire Jump Start for several years in the stallion award earnings race, Weigelia finally overcame his late rival for the first time in 2022, bringing in $186,200 compared with Jump Start's $178,938.

Leading Pennsylvania Incentive Earners, Through February 2023

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Pennsylvania features one of North America's most lucrative breeder's awards for Thoroughbred racing, and no farm took advantage of that in 2023 quite like Blackstone Farm.

The Pine Grove, Penn.,-based operation of Christian Black and Douglas Black (no relation) finished 2022 as the state's leading earner of breeder's awards, bringing in $423,292, well ahead of second-place William J. Solomon with $312,162.

For horses bred and sired in Pennsylvania, breeders earn a 50 percent bonus on purse earnings for maiden races run within the state. Runners bred in the state but sired by a horse standing elsewhere are eligible for a 25 percent bonus. For all other races within the Keystone State, runners bred and sired in Pennsylvania can earn a 40 percent bonus, while those by out-of-state sires earn their breeders a 20 percent bonus.

Blackstone Farm's fortunes were led in 2022 by Divine Miracle, a Distorted Humor gelding who generated $42,682 in breeder's awards. Last year's campaign was the strongest by Divine Miracle to date, racking up six wins in 11 starts, all at Parx Racing, with just one out-of-the-money effort.

His season started with a three-race winning streak, starting with a pair of seven-furlong sprints and concluding in a 1 1/16-mile starter handicap, where he set the early pace and held on by a neck. Divine Miracle finished second in the following start, then he won three of his next four races, with the most lucrative being a $75,400 one-mile allowance optional claiming race on Aug. 3, where he stalked the leader, took command in the stretch, and drew off by 6 3/4 lengths.

Divine Miracle is trained by Jamie Ness, who co-owns the gelding with Morris Kernan Jr., and Yo Berbs Racing.

He is out of the unplaced Giant's Causeway mare La Boheme, who was purchased by Blackstone Farm for $65,000, pregnant for the first time to Exchange Rate, at the 2013 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale.

La Boheme was sold again for $75,000 at the 2019 Keeneland January Horses of All Age Sale, notable for the fact that she was offered as one of just five mares that was ever impregnated by the subfertile Battle of Midway before his ill-fated return to the racetrack. The ensuing foal, a filly named Velvet Revolution, is unraced.

Finishing closely behind Divine Miracle among Blackstone Farm's award earners was Love in the Air, a daughter of Constitution who earned $42,360 for her breeders in 2022.

Like Divine Miracle, Love in the Air enjoyed a career season in 2022, winning three of seven starts for owner Main Line Racing Stable and trainer John Servis.

After starting her season with a runner-up effort at Gulfstream Park and a win at Monmouth Park, Love in the Air raced in her home start for the first time in the Lyphard Stakes at Penn National on June 3, where she recovered from a troubled start to finish second by 1 1/2 lengths to Maldives Model, and 16 3/4 lengths ahead of third-place Wildcat Cartridge.

Love in the Air continued to climb the class ladder in her next start, where she finished third in the Grade 3 Dr. James Penny Memorial Stakes at Parx Racing. Her next two starts were convincing victories against state-bred competition at Parx, trouncing the Mrs. Penny Stakes on Aug. 22 by six lengths, then leading at every point of call to take the Plum Pretty Stakes on Sept. 24 by two lengths.

Love in the Air is out of the multiple stakes-winning Freud mare Lovely Syn. Blackstone purchased the mare, with Love in the Air in utero, for $50,000 at the 2017 Keeneland November sale.

Leading Earners Of Pennsylvania Breeder's Awards In 2022

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A good Pennsylvania-bred can make their connections far more than just purse money, and no horse exemplified that notion better than Flor de Sombra in 2022.

During her juvenile season, the daughter of Social Inclusion racked up $424,990 in earnings tied to her status as a horse born and sired in the Keystone State, including state-bred stakes purses, breeders' awards, and stallion awards. Those earnings were nearly $100,000 ahead of second-place Gordian Knot, who brought in $326,125 in state awards.

Flor de Sombra won four of five starts during her 2-year-old season, racing as a homebred for Joseph Imbesi and trained by Guadalupe Preciado.

The filly's season started on July 26, when she effortlessly disposed of a 5 1/2-furlong maiden special weight field at Parx Racing by a geared-down 7 3/4 lengths. She went off at odds of 9-1 that day, and she wouldn't see a price like that again in 2022.

Flor de Sombra's second act was just as impressive, taking the 5 1/2-furlong Miss Blue Tye Dye Stakes on Aug. 22 at Parx by two lengths as the heavy favorite, one again gearing down after leading in the stretch by six lengths. The filly suffered her lone defeat of the season when she finished third in the Imply Stakes at Parx on Sept. 24, weakening in the stretch after setting the pace.

After that setback, Flor de Sombra went on to roll off two more stakes victories to finish off her season, drawing off in the Finest City Stakes at Presque Isle Downs to win by two lengths on Oct. 24, and impressing once again with a 4 3/4-length triumph in the Shamrock Rose Stakes on Nov, 25 at Penn National.

Flor de Sombra earned $254,000 in Pennsylvania-bred stakes purses during her 2022 campaign, which comprised the majority of her state incentive earnings.

As the breeder of a state-bred and state-sired runner, Imbesi earned a 50 percent bonus on the purse earnings for Flor de Sombra's maiden special weight score, and a 40 percent bonus on purse for her other efforts on the year. This totaled $137,200 in breeder's awards, which was the most of any Pennsylvania horse last year.

Flor de Sombra is out of the winning Talent Search mare On a Star, who also raced as a homebred for Imbesi. The breeder purchased second dam Twiggles, an unraced daughter of Maria's Mon, for $5,000 at the 2009 Keeneland September Yearling Sale.

Imbesi had a stellar year in 2022, breeding three of the top four earners of incentive awards. Gordian Knot, by Social Inclusion, finished second in state incentive earnings, while Buy Land and See, a son of Cairo Prince out of the aforementioned Twiggles, was fourth with $214,320.

Also benefitting from Flor de Sombra's highlight season was the ownership group behind sire Social Inclusion, who earned $33,790 in stallion awards through the filly. Stallion owners can earn a 10 percent bonus on purse earnings when a Pennsylvania-bred and-sired runner finishes in the top three at a track within the state.

Social Inclusion finished sixth in the state by stallion awards earned in 2022, with $78,511. Flor de Sombra was once again the year's highest individual earner in that category.

Leading Earners Of Pennsylvania Incentives In 2022

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For nearly a decade, the surest bet in the Pennsylvania breeding industry was that Jump Start would top the list among state sire awards.

Heading into 2022, the late Jump Start had led the standings each of the past seven years, and he spent much of the year once again at the front of the pack. Heading into the final quarter of the year, though, Weigelia put a neck ahead in the race. We're still waiting for the final stallion awards to be tallied up, but the resident of Wyn Oaks Farm might end up being the horse to break the streak.

The owner of a Pennsylvania-based stallion at the time of a foal's conception is eligible for stallion awards generated by that foal. Stallion owners receive 10 percent of the purse earned when a registered Pennsylvania-bred and- sired runner finishes in the top three in any pari-mutuel race within the state.

Through Oct. 31, Weigelia's runners had brought in $167,404 in incentive monies for Wyn Oaks Farm, while Jump Start had earned $159,306 for Northview Stallion Station.

The leading contributor to Weigelia's figure was Ninetyprcentmaddie, a then-2-year-old colt who generated $14,124 in stallion awards through the end of October.

Ninetyprcentmaddie was unbeaten in three starts over that span of time, starting with a well-timed ride by jockey Frankie Pennington to win the colt's 4 1/2-furlong maiden special weight debut at Parx Racing by a nose. In August, the colt jumped up into stakes competition, leading nearly every step of the way to take the Whistle Pig Stakes at Parx by 3 1/2 lengths as the post time favorite.

Ninetyprcentmaddie & jockey Frankie Pennington win the 100,000 Whistle Pig Stakes for 2 yr olds going 5 1/2 furlongs on PA Day at the Races for trainer Butch Reid, Jr. & owner/breeder LC Racing LLC. #PTHA #PABred #ParxRacing @JockeyFrankie pic.twitter.com/gQOmzVmj76

— PTHA (@PTHA17) August 22, 2022

The final, and most impressive start in that sequence came on Oct. 31, when Ninetyprcentmaddie took command in the stretch of a six-furlong allowance optional claiming race and drew off to win by 7 1/2 lengths.

Ninetyprcentmaddie races as a homebred for LC Racing, trained by Robert Reid, Jr. He is out of the stakes-placed Private Interview mare Amblin Easy.

Also contributing to Weigelia's total in 2022 was Beren, who tallied $13,875 in stallion awards through the end of October.

Though Beren has competed up and down the East Coast, the newly-turned 5-year-old horse generally stayed close to home in 2022.

A homebred for Susan Quick's St. Omer's Farm and Christopher Feifarek, Beren started his season with a pair of runner-up efforts in Page McKenney Handicap at Parx and the Chocolate Town Stakes at Penn National. He then shipped to Laurel Park to win the listed Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash Stakes.

Beren returned to Pennsylvania for his next four starts, including a 3 1/4-length score in the Jump Start Stakes at Parx to finish out his schedule prior to Oct. 31.

Weigelia, a 22-year-old son of Safely's Mark, stands at WynOaks Farm in Delta, Pa., for a private fee.

He won 13 of 48 starts during his own on-track career, and he earned $1,007,708, highlighted by victories in the Grade 3 Carry Back Stakes and Kenny Noe Jr. Handicap. He also finished second in the G1 King's Bishop Stakes.

Leading Pennsylvania Sires By 2022 State Incentive Earnings, through Oct. 31

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