Executive Director's Notes

Preachintothedevil will face five challengers when he loads into the gate for Saturday’s NY Derby at the Finger Lakes.  The New York-bred son of Pulpit nailed the first leg of the Big Apple Triple when he drew away from the field by 4 1/2 lengths on June 26th to win the Mike Lee Handicap. Preachintothedevil’s…
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Carl Lizza’s passing, noted in the NYRA article by Jenny Kellner under Industry News here on our website, comes just as his beloved Highcliff Farm is hitting the high notes. New resident sire Congaree produced an impressive two-year-old maiden special weight winner at Churchill Downs on June 27th (Givhans Ferry). Earlier in the month on…
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A retired pharmacist and long-time racing fan is the winner of the second leg of the Big Apple Triple Contest run by the Breeding Fund and the NYTB. The drawing was conducted on the grounds of the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. With Seabiscuit looking on, the Museum’s Kitty Macica drew the…
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The winner of the first leg of the Breeding Fund/NYTB Big Apple Triple contest is a good fit: New York racing fan Marisa Akson of Massepequa, Long Island is bringing her father Tony, a longtime racing fan. There was never any question about with whom Marisa would share the prize: “My father has always loved…
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The headlines declare that 7-year-old Mission Approved’s facile win in the G1 Manhattan Handicap on Belmont day was a shocker. Don’t show those headlines to his NY-based co-owner/trainer Naipaul Chatterpaul. The gelding had come within a neck of reeling in Gio Ponti in last year’s Man O’War, but on yielding turf in front of a…
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Dear Breeders, Owners and Stallion Owners, On June 2nd, the New York State Breeding and Development  Fund mailed out awards checks for the second period (March/April) . 317 checks totaling $469,391.86 were mailed to breeders. 63 checks totaling $126,942.83 were mailed to stallion owners. 54 checks totaling $74,076.66 were mailed to owners. As long as you’re reading this, please…
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Dear Breeders, If you’re like me you’ve probably tried, with mixed success, to reach out to the connections of horses you’ve bred when you see that they are at or near the end of their race careers. Sometimes the owners and trainers have been delighted to hear from me so that I can either take…
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Dear Breeders, Your check is in the mail. Today (May 6th) we sent out 835 checks ranging in amount from $15.63 to $25,654. This mailing represents the $861K that the Fund had in its award accounts after paying breeder, owner, and stallion awards in full for 2010.  The Fund’s Board of Directors decided at its…
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Dear breeders, stallion owners, and owners of NY-bred racehorses, I hope you will take the time to read this commentary by Andy Beyer, in which he concludes that racing needs larger foal crops.  I suspect many of you may think that what we need right now is more owners willing to buy the NY-breds you’ve…
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Dear Breeders, Owners and Stallion Owners, I hope you too will be delighted to read the following story filed by the DRF’s Steve Crist upon his FIRST VISIT to the Finger Lakes Race Track.  For those of us who love the scenery, wineries and comaraderie of horsemen and horse lovers in this region of our…
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