Special Commemorative Program
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Thank you, Rick NY-Bred Tyndall was retired through TAKE THE LEAD New York’s Horsemen TAKE HE EAD on horoughbred ftercare NYTHA’S TAKE THE LEAD Thoroughbred Retirement Program helps to ensure happy and healthy lives for the horses retiring from the NYRA tracks. Working with New York’s owners and trainers TAKE THE LEAD has placed more than 450 retired racehorses with Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance-accredited organiations. The TAKE Program promotes second careers as hunters and umpers, creating opportunities for our racehorses beyond the track. These programs were born of Rick Violette’s passion for the horses. For more information, go to www.take2tbreds.com. 2 A HEARTFELT THANK YOU TO OUR PARTNERS Awards Dinner Sponsored By Platinum Partners Gold Partners Chester & Mary Broman Silver Partners Bronze Partner Greenberg Traurig, LLP Industry Partners Adirondack Trust Company • Capital OTB 3 A MESSAGE FROM THE NYTB EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR To all our guests this evening, a warm welcome! I also convey heartfelt thanks to our spon- sors who make this event possible, especially our principal sponsor, the New York Thorough- bred Breeding and Development Fund. Every year we gather in April at NYTB’s Awards Banquet to celebrate the racetrack achieve- ments of the New York Thoroughbred Breeding and Racing Program from the previous year. Our video program will showcase all the 2018 equine nominees as we crown the 2018 New York-bred divisional champions one-by-one and finally announce the New York-bred Horse of the Year. At 12 racetracks from coast to coast and beyond, New York-breds combined to win 106 stakes races – 80 on dirt and 26 on turf – worth $19.5 million in 2018. Forty New York-bred stakes victories came in open company, including 13 graded stakes. At the highest level of competition five New York-breds – three by New York sires – won Grade 1 stakes. The 2018 Grade 1 honor roll, in alphabetical order, is: Audible (Florida Derby, Gulfstream Park); Diver- sify, by New York sire Bellamy Road (Whitney Handicap, Saratoga); Fourstar Crook, by New York sire Freud (Flower Bowl, Belmont Park); Mind Your Biscuits, by former New York sire Posse (Dubai Golden Shaheen, Meydan Racecourse) and Voodoo Song (Fourstardave Handicap, Saratoga). In singling out a “moment of the year” for New York-bred racing I don’t think I’d be alone in choosing the unforgettable one-two finish of Diversify and Mind Your Biscuits in the Whitney Handicap. Amid all the drama of a violent summer storm and rain delay at Saratoga, the memory of the day is indelible . and bittersweet for so many of us, unaware of how short a time we had left with our good friend Rick Violette. We also take this occasion to congratulate 2018’s most successful human program participants in addition to the horses, beginning with the trainers. Throughout the year many of the “usual suspects” like Linda Rice, Chris and Jeremiah Englehart and Rudy Rodriguez won black-type races with New York-breds. At the same time, some of the largest barns in the country – those who have the luxury of being able to pick and choose – were picking and choosing New York-breds: reigning three- time Eclipse champion trainer Chad Brown, for example, Todd Pletcher, Bill Mott, Christophe Clement and Steve Asmussen. It is no surprise that New York-breds are also attracting all the top-flight riders. The Eclipse-winning Ortiz brothers com- bined to win 21 stakes races aboard New York-breds in 2018. An extra nice touch in 2018 is that luminaries John Velazquez and Javier Castellano celebrated milestone victories aboard Empire State-breds. Velazquez won his 6,000th North American victory with Barry Schwarz homebred Singapore Trader. Castellano celebrated his 5,000th victory in style aboard Runaway Lute winning the Hudson Handicap. Our breeding program and farms continue to thrive. According the Fund’s 2018 Annual Report, there were 242 active Thoroughbred farms in New York. Breeders, owners and stallion owners earned $15,034,688 in awards last year and the Fund distributed $1,797,165 in purse enrichment to New York racetracks. The average breeder’s award in 2018 was $17,842, increasing nearly $1,000 over the prior year ($16,921). Meanwhile, New York-breds go from strength to strength in the sales ring, gaining value every season and providing further evidence that New York is the premier regional breeding program in the country. Our program has received two significant boosts for the coming year that will benefit breeders, owners and stallion own- ers alike. In 2019, purses for the 10-race series restricted to the progeny of nominated New York stallions will double from $1,150,000 to $2,300,000. The $500,000 Great White Way for juveniles and the $500,000 Fifth Avenue for juvenile fillies run at Aqueduct in December are now the richest sire stakes races in the country. Also in 2019, purse enrichment money from the Fund in the amount of $600,000 will finance 40 to 50% purse increases for maiden special weight races and the first two levels of allowance races at Finger Lakes. After tonight everyone will return to the hard work of breeding, foaling, breaking, training and racing New York-breds, but for now please sit back and enjoy our program. Everyone in this room should feel proud of the accomplishments we will showcase tonight and remember that, if you breed the best to the best in New York, only the sky is the limit. Sincerely yours, Jeffrey A. Cannizzo, Executive Director, New York Thoroughbred Breeders, Inc. 4 NY THOROUGHBRED BREEDERS BOARD OF DIRECTORS Thomas J. Gallo III – President Mallory Mort – Vice President Vivien Malloy – Secretary/Treasurer Scott Ahlschwede, D.V.M. Michael Lischin H. James Bond Joanne Nielsen Seth Gregory Suzie O’Cain Daniel P. Hayden Joan M. Taylor, DVM Director Emeritus Chester Broman Jeffrey Cannizzo, Executive Director New York Thoroughbred Breeders 57 Phila Street, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866 (518) 587-0777. www.nytbreeders.org NY THOROUGHBRED BREEDING & DEVELOPMENT FUND BOARD OF DIRECTORS John J. Poklemba, NY Thoroughbred Breeding & Development Fund Chairman, Member, NYS Gaming Commission Richard Ball, Commissioner, NYS Dept. of Agriculture & Markets Jeffrey A. Cannizzo, Executive Director, New York Thoroughbred Breeders, Inc. Barry Sample, Chairman, NYS Gaming Commission • John A. Crotty, Member, NYS Gaming Commission Philip S. Birsh, Breeder • John Graziano Jr., Breeder • Joseph G. McMahon, Breeder Sen. Howard C. Nolan Jr., Breeder • Dr. William B. Wilmot, Breeder Tracy Egan, Executive Director New York State Thoroughbred Breeding & Development Fund Corp. 1 Broadway Center, Suite 601, Schenectady, NY 12305 (518) 388-0174. www.nybreds.com 5 ABOUT OUR EMCEE ichard Migliore is the co-founder and partner of Sport of Kings Media Produc- tions. Known best for a stellar career as a jockey, Migliore won more than 4,400 races over a career spanning three decades. Migliore, who was born in 1964 and grew up on Long Island, got a job on a Rhorse farm near his home and decided he was going to be a jockey at age 12. He began riding in 1980, and in 1981 won the Eclipse Award as the nation’s top apprentice with 298 victories. Twice the leading rider in New York – in 1981 and 1985 – Migliore won or tied as leading rider at 10 different NYRA meets, most recently taking the 2005 Aqueduct spring meet. A fixture on the NYRA circuit, Migliore announced his retirement on June 2, 2010. “The Mig,” as he was known, rode 4,450 winners and the earners of more than $160 mil- lion in purses. Some of his biggest victories came later in his career, taking his first Breeders’ Cup race in 2008 aboard Turf Sprint winner Desert Code, and in 2009 capturing the Grade 1 Gazelle and Grade 1 Test aboard Flashing. In all, Migliore won 362 stakes, including 25 Grade 1 races. A HEARTFELT THANKS TO Our Events Planning Committee: Scott Ahlschwede, D.V.M., Thomas J. Gallo III, Vivien Malloy, Joanne Nielsen, Suzie O’Cain. Kara Bluvas, NYTB Membership and Events Manager Sarah Mace, NYTB Communications Manager Our Wonderful Partners • Our Event Patrons Our Emcee Richard Migliore • Saratoga National Golf Club Cover photo by Kathy Landman Awards Dinner Program produced by ST Publishing, the team behind The Saratoga Special and thisishorseracing.com Articles by Joe Clancy, Sean Clancy, Tom Law and other staffers. Photos by Coglianese/NYRA Photos unless otherwise noted. ST Publishing, Inc. • (410) 392-5867 • www.thisishorseracing.com See you in Saratoga this summer. Call us for your advertising or editorial needs. 6 ORDER OF EVENTS WELCOME Jeffrey A. Cannizzo, NYTB Executive Director INTRODUCTION Thomas J. Gallo III, NYTB President PRESENTATION OF AWARDS Richard Migliore, Master of Ceremonies AWARDS CATEGORIES New York-Bred Champion Two-Year-Old Filly New York-Bred Champion Two-Year-Old Male New York-Bred Champion Three-Year-Old Filly New York-Bred Champion Three-Year-Old Male New York-Bred Champion Turf Female New York-Bred Champion Turf Male New York-Bred Champion Female Sprinter New York-Bred Champion Male Sprinter New York-Bred Champion Older Dirt Female New York-Bred Champion Older Dirt Male New York-Bred Horse of the Year New York Broodmare of the Year New York-Bred Trainer of the Year New York-Bred Jockey of the Year New York Breeder of the Year 7 TWO-YEAR-OLD FILLY FINALISTS Espresso Shot B. f. 2016, Mission Impazible—Glory Gold, Medaglia d’Oro. Breeder: Twin Creeks Farm. Owners: NY Final Furlong Stable, Maspeth Stables and Parkland Thoroughbreds. Trainer: Jorge Abreu. 2018 record: 5-2-1-1. $116,600. 2018 stakes: East View.