by Carol Hodes, for the SBOANJ
MANALAPAN,
NJ – November 3, 2015 – It is rewarding to breed in the Garden State thanks to
the newly approved Renaissance Incentive issued by the Standardbred Breeders
& Owners Association of New Jersey.
Effective
with the 2016 breeding season, breeders will be incentivized to stand stallions
and foal their mares in New Jersey with reimbursements and bonuses.
“We
are enhancing the mare residency program and adding trotting stallions along
with pacing stallions to the successful program we introduced last year,” said
SBOANJ President Tom Luchento. “These programs will help to bridge the
gap until we start to see the potential revenue from expanded gaming. We
have every expectation that racetrack-based casinos will be a referendum
question in November of 2016.”
The
mare residency program requires that the mare reside in New Jersey for 150
days, be veterinarian-certified as fit for breeding and the foal be made
eligible for the New Jersey Sire Stakes or New Jersey Standardbred Development
Fund.
Payments
of up to $500 per mare will be issued to the registered owner after
verification of breeding and residency, but not prior to August 1, 2016.
The maximum pool for payments is $150,000.
The
foals of mares bred to New Jersey-based pacing and trotting stallions will be
eligible to a 25 percent refund of the paid stud fee, up to a maximum of
$1,500, for breedings in 2016. The incentive rebate will be issued on or
about August 1, 2017, and the stud fee must be paid by the registered owner
prior to that date.
It
is required that the participating stallions be enrolled in the USTA’s STARS
Program and the resulting foals be nominated to the New Jersey Sire Stakes.
A
maximum of $100,000 per gait will be paid out.
Among
the participating stallions are the trio of Trixton, Rock N Roll Heaven and Lis
Mara, all of whom stand at Deo Volente Farms in Flemington, NJ, and Philos
Hanover, a son of Cam’s Card Shark, who stands at Last Cance Farm in
Chesterfield, NJ.
The
program is also available to any other New Jersey stallions that meet the
eligibility requirements.
"The
Breeders Committee and the SBOANJ has approved what I believe to be a truly
forward looking and innovative program to create excitement around the breeding
and racing industry in New jersey, said Michael Gulotta, chairman of the Breeders
Committee and president of Deo Volente Farms. “The cash breeding
incentives will make standing stallions in New Jersey even more
attractive. As the odds of a November 2016 referendum for casino gaming
in Northern New Jersey are improving by the day, it is highly likely that we
will see larger purses in the future for New Jersey-sired horses. Given the
circumstances it is both logical and advantageous to be breeding to a New
Jersey sire now."
Trixton,
the 2014 Hambletonian winner, was bred to 140 mares in North America and 120 in
Europe during his first season, 2015. The son of Muscle Hill stands for a
fee of $12,000
Rock
N Roll Heaven, the 2010 Horse of the Year and a son of the late Rocknroll
Hanover, has been relocated to New Jersey for a fee of $6,500 and will join
Breeders Crown winner Lis Mara, a son of Cambest, who stands for $2,500, as the
pacing stallions at Deo Volente.
Philos
Hanover, the foundation horse of the farm and racing operations of John and Tom
Cancelliere, competed from 2006 to 2011, finishing in-the-money in 64 of 110
starts for earnings of $523,246.
