At
the Annual Meeting of the Members of the Hambletonian Society held Aug. 5 in
Rutherford, NJ, the board of directors of the Society approved the conditions
of Hambletonian No. 94, the stake for foals of 2016 to be raced in 2019.
In
addition to the approval of the conditions for 2019 Hambletonian (and Oaks) and
2020 Hambletonian Maturity at the Annual Meeting, three vacancies on the board
were filled.
Frederick
W. Hertrich III of Seaford, Delaware, Marvin Katz of Toronto, Ontario, Canada
and Dr. John C. Mossbarger of Washington Courthouse, Ohio were all elected to
serve on the board of the Hambletonian Society. All have extensive racing and
breeding backgrounds, and are deeply committed to the future of harness racing.
Hertrich
heads an enterprise that operates car dealerships in Delaware, Maryland, and
New Jersey and has been selling and raising yearlings under the All American
Harnessbreds name for more than 25 years. Last year Hertrich bred the winners
of $4.3 million, and notables he’s bred or owned include Allamerican Native,
Boston Red Rocks, Spirit To Win, Bettor Be Steppin, Travel Playlist,
Allamerican Nadia and the richest pacing mare of all time, Eternal Camnation.
Hertrich owns shares in 90 percent of all the major pacing and trotting
stallions and has ranked in the top 10 of all U.S. breeders in the last two
years.
Katz,
of Toronto, Ontario, Canada has been a dominant owner and breeder in harness racing
in North America for more than 30 years. He has won every major race – from the
Meadowlands Pace to the Hambletonian - and developed, along with partners Al
Libfeld and Sam Goldband, one of the more elite trotting broodmare bands in the
sport. Katz bred full sisters All The Time and Ariana G who won the
Hambletonian Oaks and Jim Doherty Memorial respectively last Saturday, and also
shared ownership on 2010 Hambletonian winner Muscle Massive and 2008
Hambletonian Oaks winner Creamy Mimi.
Dr.
Mossbarger is a veterinarian and the vice president of Midland Acres, Inc., a
family-owned 500-acre breeding farm in Bloomingburg, Ohio. Midland Acres has
become one of Ohio’s largest
nurseries, and is currently home to eight of the most in–demand stallions in
the Midwest, including Breeders Crown champions Broadway Hall,
Manofmanymissions and Break The Bank K. A second-generation horseman,
Mossbarger is a director of the USTA, the past president of the Ohio Harness
Horsemen's Association and the Ohio Standardbred Breeders and Owners
Association. He is a member of the Fayette County Harness Horsemen's
Association, and serves as a state trustee on the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation.
The
Hambletonian Society is a non-profit organization formed in 1924 to sponsor the
race for which it was named, the Hambletonian Stake. The Society’s mission is
to encourage and support the breeding of Standardbred horses through the
development, administration and promotion of harness racing stakes,
early-closing races and other special events. The Hambletonian Society services
129 of harness racing’s richest and most prestigious events at 13 different
tracks, including harness racing’s most prominent race, the Hambletonian for
3-year-old trotters, its filly division, the Hambletonian Oaks and the sport’s
championship series, the Breeders Crown. The organization was responsible for
the disbursement of more than $17.8 million in purses last year.
