When it comes to harness racing Mike Kimelman is a man for
all seasons. He’s the president of Blue Chip Farms, a member of the Goshen
Historic Track Board of Directors as well as a member of the Standardbred
Owners Association of NY and a U.S.T.A. District Director since 2002. He has
also trained and driven harness horses and occasionally still does.
Recently Kimelman has been appointed to the Board
of the Agriculture and New York State Horse Breeding and Development Fund, also
referred to as the Sires Stakes Fund. He was appointed to that position
by the New York State Senator, John Bonacic.
For all that he does and has done for the Standardbred
sport, especially in the breeding business in New York State, Mike is this
year’s recipient of the Monticello-Goshen Chapter USHWA’s prestigious
Excelsior Award. He will receive that honor on Sunday night, November 17 when
the scribes hold their 55th Annual Awards Banquet at the Fountains
in Middletown, NY.
For Mike Kimelman, a profession in anything other than
harness racing was out of the question. After all, his grandfather Oscar
Kimelman had established the world renowned Blue Chip Farms in Wallkill NY
in 1969 when young Michael was in the fifth grade. His family moved there
and harness horses became a way of life for him. So much so that he
opted not to go to college to pursue his career with Standardbreds.
As a youngster Mike worked on the farm and learned a
great deal about the horse breeding industry from Hall of Famer, Bill Brown who
was the Farm Manager.
“I was only a kid and at first I did menial jobs like
stapling arrows all over to direct people to the Farm, but as I grew
older and spent more time with Mr. Brown I began to realize what it
took to run such a magnificent establishment, “ Kimelman said.
In the 1970’s Kimelman spent a lot of time around the
training farms, too, and at Goshen Historic Track learning the ropes of
training and driving harness horses from some exceptional horsemen.
“Del Cameron used to train our (Blue Chip Farms) horses and
I was often with him in Pinehurst (Training Center) and at many
racetracks in the northeast,” Kimelman noted. “And I always loved going
to Goshen Historic Track to spend time with Harry Pownall, Sr. I was always
trying to learn from the great ones.”
Out of school Kimelman worked for top horsemen like Billy
Popfinger, Steve Demas and Billy Herman and in 1984 he opened a public stable
which was a realization of a lifelong dream of becoming a professional
trainer/driver.
And Michael was good at his chosen profession, too. Over the
years, with a small stable and a limited amount of starts he won over 500 races
and handled some very nice horses.
But it was a connection with a childhood friend and
schoolmate that redirected Kimelman’s life.
I went to the 11th grade at Wallkill
(NY) High School and then my brother Scott and I went to Hackley Prep
School in Tarrytown, NY where we both graduated,” Kimelman explained. “It was
there that my brother and I met and befriended Tom Grossman who, as fate would
have it, purchased Blue Chip Farms a few years ago.”
According to Kimelman restructuring was taking place at Blue
Chip Farms and Grossman not only bought the establishment but offered Mike a
job.
The offer from Grossman was not only a chance for
an outstanding career move but it also gave Kimelman an opportunity
to raise his family in a spectacular rural setting where he now lives with wife
Sally and children, Oscar and Olivia.
“I am so appreciative that Tom gave me such a tremendous
opportunity and I have been president of Blue Chip Farms since 2001,” Kimelman
added
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