Time for breeders to step up to the plate

Maybe it’s time for harness racing breeders to step up to the plate and help the future of our sport.

Not sure exactly how this might work but the idea is to keep our equine athletes healthy and, on the track, longer—a thought very viable since blood lines have become so rich.

After all, years ago, a 2:00 mile was sacred and worth something. Today, a 1:50 mile is “ho-hum!”

It’s the same in the stallion ranks. About a century ago, Peter The Great led all standard performers with 44 new performers, 35 of them in the coveted 2:20 list with 18 in the rare 2:15 list.

Even a half century ago, it was Tar Heel, Bye Bye Byrd and Greentree Adios on the pacing side and Star’s Pride on the trotting side of the ledger.

At that time, Adios, Tar Heel and Good Time were the only sires with more than 50 2:00 performers…and there are only two more with more than 30…one of which was VOLOMITE, (2:03 1/4), yes. whose racing mark was still timed in “quarters.”

Some will argue “that’s the past” and has little relevance today.

That, friends, is about as far away from the truth as you can get…and even more relevant today.

Just ask the folks that are standing pacing studs with marks of 1:48 or trotting studs with marks of 1:51, many of whom haven’t got 10 mares booked.

Of course, it depends on the locale of the stallion but, while the “big boys” are “book full and closed,” some other stallions with very solid credentials are lucky to get 10 mares.

And, of course, if those mares are, say, 1:52 performers, they still might be a peg below the ones getting a spot on the elite stallion’s list.

And that’s the basis for the idea of breeders stepping up to the plate to insure and prolong the future of “racing,” itself, the welfare of owners and their own future as a breeder.

Yes, it’s a very thin line—maybe a “nose, neck or head” away from true stardom…and there is a VERY thin line between health and wealth in harness racing as well.

So, here’s the deal…

We need more earning stakes opportunity in the aged arena of this business.

One way to do it is by having a nest egg created for ALL yearlings in sales for an ongoing series of stakes events—long range stakes events—reaching out, say, through an age to be determined (say, six or seven) with all those yearlings staked with no additional sustaining fees.

The logistics can certainly be worked out, but it could be funded in a number of ways; for example, a stakes fee based on (1) a percentage of the stallion fee, or (2) a percentage based on the sale price at auction, or (3) the average sale price in a particular sale, or (4) the median sale price in a particular sale.

Any horse not going through an auction could be supplemented as a yearling for “x” number of dollars—a one-time nomination fee for ALL newly created stakes events.

With breeders, stakes sponsors and things put together during the Race Secretaries meetings, this new era of stakes events for the “aged” could become a reality in little time.

Heck, in 1923, they started thinking about The Hambletonian and it debuted in 1926 and the Little Brown Jug was foaled a couple of years before its “1946” inaugural…with Jug Previews in 1944 and 1945.

The benefits could be fruitful for owners, of course, but for trainers, drivers, and tracks, as well, with these aged horses having a stakes future.

From the moment of conception to the first viable breath of life, all personnel involved say plenty of prayers for a long, storied future.

From the moment these yearlings are taught like kindergarten children with bit and bridle to the moment they get their master’s degree in manners and speed, each second and minute can be a challenge…with expenses adding up and patience running low.

It’s an exciting time for trainers and a “thankless” job as the pressures of “time” for the season approaches. In other words, one never knows just where the next superstar will emerge.

The obstacles and hazards are many…one single bad step on the track…a hairline fracture of a bone not quite mature, a mishap in the stall…a bolt of lightning or thunderclap…

And IF you think you’ve got a champion, remember, there’s only one at the head of each class with, maybe, 50 or so making it on the list of the richest and fastest, some others keeping their owners’ heads from drowning financially and the other, maybe, 5,000 or so on the outside looking in.

Last season, for example, the top juvenile pacer, Stockade Seelster (State Treasurer), earned $688,268 with only eight others in his class earning half as much. Cruise Alert (Yankee Cruiser) was number 50 on the list with barely $150,000 earned. That list, incidentally, includes 24 fillies, too.

No, $150,000 ain’t too bad…but, when you’ve got $250,000 or more tied up in the yearling cost and training, the economics are kind of weak.

As for “record” 2022 performers, 66 made the list—49 plus ties for the 50th spot—with the top performer being the filly, Twin B Joe Fresh (Roll With Joe), being the fastest at 1:48.4 and the “ties” logging in 1:51.2. (Remember the coveted 2:10 two-year-old list from years ago?)

A total of 26 fillies were on that elite list.

Most made between 10 and 12 starts—two made 13 starts and one 14 starts—while a fistful had only seven starts with one’s season interrupted after start number four.

As far as wins go, the undefeated Chicken N Dice (Millionaire Cam) went 13 for 13, took his pacing mark in 2:00 and won $37,258. That top wins list for pacers—10 or more wins—featured three fillies and three geldings.

Among our two-year-old trotters last season, Oh Well (Muscle Hill) led that parade with $740,380 with only eight other juveniles earning as much as half of that. Number 50 on the list earned $145,372. By the way, 21 fillies were on that elite list, including those occupying spots two through six.

As far as the “speed race” goes for the trotters, the grand filly Special Way (Walner) led the parade along with the colt Volume Eight (Chapter Seven), both at 1:52. There are 54 on that list all the way down to 1:54.4.

Only one two-year-old—a gelding, Talent Scout (Swan For All)—made as many as 16 starts while more than half of the trotters on that list made less than 10 starts…one with as few as two starts, another with three trips postcard, two others with but four starts and another with just five.

Yes, our equine athletes are strong…but fragile…especially our two-year-olds.

Several youngsters did have a plurality of wins with the gelding, Republic Return (Global Republic S) (1:56.3, $82,607 in 18 starts) and the filly, She Pirate (Spectator K), (2:00.1, $41,567) each winning 13 times.

That top 10 “wins” list with 11 on list with a “dh,” by the way, featured six geldings and five fillies.

Juggling all of this, and taking into consideration all parties and their investments, including those that have no voice (like our equine athletes), here’s the deal…

With the speed and rugged “terrain” of a racing season on a youngster’s legs, all two-year-old stakes could be carded 10 days apart, giving fragile young legs a bit of a break (using that term loosely, of course) from those 1:52 or faster pacing miles and 1:55 trotting miles.

The lucrative stakes programs would remain unchanged…just stretched out three days at a time from the rigors and stress of racing. Would that not be advantageous to a young equine athlete’s health and welfare?

(Catch drivers are hired by many trainers for their owners and for one purpose! No further explanation needed!)

This program makes even more sense because, realistically, harness racing, today, is unable to stand on its own four hooves with casino interests and some legislatures keeping it alive with funding.

After all, with so much competition like the lottery and slot machines significantly draining the wagering dollar, while we consider some of these entities in a negative light, they have helped some drivers, trainers and owners in the business in a positive financial way. And let’s not forget the technology angle, which has hurt on track attendance and, at the same time, put a dent in other types of on-track sales in the form of programs and food and beverage sales.

Noticing some of the early action in New York and Kentucky where the Borgata and Matchmaker produced very deep fields encompassing just about all nominees and the Kentucky Sire Stakes Program being several layers deep, we need new Stakes events that stretch all the way through the age of, at least, five or six.

It costs—and I am guessing—around $800 to $1,000 to nominate a yearling to all the major stake races in existence today, which is borne by the major sales companies.

Judging by the greatness of our breed today, breeders have done quite nicely over the years with their sales and it’s the breeder who can step up to the plate and help their own cause and the future of our grand sport.

Last year, for example, 1,764 yearlings were sold at the “select” sales, I.e., Lexington and the Standardbred Horse Sale, with gross revenue of $108,837,000. The average was $61,698 with a median price of $35,000.

Altogether last year, there were 3,825 babies sold with a gross revenue of $146,026,450.

These records are “courtesy” of the 1:46-1:48 mile as our breed shifts from a breed off durability to a breed of raw speed.

Remember, this thought has every participant of the sport involved and takes into consideration the breeder’s “investment” in the future well-being of our standardbred athletes, as well as keeping horses just below the top tier (no matter how fast they go) on the racetrack filling races and providing lucrative purse money for owners for seasons to come.

What’s the potential for this new “aged” stakes program?

Realizing that some contributions would be different from others, if the average is $2,000 per yearling, that equals over $7.5 million in stakes money ready to go (based on last season’s yearling sales.)

(Remember, the stallion program is extremely deep these days…just ask the folk back of Doctor Butch, Highalator and Boston Red Rocks—all with credentials that “beat the band!”)

For those critical of this plan, these are just “off the cuff” ideas to keep our sport breathing on its own as we witness an attrition on the track year-after-year. The solution for our sport is NOT complacency, so, if you have any ideas, LET’S HEAR THEM!!

In a way, it’s similar to global warming and, if we don’t do anything about it, like the planet, our grand sport will die a slow death without anyone even noticing!

So, to repeat, CAN anything be done to remedy this fragile situation for our sport and future?

THE ANSWER IS “YES!”

WILL anything be done to remedy this fragile situation with the complacency shown today?

Not a chance!

by John Berry, for Harnesslink