The first step in recovery is admitting there is a problem. With a September 6 announcement that all divisions of the New York Sire Stakes races were getting purse boosts and a new $1 million series was being created, the series, which is vital to breeders and those racing in the Empire State, took a major step towards a brighter future. We could argue at length whether the New York Sire Stakes system was broken in recent years and when it took a turn for the worse. Clearly there is an issue when less than the maximum number of horses enter the championship leg of a series (there were only six 2-year-old trotting fillies in the final on September 7 at Yonkers Raceway) and legs for the top echelon of the series struggle to get even one full field throughout the season despite purses approaching and exceeding six figures. Consider that according to Blue Chip Farms proprietor Tom Grossman, there are only 79 yearling trotting colts registered to the New York program this year. That means the 2-year-old trotting races in 2025 will have a maximum of 79 horses eligible, and that assumes all of them make it to the races – which is highly unlikely – and elect to participate in New York. Certainly the development of the substantial Kentucky Sire Stakes program luring horses from other jurisdictions with manageable dual-eligibility rules played a role in New York’s issues. Falling behind other states with championship races of only $225,000 – compared to $252,000 in Pennsylvania and $400,000 in both Ohio and Kentucky – was also an issue. In the end, all that matters is that the Agriculture & New York State Horse Breeding Development Fund Board voted for change and meaningful change at that, raising the purses for the NYSS finals to $300,000, the second-level Excelsior finals from $55,000 to $100,000 and the third-tier County Fair finals from $15,000 to $25,000. Additionally, the Board added a new series for 2-year-olds of each sex and gait, with eliminations and finals worth $1 million total. With just over $2 million in funds being injected into the NYSS purses, one has to wonder where all the money is coming from. Will the purses of the legs take a hit? According to Agriculture & New York State Horse Breeding Development Fund Executive Director Ralph Scunziano and confirmed by Fund Trustee Steve Jones, the money has been building up for years. A conservative approach was taken with the money from the Sire Stakes when COVID-19 hit in 2020 and the board agreed that now was the ideal time to start distributing what is about a $6 million endowment. While some quick math will have you believe that the money would be gone in three years ($2 million per year for three years), but keep in mind that it has been building up over time and more money will continue to funnel into the accounts assuming similar casino-fueled contributions. While no dates or location was given in the initial press release, the four new $250,000 races for 2-year-olds starting in 2025 will offer an elimination/final format and will probably take place at Vernon Downs according to Jones. Being the largest track (seven-eighths) in the state, that is probably the best location to race younger horses. There is also substantial speculation that the new quartet of events will occur in September. “People are going to have to make a choice,” said Jones when questioned about when the races will be contested. “Can we avoid every conflict? No. Those new races will be after the Sire Stakes finals, which usually go in the early part of September. After those finals people go to Delaware, Ohio, then they go to Lexington, then they go to the Breeders Crown and then the Fall Final Four at The Meadowlands, so to miss everything is almost impossible. It is good for the game in my mind if there is one horse going to one track, you can go somewhere else to avoid them.” New York is home to a number of stallions including some industry leaders like Chapter Seven, far and away the top stallion in the country this year for average earnings ($27,234 vs. $17,734) for 2-year-old trotters, and Huntsville, who leads all pacing stallions in North America at $20,750 per 2-year-old. Both of them also sit atop the leaderboard in total 2024 progeny earnings. The timing of the announcement was specifically designed to impact the upcoming sales at Goshen, Lexington and Harrisburg. The Goshen Yearling Sale occurred only a few days after the announcement and saw 82 horses – mostly New York breds – go to the highest bidders. There was just one Chapter Seven yearling at Goshen and the son of Bambino Supreme was the sale-topper at $57,000 for Jones’ Cameo Hills Farm. A Devious Man-sired trotting colt was second at $54,000 for Blue Chip Farms and a Huntsville filly from Leatherstocking Equine checked in third with a $50,000 yearling, one of 12 from the stallion available at Goshen. “The next two to three years are when everyone should look to buy a New York-bred,” said Grossman, who felt the opportunity is now because it will take some time before the sales prices reflect the new opportunities. “I think [the prices] will go up gradually over time. People tend to take an ‘I’ll believe it when I see it’ approach to these announcements.” With regard to the Goshen Sale, Grossman was indeed correct that the impact of the increases may be delayed a bit. The Goshen Sale averaged $14,660 for 82 yearlings, an 18% decrease from the $17,964 total (97 yearlings) of 2023. The decrease can perhaps be blamed on multiple factors. It’s possible people really haven’t had the opportunity to absorb the new purse information or they simply weren’t prepared to stretch their budgets on short notice with prices of equipment and feed remaining high. There is also a case to be made that breeders haven’t had the chance to upgrade their broodmare bands in anticipation of the boosted available funds. For that the delay may take years, but it seems inevitable given the extra money expected to be available. “Without a doubt the participation in the program will increase. We’ve made some changes in recent years, like opening the borders for shipping semen to other jurisdictions. It will ultimately create more agriculture in New York because those horses will come to New York and race and stay in New York,” said Jones. “What gets people’s attention than more money? Nothing!” It will certainly be interesting to measure the impact at the Lexington Selected Sale from September 30 to October 4. There are 101 New York-bred yearlings slated to sell with half of them by Chapter Seven. Does the potential of earning up to an extra $162,500 in New York boost the prices thousands or tens-of-thousands? Either way, those training and driving will be earning more money and leading driver Jason Bartlett, who won three Sire Stakes finals at Yonkers on September 7 smiled when the topic was brought up. “I’ll be there,” chuckled Bartlett, referring to Sire Stakes final day in 2025. “It is exciting for the program and it is good for people that invest in the horses.”