State Incentives 2023

Article by Annie Lambert

The bad news is, North American inflation has substantially increased expenses in Thoroughbred racing. The good news is, U.S. purses in 2022 were up nearly 11% from 2021. Also, states and farms are working to provide owners and breeders an opportunity to counter those growing costs with healthy incentive opportunities. 

State Pluses

U.S. inflation rose to a shuttering 9.1% last year, but it has dropped to the current 6.5%. Canada’s most recent number was 6.8%. Both numbers, although improved, still leave horsemen pushing higher outlays across the board. Breeders, owners and trainers can help buffer inflated costs with readily available incentive programs.

Mary Ellen Locke, registrar and incentive program manager for the California Thoroughbred Breeders Association, cited there are no changes to that state’s programs for the current year. As one of the most successful state organizations, the CTBA has seldom tried to fix what is not broken.

“I think [our program] has helped sustain our numbers through Covid and the economy being down,” Locke pointed out. “The numbers of Thoroughbred foals are down all over, but we are holding our own in California.”

The association’s definition of a Cal-bred is one thing helping California retain those foal numbers. Cal-breds are those foals dropped in the state after being conceived there by a California stallion. Or, “any Thoroughbred foal dropped by a mare in California if the mare remains in California to be next bred to a Thoroughbred stallion standing in the state” will be classified as Cal-bred. If the mare cannot be bred for two consecutive seasons, but remains in California during that period, her foal will still be considered a Cal-bred.

The Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association is offering a new race series for two-year-olds in 2023, according to Brian Sanfratello, the group’s executive secretary. The Pennsylvania-bred series offers three stakes for fillies and three for colts.

“The first two races will feature purses of $100,000 to be run during Pennsylvania Day at the Races at Parx Racing,” Sanfratello offered. “The second set will have purses of $150,000 and will also be held at Parx the day of the Pennsylvania Derby; and the third in the series will feature $200,000 purses at a track to be determined.”

Trainers of the top three earning horses will be rewarded with bonuses of $25,000, $15,000 and $10,000.

In addition, Penn National has increased their owner bonus to 30%. The racetracks in that state pay for owner bonuses. 

Virginia has been on a roll since passing their historical horse racing legislation in 2019. Last year, according to Debbie Easter, executive director of the Virginia Thoroughbred Association (VTA), Colonial Downs averaged $612,000 in daily purse monies.

The Virginia Racing Commission approved an additional nine days of racing for the current year. Colonial Downs, the only live racing venue in the state, will run Thursday through Saturday from July 13 to September 9.

“Thanks to Historic Horse Racing (HHR) machines in Virginia, breeding, raising and racing Thoroughbreds has never been better,” according to Easter. “In 2023, the Virginia Breeders fund should double to over $2 million thanks to funds received from HHR.

Virginia breeders currently earn bonuses when Virginia-bred horses win a race anywhere in North America. If pending legislation passes the Virginia General Assembly, breeders will have an update for 2023. They will earn awards for horses placing first through third in North America.

“Because of budget constraints that limit the Virginia-Certified program to $4 million in both 2023 and 2024, we have made changes to our very successful program that pays 25% bonuses to the developers of Virginia-Certified horses that win at Mid-Atlantic region racetracks, which includes New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and West Virginia in addition to Virginia,” Easter added. “The plan is to increase funding for the program once Colonial Downs adds more HHR locations and machines, hopefully in 2024 and 2025.”

Iowa and New Mexico may not produce the largest annual foal crops in North America, but they each had Breeders’ Cup contenders last year. 

Tyler’s Tribe (Sharp Azteca) headed to Keeneland undefeated in five starts in his home state of Iowa to contest the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint (G1). Unfortunately, the then two-year-old gelding was eased into the stretch after bleeding. He did regroup to finish third at Oaklawn Park just a month later in the Advent Stakes.

After challenging the inside speed during the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint (G1), New Mexico-bred Slammed (Marking) finished out of the money. Although the now five-year-old mare has not run since, her previous earnings of $557,030 (13 starts, 9-1-0) give her credibility as a broodmare prospect.

With the majority of Breeders’ Cup contenders raised on Kentucky bluegrass, mare owners may want to start watching for options in Iowa and New Mexico.

Bonus Bucks

Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners launched in the fall of 2011. Their ability to acquire, manage and develop runners and put together partnerships is quantified by their gross earnings of $42,561,789.

Eclipse President, Aron Wellman, sees the value of state-bred incentives and makes use of them, although his first order of business is finding the right horses.

“We are going to buy a horse because we like the horse,” Wellman confirmed. “If we buy something eligible for regional programs, we take advantage of them.”

The group’s Chief Financial Officer, Bill Victor, notices incentive earnings on his bottom line. “Breeder incentive programs are important to any stable.”

Spendthrift Farm continues to enjoy their fruitful and much copied programs. This year, Safe Bet will feature Coal Front (Stay Thirsty) standing at $5,000. If Coal Front does not produce at least one graded or group stakes winner by December 31, from his first two-year-old crop the mare owner will owe no stud fee. If he produces a stakes winner, the normal fee will be owed.  

Share the Upside features Greatest Honour (Tapit) for 2023. The breeder sends a mare to this stallion, has a live foal and pays the $10,000 fee. That foal entitles the mare owner to a lifetime breeding to Greatest Honour, an annual breeding share, with no added costs. Greatest Honour is, however, sold out for this year.

Both these Spendthrift programs minimize risks and offer great value, especially to smaller breeders.

Canada continues its successful Ontario Thoroughbred Improvement Program (TIP) with a current budget of $800,000. 

The province’s Mare Purchase Program (MPP) provides breeder incentives to invest in and ship mare power into Ontario. Foal mares—purchased for a minimum of $10,000 (USD), with no maximum price, at a recognized auction outside of Ontario, but produce 2023 foals in the providence— are eligible for a rebate. The rebate is for 50% of the purchase price up to $25,000 (CAD) with a limit of $75,000 (CAD) per ownership group. Mares bred back to a registered Ontario Sire in the 2023 breeding season are also eligible for a $2,500 (CAD) bonus.

The Mare Recruitment Program (MRP) incentivizes mare owners who bring an in-foal mare to Ontario to foal in 2024. Owners will receive a $5,000 (CAD) incentive for each in-foal mare brought to Ontario. The mare must not have foaled in Ontario in 2022 or 2023. MRP is for mares purchased at an Ontario Racing accredited sale in 2023 and must have a minimum purchase price of $5,000 (USD).

Breeders of record are eligible for additional bonuses through TIP. Specific details on the MPP and MRP programs criteria are outlined in the applicable criteria book.

The Struggle Is Real

Minnesota’s only Thoroughbred racetrack suffered a low blow recently when their 10-year marketing agreement with the nearby Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux community expired without renewal. The track will be racing fewer days this year to keep purse amounts competitive without the additional funds.

The former agreement forbad Canterbury from supporting additional gaming legislation in the state; they are now free to push for sports wagering and slots of historical horse racing machines. 

Canterbury Park’s Thoroughbred 2023 stakes schedule will feature twenty-four races totaling $1.65 million in purses.

Texas Thoroughbred has one of the most innovative breed associations in the United States, especially for a state that has suffered setbacks over the decades. Their plan to promote Texas racing through public relations was a great success last year and will continue through this year.

“A series of events are conducted at Sam Houston Race Park, Lone Star Park and in connection with the Texas Two-Year-Old in Training Sale and the Texas Summer Yearling Sale,” said Texas Thoroughbred Association Executive Director Mary Ruyle. “Last year, this initiative resulted in forty-two new, first-time Texas Thoroughbred racehorse owners, equating to slightly more than $300,000 through participation in the Texas Thoroughbred Racing Club and private purchase connections set-ups.” 

Due to Texas’ stance on the Horseracing and Integrity Act (HISA), the Texas Racing Commission does not send out their racing signal unless it is out of the United States. When HISA was enacted July 1, 2022, they only had 14 days of the meet remaining. This year it has hindered their purse structure and the Accredited Thoroughbred Awards, according to Ruyle.

To resolve the problem, they have begun running races earlier in the day, rather than in the evenings, to draw more spectators and handle. They also made a deal with Woodbine to export their signal to Canada.

“At this moment, the purses are essentially the same,” Ruyle said. “As we get into the meet, we’ll see if we are able to sustain that.”

All Thoroughbred racing states within the United States, along with provinces in Canada, have some deals to incentivize breeders. Researching states of interest can provide the means to fend off these inflationary times in North America.

Pedigree vs Conformation

By Judy Wardrope

What are the factors people consider when assessing a potential racehorse? In part, it depends on their intentions. Different choices may be made if the horse or offspring is intended for their own use or how the horse or offspring might sell.

And when a horse gets to the track, what factors help a trainer decide on a particular distance or surface to try? Most of the trainers I interviewed say that they usually look at who the sire is when trying to determine distance and/or surface preferences.

Trainer Mark Frostad said, “I look at the pedigree more than the individual regarding distance and surface.” 

Richard Mandella says that his determining factors are “conformation, style of action, pedigree and the old standby, trial and error.”

Roger Attfield says, “It is extremely hard to tell turf versus dirt. I’ve watched horses all my life and I’ve tried to figure it out. I can tell when I start breezing them. I had a half-sister [to Perfect Soul], who was stakes-placed, and she couldn’t handle the turf one iota. I had the full brother…also turf. Approval could win on the dirt, but as soon as he stepped on the turf, he was dynamite.”

What about when planning a potential breeding for a mare or a stallion? Is conformation more important than pedigree? Or does pedigree have more influence than conformation? How much of a role does marketing play in the selections?  

Although ancestry and conformation do go together, the correlation is complicated. For example, top basketball players tend not to come from families of short people, but most NBA stars do not have siblings who are star players. The rule holds for other athletes, including gymnasts. But what would you get if you crossed a basketball player with a gymnast? 

Pedigree is not an absolute despite what marketing campaigns may lead you to believe. Look at human families—maybe even your own. Are you built like all of your siblings, do you all have the same talents? And what about your cousins? Are you all built alike and of equal talent? 

When it comes to Thoroughbred horses, you will find that only the very top sires boast a percentage of stakes winners nearing 15%. If one assumes that a stakes winner is the goal of most breeders, then that would indicate at least an 85% failure rate.

When breeding horses or selecting potential racehorses, the cross might look good on paper or in our imaginations, but what are the odds that the offspring would be able to perform to expectations if it was not built to be a success at the track? Looking at the big picture, one has to wonder what we are doing to the gene pool if we only breed for marketability.

To get a better understanding, let’s look at four horses. Three of our sample horses have strong catalog pages, but did they run according to their pedigrees or according to the mechanics of their construction? Furthermore, did the horse with the humdrum catalog page have a humdrum racing career?

Ocean Colors

PEDIGREE 

She is by Orientate, a campion sprinter of $1,716,950 (including a win in the Breeders' Cup Sprint [Gr1], who sired numerous stakes horses and was the broodmare sire of champions. 

Her dam, Winning Colors, earned $1,526,837, was the champion three-year-old filly and beat the boys in the Kentucky Derby [Gr1] and the Santa Anita Derby [Gr1]. She was a proven classic-distance racehorse. 

Winning Colors was the dam of 10 registered foals, 9 to race, 6 winners, including Ocean Colors and Golden Colors (a stakes-placed winner in Japan, who produced Cheerful Smile, a stakes winner of $1,878,158 in North America), and she is ancestor to other black-type runners.

CONFORMATION

Her lumbosacral gap (LS), which is just in front of the high point of croup and functions like the horse's transmission, is considerably rearward of ideal. This constitutes a significant difference when compared to either of her athletic parents. 

The rear triangle is equal on the ilium side (point of hip to point of buttock) and femur side (point of buttock to stifle protrusion), and her stifle is well below where the bottom of the sheath would be if she were male. In essence these would contribute to the long, ground-covering stride seen in distance horses like her dam.

Her pillar of support (a line extending through the natural groove in her forearm) emerges well in front of her withers for some lightness to the forehand and into the rear quarter of the hoof for added soundness.

Her base of neck is neither high nor low when compared to her point of shoulder, meaning that placement neither added nor subtracted weight on the forehand.

Because her humerus (elbow to point of shoulder) is not as long as one would expect for a range of motion that would match that of her hindquarters, she likely resembles her sprinter lines in this area. Although I never saw her race, I strongly suspect that her gait was not smooth. In order to compensate for a shorter stride in the front than in the back, she probably wanted to suspend the forehand while her hindquarters went through the full range of motion. Unfortunately, she is not strong enough in the LS to effectively use that method of compensating.

RECORDS

Her race record shows her as a stakes-placed mare and winner of $127,093 but closer examination shows that the stakes race was not graded with a small purse and that her three wins, two seconds and three thirds were not in top company.

While valuable on paper as a broodmare, and despite being mated to some top stallions early in her breeding career, she failed to produce a quality racehorse. Naturally her value dropped significantly until she sold in November 2018 for $20,000 in foal to Anchor Down.

Sequoyah

PEDIGREE

His sire, A.P. Indy earned $2,979,815, won the Breeders’ Cup Classic and the Belmont Stakes plus was the Eclipse Champion three-year-old and Horse of the Year. He was also a top sire of stakes horses as well as a noted sire of sires.

 His dam, Chilukki, earned more than $1.2 million, was the Eclipse Champion two-year-old filly, was second in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies, and set track records at Churchill Downs for both 4.5 furlongs and a mile. Her sire won the Breeders’ Cup Sprint and equaled a track record for 7 furlongs. 

CONFORMATION

His LS is 1.5” (by actual palpation) rearward of ideal and just at the outer limits of the athletic range.

His rear triangle is slightly shorter on the femur side (point of hip to stifle protrusion), which not only decreases the range of motion of the rear leg by changing the stride’s ellipse, but it adds stress to the hind leg from hock down.

The stifle placement (well below sheath level) would indicate a preference for distances around 10 furlongs (similar to his sire’s), except for the short femur.

His pillar of support does emerge in front of the withers, but the bottom of the line emerges behind the heel, making him susceptible to injury to the suspensory apparatus of the foreleg (tendons and ligaments).

His humerus is of medium length and is moderately angled and would represent a range of motion that would match the hindquarters. However, the tightness of his elbow (note the circled muscling over the elbow) would likely prevent him from using the full range of motion. He would stop the motion before the elbow contacted his ribs; thus, the development of that particular muscle as a brake and a reduction in stride length. His base of neck was well above point of shoulder, which adds some lightness to his forehand.

RECORDS

He was injured in his only start and had zero earnings. He did go to stud based on his pedigree, but was not a success. He sired one stakes winner of note, a gelding out of a stakes-winning Smart Strike daughter, who won at distances from 7 to 9 furlongs.

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