New York horsemen are excited for the two-part plan to provide purse parity for racing in the state starting in 2026. Coglianese Photo.
New York-based horsemen have expressed their support for the two-part plan unveiled by the New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) to provide purse parity for New York-breds.
The programs will be offered starting in 2026 at both Saratoga Race Course and Aqueduct as well as at the new Belmont Park, which will open in the fall of 2026.
In October 2023, NYRA announced that beginning January 1, 2026, all New York-bred overnight races for 2-year-olds [foals of 2024] on the NYRA circuit will offer purse amounts matching their open-company counterparts.
On December 30, NYRA further announced that effective January 1, 2027, all New York-bred overnight races will be run for purse money equal to their open-company counterparts, allowing the New York-bred foal crop to benefit from the financial reward of purse parity throughout their racing careers.
Boyd Browning Jr., President and CEO of Fasig-Tipton
“It’s a fantastic move by NYRA that further strengthens the New York-bred program both from a racing standpoint and from a sales standpoint. It also reiterates the cooperative nature and strengths of the racing community, breeding community and the sales community in the State of New York. This will continue to make the New York-bred sale one of the strongest in the United States and also continue to enhance the value of every New York-bred produced. It should also provide further incentive for more people to breed in the state of New York. We look forward to continuing to devote significant resources to the sales at Saratoga.”
Joe McMahon, McMahon of Saratoga Thoroughbreds
“As a longtime breeder and owner of racehorses in New York State, I would say this is a wonderful addition to the already great NYRA and New York Breeding and Development Fund awards. We’ve been in business here for over 50 years, and it’s certainly one of the biggest advancements we’ve made in that period. It should impact the industry for New York racing very positively. The awards to breeders are going to be based on a higher amount of money, so that’s more money in their pockets.”
Lere Visagie, Rockridge Stud
“It’s obviously very important for us to have it. It’s very good news for all of New York. We’ll see what impact it will have on us this year, but it’s very encouraging for us to say [to clients] that New York-breds will run for the same money as open company.
“There’s a little bit of a disconnect still between New York and Kentucky because it’s a regional market, but we’ve definitely kind of stopped the exodus of people going to Kentucky. There’s a lot more people staying in New York, and with the quality of stallions that are here now, there’s a wide variety for them to stay local. This [purse parity] is all the more reason to stay.
“The last three years, we’ve been stepping it up every year with better and more stallions, because we felt with the new Belmont, there’s a lot of positives that we can build off.”
Harlan Malter, Managing Partner of Ironhorse Racing Stable, Ironhorse Stallions and Bucchero
“When we moved Bucchero up to New York, it was an unusual move. Usually, it is Florida to Kentucky, or New York to Kentucky. It was very intentional; we felt that he was on the uptick. We saw how strong he was in open company, and we would hear rumblings of the plans coming down the pipeline for Belmont and the plans of purse parity being talked about. That is one of the things that has been on the top of my mind: New York is on its path to be, if not the premier racing jurisdiction in America, the co-premier racing jurisdiction, with the new Belmont and Saratoga. I’ve found in other jurisdictions the state-bred programs are just something on the side that they try to keep going, whereas New York I think has the opportunity to make it a central part of the racing program.
“It feels like the stallions in New York are being upgraded on a consistent basis, and the beauty of this purse parity is that we wanted to come along with it. As stallion owners, as breeders, it is important for us to start to elevate New York sires, so we can have New York-sired compete with New York-breds, who compete with open horses. The strength of the New York program in the future is how strong can we make our New York-sired horses, and can they be competitive with open horses? That was one of the reasons we brought Bucchero to New York. It is a premier racing jurisdiction that is taking all the steps necessary to not just have two levels of racing.”
Dan Zanatta, co-managing partner of NY Final Furlong Stable
“This has already been front of mind for us. We’ve done a few things strategically as we started to think about the program. One, the foals that our broodmares had this year – we sold as weanlings – because we thought there would be a little more demand from the investment side. We definitely saw the market react to the news that had already been released.
“We also started to think about the need to increase the quality of our stock and we’re willing to increase the max threshold ceiling of what we would be willing to pay for horses. We bought a $150,000 Yaupon weanling filly at Keeneland November which is typically in the upper bounds of what we would be paying for a yearling. If we’re going to be able to compete for purses that are up to 20 percent higher than what they are now, then we reshape our focus and improve what we are willing to pay for horses.
“Do we want to have more broodmares and be more invested on the breeding side, as well? These kind of announcements force those discussions and make some of those investments a little easier.”
Michael Sternklar, Clear Stars Stable
“The New York program has always been great for New York-breds, between the increased purses with the casino and the bonuses for running against open-company horses. But you always looked at those other purses and said, ‘why is there a disparity?’ So this was, of course, great news, especially because we converted our stable about 10 years ago from one that did claiming and buying at the sales, to a pure breeding, yearling and 2-year-old stable. We might purchase 10 new 2-year-olds a year and they’re all going to be New York-breds, so this is wonderful news. The program has always been so much better than other states, and it’s not even comparable. This just makes it even better.”
Linda Rice, trainer and owner
“Anything that is good for the New York-bred program is good for me because I race in New York year-round. I’m a big supporter of the New York-bred program and it’s been very good to me for the past 10-15 years, since I started racing in New York for the majority of the year. I’m happy to see that and what’s good for the program is good for my stable as well. I think it will definitely attract more interest in the New York-breds [at the sales], but hopefully not so much interest that we can’t get them bought!”
David Donk, trainer
“It’s showing the strength of the New York-bred program which continues to get stronger where in some other jurisdictions it hasn’t, especially with the declining horse population nationally. It’s a great opportunity for people and there’s a lot of positivity – not just for owners, but for breeders. The state-breds are getting better and better all the time. There’s a lot of good New York-breds out there and it’s a big strength of NYRA’s program.
“There’s a lot of optimism with the new Belmont Park and this just adds to it. The state-breds are the backbone – especially with the winter program – and I think it leads into that winter of 2026. The New York-bred program has been very good to me and hopefully it continues to do so.”
Ray Handal, trainer
“It is huge for the New York-bred program. The New York-breds are getting better so it makes the racing more competitive and people are more inclined to breed to have New York-breds and race them here. I think it is good for everybody that there will be more contentious races. It will give incentive to breeders to bring more horses here and it will put money in all of our pockets for the guys that are dedicated to the New York racing program.
“Half of my barn is New York-bred, so they are a big part of it, and they are a big part of New York racing. Anything we can do to help promote that, is huge.”
Horacio De Paz, trainer
“It is a great incentive for the owners. I would say New York-breds are at least 80 percent of my barn, for the most part, because I train for breeders and owners here in New York. This is a great incentive for us and for them.
“This is going to make the program even better – maybe you will see some different sires start coming over here. It will open up things for people wanting to breed to have New York-breds.”
David Duggan, trainer
“It becomes an easier sell to people that are investing in New York. If you’re thinking of investing, you’re increasing the amount you’re going to invest based on return. It regenerates interest – the cost of doing business here can be a deterrent to people, and I think it’s an added bonus that’s needed to sustain people in regular business. The New York breeders need that boost, and I think this is a good avenue for that. I think it’s good.”
New York State has adopted rules that expand the reach of the New York-bred awards and benefits by clarifying a pathway for non-resident mares to gain residency status. Accordingly, a non-resident mare purchased in foal through public auction is deemed a resident mare provided the mare is purchased for at least $50,000 in the public auction; is present in the state of New York within 15 days after a sale in North America and 60 days at any public auction sale abroad; the foal is foaled in New York; and the mare thereafter is continuously in residence in New York from within 120 days after her last cover in the year of conception of another foal and remains in residency until foaling.
For additional information on resident and non-resident mares and their foals, visit https://www.nybreds.com/rules/resident-non-resident-mares.
To support the residency rule, NYRA and The New York State Thoroughbred Breeding and Development Fund (NYTBDF) provide up to $650,000 per year in purse bonuses to owners. The bonus offers $5,000 every time a New York-sired New York-bred wins at the maiden special weight or allowance level at NYRA’s tracks.
