There was a wide smile on Michael Campbell’s face as he watched New Jersey-bred Book’em Danno win the June 8 Woody Stephens Stakes (G1) at Saratoga Race Course.
“I thought it was great. He’s a tough horse and (trainer) Derek Ryan has done a great job preparing him and picking his races,” Campbell said about the $910,625 earner bred by Gregory Kilka and Bright View Farm. “He’s a real racehorse.”
For Campbell, the joy over Book’em Danno’s top-level victory is linked to his job as the executive director of the Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association of New Jersey.
Thanks to the Bucchero gelding’s Woody Stephens victory for his Atlantic Six Racing ownership group, the New Jersey breeding program has its first grade 1 winner since Green Gratto won the 2017 Carter Handicap (G1).
And the publicity and acclaim could not have come at a better time for the New Jersey breeding program.
While a series of $10 million purse subsidies from the state and revenue from sports betting has been a boost to racing at Monmouth Park, it’s been a different story for breeders in the state.
With just 51 dates at Monmouth Park and another 10 just on turf at The Meadowlands, New Jersey-breds basically have viable opportunities to race in their home state for about one-third of the year, from May through September. That’s hardly a resounding endorsement for breeders to start an operation or increase their holdings in the Garden State.
“Book’em Danno is one of the top sprinters in the country and we are happy he’s a Jersey-bred. He’s been a great representative of the program since he started racing at Monmouth and went on to race in Saudi Arabia and came back and won a grade 1 stakes in New York with a great effort,” Campbell said. “It’s helpful, but to be honest I don’t think we are going to see an influx of mares and people looking to participate in the program because of the uncertainties about the future in New Jersey racing. We’re only running 51 dates at Monmouth and 10 at The Meadowlands. There’s not a lot of opportunities for a Jersey-bred to run in New Jersey. We need more dates.”
As vital as the state subsidies have been for New Jersey horsemen, the switch from a five-year commitment to a year-to-year awarding of the $10 million has impacted breeders. That issue should be resolved before too long as a bill reinstating the five-year subsidy is expected to be signed by governor Phil Murphy.
“We’ve been going year-to-year with the subsidy the last few years and you can’t build a breeding program like that. By the time someone breeds a mare and then gets the foal to the racetrack a few years later, you don’t know what the situation will be with racing dates and the subsidies,” Campbell said. “There’s a bill on the governor’s desk for another five-year subsidy but it hasn’t been signed yet. The governor has been a supporter of racing and I hope he’ll sign it.”
Reflective of the situation, Campbell said there was a foal crop of between 90-95 in the state this year. As recently as 2021 there were 115 foals.
Campbell said considering the circumstances, Monmouth has done a fine job of carding races for Jersey-breds.
“Monmouth does a good job of working with us and the trainers to card as many Jersey-bred races as they can. You can’t make everyone happy but there are opportunities during the racing season,” Campbell said.
State-breds also can earn bonuses for racing in New Jersey.
For the breeder of a registered Jersey-bred that finishes first through fourth in a restricted race and is by an out-of-state or unregistered New Jersey stallion, there’s a 25% bonus linked to the purse. Payments are capped at $10,000 for first and $5,000 for second through fourth. For horses by in-state stallions, it’s a 35% bonus up to $10,000 with the same caps.
In open races at Monmouth, there is a 40% bonus for top-three finishes by Jersey-breds, up to $15,000, for owners.
“We’ve added bonuses to fourth to help owners. We felt it was important to reward as many people as possible,” Campbell said. “Even if it’s a few hundred dollars each time, that’s more money in people’s pockets.”
In the case of Book’em Danno, a son of the Ghostzapper mare Adorabella, he did not receive a bonus for winning out of state in the Woody Stephens. But he did earn an extra $15,000 for his owners by winning the July 19 $110,000 Jersey Shore, an open stakes at Monmouth.
Campbell said there were bonuses for out-of-state races but that ended after the subsidies were approved.
“We had a program to provide for horses that run out of state when there is no live racing, but then the subsidies started and we got kickback. Legislators did not want to see money go to people running out of state,” Campbell said. “We’re going to take a look at it again at the end of the year and try to work something out.”
If that happens, and owners and breeders of Jersey-breds can be rewarded for success in other states during the other eight months of the year, it would indeed be a major help to the New Jersey breeding program.
In a sense, it would be another grade 1 win for New Jersey breeders.
