05/21/2026
Dear Standardbred Breeding Industry Colleagues:
As you know, we have been sharing information on critically important legislation that overwhelmingly passed both houses of the New York state legislature earlier this year (again, our thanks to the leadership of Chair Woerner and Chair Addabbo), which is intended to fix the problem that the NYS Ag and Breeding Fund created when they interpreted the NY Sire Stakes system to exclude horses bred via out of state shipped semen from all subdivisions of the program. No other Sire Stakes jurisdictions interpret shipped semen rules in this manner, putting our breeding farms, horsemen and the NY harness racing industry at a distinct disadvantage.
The Ag Fundβs website initially included full Sire Stakes eligibility for horses bred with shipped semen, which they then changed with no notice to our industry. This has created serious issues and confusion about which levels our horses are eligible for; how they will be valued at the sales; and what the future of the program really holds for us. All of this could be fixed with Governor Hochul signing this clarifying legislation. However, the Governor has still not called the bill up for her consideration, which is unfortunately already resulting in real consequences for our industry.
For example, we had informed the Governorβs office that May 15th was a key deadline for signing the bill, because that was the deadline for nominating your foals. We assume that many of you just paid a $50 nomination fee, anticipating that foals would be eligible for all tiers of the 2027 Sire Stakes (as it has been in NYSS the past several years and in every other stateβs sire stakes program)β¦.but if bred with shipped semen outside the state of NY, those foals are not eligible for the Excelsior Series or County Fairs subdivisions. Yet breeders in this situation are being asked to pay an equal nomination fee without equal racing prospects. We have heard from numerous colleagues that they were not aware of this, and so we wanted to bring it to your immediate attention.
Therefore, if you have questions or concerns at this point, we suggest you contact the Ag Fund directly, as we donβt have the answers. For example, if you have questions about your specific foalsβ eligibility; concerns about the impact this multi-tier system will have on your business; how New Yorkβs breeding industry as a whole will compete with other statesβ programs; what is being shared with the sales companies about race eligibility, since they are literally creating their catalogues now for the upcoming sales; what the Ag Fundβs position is on the bill and, importantly, what can the Fund do to address these concerns if the Governor does not sign the bill.
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One reason we are so confused by this situation is that in the past few years, New York State has made very good decisions that have resuscitated New York racing and breeding. We were seeing folks from Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia coming to New York and investing here, and now this Sire Stakes situation has thrown the sector into turmoil β causing people to re-consider investing in New York, including bringing new commercial stallions to the state, and to consider withdrawing their stallions or taking legal action.
We will obviously continue to provide information and updates when we get them, but in the meantime, we wanted to make you aware of the latest status.
Sincerely,
Blue Chip Farms, LLC
