Issue link: http://nytbreeders.epubxp.com/i/471532
6 New York Breeder | nytbreeders.org | March 2015 Top of the list for me is the status of the pro- gram awards currently being distributed by the New York Thoroughbred Breeding and De - velopment Fund. In 2008 the average breeder's award was $7,909. In 2014 the average New York breeder's award was $19,239, a stunning 143% increase. In 2008 the average open company owner's award was $3,805. In 2014 the fgure was up 77% to $6,717. In 2008 the average award to stallion owners was $13,099. In 2014 the average stallion owner's award was $35,248, up a block - buster 169%. One of the reasons for this dramatic across- the-board increase in awards, is, of course, that the purses currently available to New York-bred runners are second to none nationwide. In 2014 New York-breds competed for $44,428,496 in 823 restricted races. The same year New York's nearest competitor, Louisiana, ran a far greater number of restricted races (1,146), but the avail - able purses were only $27,469,321. All of this has translated into a revolution in New York-bred sales. From 2012 to 2014, total sales of New York-bred yearlings have risen 72%, and the weanling market has expanded by near - ly 30%. From 2013 to 2014, gross sales of New York-bred 2-year-olds were up 84%—certainly a direct result of the expansion of the New York- bred 2-year old stakes schedule at the New York Racing Association tracks. At the same time that New York-breds are more valuable (and, in contradiction to the law of supply and demand), their numbers are also on the rise. In 2014, for the third year in a row, the New York foal crop posted an increase, up 4% from 2013. More signifcantly, during a peri - od of national decline in the foal crop, the New York-bred foal population is up 31% from its smallest crop of 1,225 in 2011 to 1,603 individ - uals in 2014. In other words, bottom-line business is boom - ing and our horse population is growing, but as you know this is not just about the numbers. New York breeders deserve recognition for pro - ducing the ever-higher-quality individuals whose racetrack achievements are the program's best advertisement. Let's review 2014. Samraat and Uncle Sigh were prominent on the Kentucky Derby Pre - sented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) trail. Nine New York-breds participated in Breeders' Cup races, producing three Breeders' Cup placings and one Breeders' Cup victory. Dayatthespa, who became New York's frst winner of a grade I Breeders' Cup race, and Artemis Agrotera were Eclipse Award fnalists in three categories, and Dayat - thespa was the nearly unanimous choice in the Eclipse voting for female turf champion. Final - ly, in 2014, six New York-bred horses achieved millionaire status: Dayatthespa, Palace, Discreet Marq, Be Bullish (who has done it the hard way), Zivo, and Lubash. Increasingly these days when people see a New York-bred's achievements, they do not think of it as "despite" the fact the horse is a New York- bred but "because" he is a New York-bred. I can only congratulate breeders on what they have achieved in recent years and encourage them to do more of the same! JEFFREY A. CANNIZZO Executive Director State of the State IT IS NOT NEWS that the New York-bred breeding and rac- ing program has redefned itself in just a few short years. Still, the 2014 year-end statistics recently released by the New York Thoroughbred Breeding and Development Fund revealed some trends that even surprised me—as close to the program as I am. Here are some points that really got my attention.