2012 Season

2012 Sire Stakes Schedule

• Premier Dates

• Green Acres Dates
  

Background: The New Jersey Sire Stakes Program was established by law in 1971 to encourage the breeding of Standardbred horses, the trotters and pacers familiar to harness-racing fans. Because the program offers healthy purses for winning Standardbreds sired by registered New Jersey stallions, it gives stallion owners an incentive to locate their stallions and horse farms in New Jersey. As a result, the program has been instrumental in maintaining more than 100,000 acres of scenic open space around the state.

The Sire Stakes program provides a minimum of seven races a year for each class of both two- and three-year old colts and fillies, trotters and pacers alike. The program includes Sire Stakes Premier Division events, the Sire Stakes Green Acres Program, the New Jersey Futurities, Breeders Awards and the Jersey Classic, along with overnight events carrying an extra 25 percent purse stipend for New Jersey-sired or New Jersey-owned Standardbreds. Total purse money for these events was more than $5 million in 2011.

Eligibility: To be eligible to the New Jersey Sire Stakes program, an owner must purchase or breed a foal sired by a New Jersey registered stallion. That stallion must have been registered with the Standardbred Breeders & Owners Association of New Jersey and must conform to the rules of the New Jersey Sire Stakes.

Farms Standing Stallions: Since the New Jersey Sire Stakes Program comes under the auspices of the Department of Agriculture, and since New Jersey has gained a wide reputation as the premier breeding ground for standardbred horses, we are beginning that effort with a look at the state's standardbred breeding farms.

• Perretti Farms
• Southwind Farms

Nominations of Eligible Yearlings:

A foal sired by a registered New Jersey Standardbred stallion must be nominated to the Sire Stakes by May 15 to become eligible for both the Green Acres and pari-mutuel programs. A $50 registration fee must be included along with a copy of the United States Trotting Association or Standardbred Canada Certificate of Registration or a $75 fee without the certificate. Horses bred via semen transported outside the state of New Jersey must pay $250. Supplemental yearling nominations can be made up to and including September 15 for a fee of $350 or $550 if the horse was bred out of New Jersey through the transport of semen. After September 15 up until February 15 of the two-year-old season, the fee is $650 and $850 if bred out of state. The supplemental nomination fee does not include any other fees that may also be due on that date.

Yearling Nomination form [PDF 20K]

Supplemental Yearling Nomination form [PDF 21K]

Green Acres Division:

The Green Acres races consist of a series of four events for each of the eight divisions, which depend on the age, gait and sex of the horse. The highest point winners after the first three legs, each of which carries an estimated purse of $7,500 (except in situations where 10 horses enter then the entries may be divided into two fields of five, each with a purse of $6,000), become eligible for the final race that has a purse of $25,000. Horses that earn $25,000 or more in the Premier Series at the Meadowlands in a given year shall be ineligible to compete in any leg or the final of the Green Acres Series at Freehold Raceway during that season.

Payments for the Green Acres program of $100 and $150 are due on February 15 and April 15, respectively. Starting fees for Green Acres races are $150 for elimination races and $400 for final events.

Premier Division:

The Premier Division is contested in the spring and summer with a series of races at The Meadowlands for both two- and three-year old colts and fillies on both the trot and pace. The top point winners in each division qualify for the finals.

Payments for the pari-mutuel program of $300 are due on February 15 for two-year-olds and three-year-olds. An additional payment of $500 for two-year-olds and three-year-olds is due on April 15. Starting fees in all pari-mutuel events are $500. Starting fees for final events are $1,500 at Meadowlands.

Lou Babic Pace:

The New Jersey Sire Stakes also administers the Lou Babic Open Pace and the Lou Babic Filly Pace, both for New Jersey sired two-year-old pacers. Babic nominations close on May 15 and carry fees of $25 for colts and $15 for fillies. The yearlings must also be nominated to the New Jersey Sire Stakes. Supplemental nominations can be made until February 15 of the two-year-old year with a fee of $500 for colts and $400 for fillies. The supplemental nomination fee does not include any other fees that may also be due on that date. One sustaining payment of $700 for colts and $400 for fillies is due on March 15 of the two-year-old year. Starting fees are $2,000 for the open division and $1,000 for the filly division. In 2012, the value of the Lou Babic Open Pace is estimated at $90,000 while the filly division is expected to be valued at $55,000.

Sustaining Payment form [PDF 72K]

Standardbred Links:

Standardbred Breeders and Owners Association of New Jersey
United States Trotting Association
Meadowlands Racetrack
Freehold Raceway
The Hambletonian Society
Standardbred Retirement Association
Standardbred Pleasure Horse Organization of New Jersey

For More Information: Contact Christopher Castens or call (609) 292-8830 or write the Standardbred Breeders and Owners Association, 64 Business Route 33, Manalapan, NJ 07726, or (732) 462-2357.

Sire Stakes Board of Trustees: Anthony Perrett, Chairman; Thomas D'Altrui, Vice Chairman; Catherine Stearns Medich; Dr. David Meirs II; Secretary of Agriculture Douglas H. Fisher.