Breeders call thoroughbred racing a dying sport in N.J.
BY JANE MEGGITT
Staff Writer

UPPER FREEHOLD — Local thoroughbred breeders hope that increased purses and breeder incentive programs will help revive their sport.

Thoroughbred breeding in New Jersey has declined precipitously since its heyday in the 1960s and ’70s.

Attorney Felice Busto is on the board of the Thoroughbred Breeders Association of New Jersey (TBANJ). She said that racing in New Jersey has suffered greatly with the closing of the Garden State Park Racetrack in Cherry Hill and the Atlantic City Racetrack, resulting in a decrease of racing days.

“I think that it is critical that we bring new people into the sport, both as breeders and owners,” Busto said. “The stallion and breeding farms have diminished to the point where the breeding program has suffered and people have gone to other states.

Busto said the state could support the thoroughbred breeding program in a variety of ways.

“We are hopeful that video lottery terminals will be approved in New Jersey and provide our breeding program with increased moneys to adequately fund our breeding program,” Busto said.

“We have the in-state breeders awards and the new program providing for out-of-state breeders awards when New Jersey is not racing,” Busto said, “and these programs need to be fully funded.”

Breeders, according to Busto, would also like an owner’s incentive to encourage people to breed in New Jersey or buy a New Jersey-bred horse.

She said New Jersey has an important interest in promoting the industry because it preserves farmland and the state’s rapidly diminishing open space.

“The breeding and racing industry supports farms directly and indirectly through hay and other suppliers,” Busto said.

According to Busto, Joe Jennings, an Upper Freehold resident and TBANJ member, recently said that the person with the farm behind his Walnford Stud relies on Joe’s operation for his hay [business].

T. Eileen Munyak, who has been in the thoroughbred breeding industry since the mid-1970s, runs Hill Haven Farm in Upper Freehold and Bosswins Farm in Millstone. She specializes in breeding, broodmare and foaling care, and boarding, layup and retirees. There are about 15 horses at Bosswins and between 25 and 30 horses at Hill Haven. This year, Munyak also expects seven babies.

Munyak recalls that when she started in the business, there was year-round racing, with the former Garden State Park and Atlantic City racetracks in addition to the Monmouth Park racetrack in Oceanport. Now, she said, there is only Monmouth Park and a short meet at the Meadowlands in East Rutherford for thoroughbreds. She said the new rules concerning New Jersey-breds may help if the incentive programs are funded.

According to the NJTBA Web site, under the new breeder’s incentives, awards are paid to registered New Jersey-breds finishing first through third for any races within the state. Thirty-five percent of purse earnings will be paid if the foal is sired by a registered New Jersey stallion and is conceived in New Jersey. Twenty-five percent of purse earnings will be paid if the stallion stands in a state other than New Jersey.

“It’s pretty significant,” Munyak said.

Munyak said thoroughbreds should get more dates at the Meadowlands, or standardbreds should have the Meadowlands and the state could build a new track for thoroughbreds.

Munyak does not stand any stallions at her farms and does most of the work herself, with occasional help from her mother and another friend.

“It’s a 24/7 job,” she said. “[But] I like what I do. I’d rather deal with animals.”

The foals are sold privately as yearlings and do not go to sales. The layups generally stay two to three months until they are ready to return to training, according to Munyak. The retirees are her own, she said.

“I have a responsibility to them,” she said, noting that she wouldn’t be able to sleep if she didn’t know what had become her former racehorses.

Some former racehorses are retrained and sold as show horses, Munyak said. One of her ex-racers, The Toolman, recently won his first dressage class with owner Emily Wolek, of Millstone.

Munyak admits she has thought of moving to Pennsylvania, which will soon allow slots at tracks.

She said another problem for breeders is the lack of training centers for thoroughbreds, especially ones with winterized tracks. Many trainers have to go to Florida to train in the winter because there are no winterized tracks in the area.

For those who may want to get involved in racing, Munyak said, “There is nothing like seeing your horse run at the track. It’s exciting, winning a race at any level. There’s nothing like rooting for your own horse.”

For more information, visit www.njbreds.com.