At the annual meeting of the members of the Hambletonian Society, which was held on August 5 in Rutherford, NJ, the board of directors of the society approved the conditions of Hambletonian No. 94, the stakes event for foals of 2016, which is to be raced in 2019.
In addition to the approval of the conditions for 2019 Hambletonian (and Oaks) and 2020 Hambletonian Maturity at the Annual Meeting, three vacancies on the board were filled.
Frederick W. Hertrich III of Seaford, Delaware, Marvin Katz of Toronto, Ontario, and Dr. John C. Mossbarger of Washington Courthouse, Ohio, were all elected to serve on the board of the Hambletonian Society. All have extensive racing and breeding backgrounds, and are deeply committed to the future of harness racing.
Hertrich heads an enterprise that operates car dealerships in Delaware, Maryland, and New Jersey and has been selling and raising yearlings under the All American Harnessbreds name for more than 25 years. Last year, Hertrich bred the winners of $4.3 million, and notables he’s bred or owned include Allamerican Native, Boston Red Rocks, Spirit To Win, Bettor Be Steppin, Travel Playlist, Allamerican Nadia and the richest pacing mare of all time, Eternal Camnation. Hertrich owns shares in 90 per cent of all the major pacing and trotting stallions and has ranked in the top 10 of all U.S. breeders in the last two years.
Katz, of Toronto, Ontario, has been a dominant owner and breeder in harness racing in North America for more than 30 years. He has won every major race – from the Meadowlands Pace to the Hambletonian – and developed, along with partners Al Libfeld and Sam Goldband, one of the more elite trotting broodmare bands in the sport. Katz bred full sisters All The Time and Ariana G who won the Hambletonian Oaks and Jim Doherty Memorial, respectively, last Saturday, and also shared ownership on 2010 Hambletonian winner Muscle Massive and 2008 Hambletonian Oaks winner Creamy Mimi.
Dr. Mossbarger is a veterinarian and the vice president of Midland Acres, Inc., a family-owned 500-acre breeding farm in Bloomingburg, Ohio. Midland Acres has become one of Ohio’s largest nurseries, and is currently home to eight of the most in–demand stallions in the midwest, including Breeders Crown champions Broadway Hall, Manofmanymissions and Break The Bank K. A second-generation horseman, Dr. Mossbarger is a director of the USTA, the past president of the Ohio Harness Horsemen's Association and the Ohio Standardbred Breeders and Owners Association. He is a member of the Fayette County Harness Horsemen's Association, and serves as a state trustee on the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation.
The Hambletonian Society is a non-profit organization formed in 1924 to sponsor the race for which it was named, the Hambletonian Stake. The society’s mission is to encourage and support the breeding of Standardbred horses through the development, administration and promotion of harness racing stakes, early-closing races and other special events. The Hambletonian Society services 129 of harness racing’s richest and most prestigious events at 13 different tracks, including harness racing’s most prominent race, the Hambletonian for three-year-old trotters, its filly division, the Hambletonian Oaks and the sport’s championship series, the Breeders Crown. The organization was responsible for the disbursement of more than $17.8 million in purses last year.
Tom Charters is president of the Hambletonian Society and Jim Simpson chairs the executive committee.
(Hambletonian Society)