Officials with the New Jersey Sire Stakes have announced that the recent passage of legislation providing $20 million in assistance for New Jersey horse racing — both Standardbred and Thoroughbred — will mean a significant boost to the purse structure for the NJSS over the next five years.

“This legislation will supply the New Jersey Sire Stakes with an additional $1.2 million that will be applied to purses for both the Premier Division and the Standardbred Development Fund,” noted NJSS Executive Director Chris Castens. “This will allow us to increase our total purse distribution by an estimated 75 per cent over the amount distributed in 2018. There will be across-the-board increases for each division.” Castens added that “final purses for divisions in each program will be established later this year.”

The New Jersey Sire Stakes operates a two-tiered program for two- and three-year-old trotters and pacers. In the spring and early summer, the Premier Division, which is limited to horses sired by New Jersey-based stallions, is contested at the Meadowlands Racetrack. During the late summer and fall, attention shifts to Freehold Raceway where the Standardbred Development Fund (SDF) races are contested. SDF races are open to horses sired by New Jersey-based stallions as well as the offspring of any stallion whose dam spends at least 150 days in New Jersey, inclusive of foaling.

(NJSS)