The Breeders Committee of the Standardbred Breeders & Owners Association of New Jersey has announced that Southwind Farms in Pennington has been selected as the New Jersey Breeder of the Year for 2015.
Among the Southwind standouts of 2015 was Southwind Frank, the likely divisional champion among the two-year-old trotting colts and geldings.
Southwind Farms will receive the presentation on January 24, 2016 at the 59th annual New Jersey Breeders Awards Luncheon at 1 p.m. at O’Connor’s Restaurant (formerly Charley’s Other Brother) in Eastampton, NJ.
Southwind Frank, a son of Muscle Hill – Flawless Lindy, won 11 of 12 starts in 2015, earning $786,419 for the partnership of Burke Racing Stable LLC, Weaver Bruscemi LLC, Our Horse Cents Stables and J&T Silva Stables LLC. A $100,000 Lexington Selected Yearling Sale purchase, he was trained by Ron Burke and driven in most of his starts by Yannick Gingras.
Beginning with the $100,000 New Jersey Sire Stakes Final on July 17 at the Meadowlands Racetrack, he strung together 10 straight victories, including the $349,850 Peter Haughton Memorial at the Meadowlands, the $283,480 William Wellwood Final at Mohawk Racetrack and the $600,000 Breeders Crown Final at Woodbine Racetrack.
His record of 1:52.2 was taken on October 8, winning an International Stallion Stakes at Lexington’s Red Mile.
“Receiving this award is bittersweet,” said Laura Young, Southwind’s general manager. “It is wonderful we are being recognized as the top breeder in New Jersey, but on the other hand there are not many of us left. At Southwind Farms, we choose to fly under the radar. Sometimes being silent is louder than loud. We have always produced top quality racehorses from our facility. We average 75 per cent two-year-old starter and 85 per cent three-year-old starter stats, which is pretty impressive for any breeding farm. This does not go unrecognized by owners and trainers.
“There are many things that sets Southwind Farms apart from other breeding facilities in New Jersey,” she added. “Many of these things have assured our survival through tough times. We continue to keep everything we possibly can in-house. We make our own hay and straw, and we outsource very little on the facility. Southwind has also found many other ways to ensure revenue flow to keep us going, such as managing stallions (Muscle Hill, Sportswriter and EL Titan) from afar.
“Our clients want security,” Young noted. “We offer that at every level here at Southwind. From our yearlings to the stallions we manage, our clients feel very secure when they do business with us. That's a rare incentive to offer in today's world. We work tirelessly to make Southwind Farms the best it can be, and we will continue to do so for many years to come.”
This is the second Breeders Award for Southwind Farms. Founded by Connie & Allen Skolnick in 1986, the farm features 235 acres near the Village of Pennington, NJ. Both Skolnicks passed away in 2013, and the farm is currently owned by their son, Barry.
Previous New Jersey Breeder of the Year winners include three-time winner White Birch Farm, two-time winner Perretti Farms, Deo Volente Farms, Valley High Stables, Kentuckiana Farms, Fair Winds Farm, Walnridge Farm and Heritage Hill Farms.
Tickets for the luncheon cost $40 per person and may be purchased from the New Jersey Department of Agriculture, Division of Markets & Development, Horse Industry, PO Box 330, Trenton, NJ 08625. For further information, call 609-984-4389 or email [email protected]
(SBOANJ)