Perretti Farms, home to two of harness racing’s premier stallions as well as the 2010 Trotting Broodmare of the Year, was selected New Jersey Breeder of the Year by
the Standardbred Breeders & Owners Association of New Jersey.
Owners William and Anthony Perretti will be honoured at the New Jersey Equine Advisory Board’s 54th Annual New Jersey Breeders Awards Luncheon at Charley’s Other Brother Restaurant in Eastampton Township, NJ at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, January 30, 2011.
Perretti Farms, home to some of the sport’s leading stallions and broodmares and nursery for many champions each year, is more than 1,000 acres of rolling hills and pastures in Upper Freehold Township’s Cream Ridge section. It was founded in the late 1980s by automotive dealer and restaurateur William J. Perretti.
In 2010, Perretti Farms ranks third nationally with 245 winners and $13.3 million in earnings, with a third of the starters of Hanover Shoe and Winbak.
Two of this year’s divisional champions, Three-Year-Old Colt Trotter of the Year Lucky Chucky (by the late Perretti stallion Windsongs Legacy) and Older Male Trotter of the Year Enough Talk were bred by Perretti Farms.
Both of 2010’s three-year-old pacing champions are by the Rocknroll Hanover, who stands at Perretti Farms – the Little Brown Jug and Breeders Crown Colt Pace winner Rock N Roll Heaven and Miss New Jersey and Breeders Crown Filly Pace winner Put On A Show.
While Perretti’s stallions are industry leaders on the pace – Rocknroll Hanover – and the trot – Muscles Yankee – the farm is also home to some of the premier broodmares in the country.
Graceful Touch produced two offspring who were prominent on the trotting stage in 2010. Her three-year-old son Muscle Massive won the Hambletonian at the Meadowlands in August. On the same program, her two-year-old daughter, Thatsnotmyname, won the Merrie Annabelle. The accomplishments of these two youngsters earned Graceful Touch the United States Harness Writers Association’s Trotting Broodmare of the Year honours.
Graceful Touch, by Pine Chip and out of Act Of Grace, is the dam of three who have reached the races, including $229,000 earner Muscle Mass, a $100,000 yearling. Muscle Massive, who sold for $425,000, has banked in excess of $1.2 million and Thatsnotmyname, a $250,000 yearling, earned $335,250.
“It was a wonderful achievement for Graceful Touch to win Broodmare of the Year – and have a Hambletonian and Merrie Annabelle winner on the same day,” said Anthony Perretti, who holds a trifecta of directorships with the SBOANJ, New Jersey Sire Stakes and Hambletonian Society.
“Even in this difficult time, Perretti Farms is proud to support New Jersey racing,” Perretti added. “We have a renewed enthusiasm and feel that with the leadership of Jeff Gural and the SBOANJ we will prevail. We thank everyone for their support of New Jersey-bred horses. We hope that everyone in racing will wish us luck in New Jersey. The standardbred industry needs the Meadowlands.”
Perretti Farms won the inaugural New Jersey Breeder of the Year Award in 2003. Other winners have included White Birch Farm, Valley High Stables, Southwind Farms, Kentuckiana Farms, Fair Winds Farm and Heritage Hill Farms.
Tickets for the luncheon are $27.50 each and should be ordered from the New Jersey Department of Agriculture, Division of Markets & Development -- Horse Industry, PO Box 330, Trenton, NJ 08625 no later than January 19. Call 609-984-4389 for further information.
(SBOANJ)