Dan Gall, President & CEO of Standardbred Canada, along with Peggy Hambly, President of Equestrian Canada, made the 2016 Equestrian Canada Breeder of the Year presentation to Marvin Katz and Al Libfeld at Mohawk Racetrack on Saturday night (September 16).
Peggy Hambly (third from left), President of Equestrian Canada, along with Dan Gall (third from right), President and CEO of Standardbred Canada, make the Equestrian Canada Breeder of the Year presentation for 2016 to Al Libfeld (fourth from left) and Marvin Katz (fifth from left) (New Image Media)
The presentation was made after Ariana G, one of the stars in their stable, had just scored an impressive four and a quarter-length, 1:51.4 victory in the Elegantimage final for three-year-old trotting fillies, re-setting the stakes, track and Canadian record in the process. The victory marked Ariana G’s ninth win in 11 races this season and her 18th in 22 starts overall. She now sports career earnings of $1,641,772. The Muscle Hill filly was one of Katz and Libfeld’s top performers and a major contributor to their success as breeders in 2016.
The Canadian Breeder of the Year Award recognizes breeders who have displayed incredible dedication to the Canadian equestrian industry through efforts to improve the quality and enhance the reputation of Canadian-bred horses, and Marvin Katz and Al Libfeld have certainly done that by developing one of the most respected and successful breeding enterprises in the harness racing industry that produces champions for themselves and their yearling buyers.
In 2016 alone, horses produced by the Libfeld/Katz breeding partnership won 29 races and earned purses in excess of $1.3 million. Their top horses were Ariana G, who won more than $800,000, and All The Time, the winner of the Hambletonian Oaks who racked up nearly $450,000. Katz and Libfeld also saw success in 2016 with Princess Aurora, a two-year-old trotting filly who won over $300,000, and O Narutac Perfetto, who brought in more than $100,000.