Yearling sales markedly down in New Jersey

UPPER FREEHOLD — It was a sobering Sunday for the horse industry.

That’s how Bob Marks, the marketing director of Perretti Farms, described the 2008 New Jersey Classic Yearling Sale, held Sept. 7 at the Horse Park of New Jersey in Upper Freehold Township.

Perretti Farms practically gave away the 14 horses it brought to the sale, as there were not a lot of bidders on hand due to the poor economy and the installation of slot machines in neighboring states’ racetracks, according to Marks.

Marks estimated that Perretti Farms garnered 50 percent less than what it should have at the sale, which is not a good omen for the New Jersey horse industry.

“It’s not the sale’s fault, it’s not the facility’s fault,” he said. “Everything was conducted professionally.”

Mark Mullen, the manager of his family’s Fair Winds Farm in Upper Freehold Township, said the biggest negatives in New Jersey are the sales tax, which is not applied in New York, Pennsylvania, Kentucky or Ontario, and purse sizes, which are much less than they are in other racing states.

“These two factors make our yearlings less valuable,” Mullen said. “Incidentally, our expenses to raise these horses are much more than other states. New Jersey is an awful place to do business. It’s worse for agriculture and still worse if you’re growing horses.”

Dr. David Meirs II, the owner of Walnridge Farm in Upper Freehold Township, said the horses that are sold at the New Jersey Classic Yearling Sale are not top quality.

“No matter what you do, if you breed horses, some won’t look too good,” he said. “These are the rejects from the major sale at Harrisburg (Pennsylvania).”

The yearlings sold at the classic may have conformational faults, or ancestors with foals that never did well on racetracks, he said.

Meirs said the selling prices of most of his farm’s yearlings did not compensate for their stud fee, but he did not expect them to.

The cheapest yearling sold for $2,000, while the highest priced yearling went for $26,000, he said.

Meirs said the $26,000 animal had a $10,000 stud fee and cost $15,000 to raise. He said the farm’s profit on the horse amounted to $1,000.

He called breeding racehorses in New Jersey “dismal” and said states with slot machines at their racetracks are running the Garden State out of the ballgame.

“They have so much money, [while] we have to go hat-in-hand to the casinos,” he said. New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine signed an agreement earlier this year with the casino industry that would supplement state horse racing purses with $90 million over three years, but would not allow video lottery terminals, or slots, at the state’s racetracks.

Dr. S. Perrine Dey, owner of Heritage Hill Farm in Upper Freehold Township, said the value of New Jersey horses has plummeted.

“We don’t have the purse money in the New Jersey Sire Stakes that we had years ago, while the money for New York, Delaware and Pennsylvania has markedly increased,” he said.

Marks said, “We’re manufacturers. We need to be able to produce a product. The New Jersey breeding industry is hurting badly and that is not going to help anybody if Perretti Farm has empty fields.”

Perretti Farm is the largest preserved farm in Upper Freehold Township.

“I can’t think of anything positive for the standardbred industry in New Jersey,” Marks said, noting that even in Pennsylvania, a state with slots at the tracks, there is not as much interest in buying yearlings as in purchasing ready-made racehorses.

According to the New Jersey Classic Yearling Sale results, 208 horses sold, with pacers averaging $8,148 and trotters averaging $7,274. The sales list also notes that some horses sold for very low prices, including one consigned by a Millstone Township owner that went for $100.

The sales’ results are available at www.gardenstatesales.com.

— Jane Meggitt