Joe Jennings, a TBANJ board member who owns Walnford Stud, said he has heard breeders in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Virginia already have expresssed an interest in the program. In 2000, stallions in the Garden State had about 200 foals, but that number is expected to increase.
In an effort to become competitive with other states, the Thoroughbred Breeders Association of New Jersey has created the New Jersey Stallion Stakes, which will be run for the first time in 2005. The race or races for 3-year-olds will be run at Monmouth Park.Stallions who stand in New Jersey in 2001 are eligible. Purse money could total $150,000 to $300,000, and the races could be split into divisions for colts and geldings, and fillies depending on quality and the number of eligible horses.Jack DuArte, executive director of the TBANJ, said New Jersey "has taken a giant step in becoming competitive with other breeding programs in neighboring states. The New Jersey Stallion Stakes gives our breeders something to shoot for other than the New Jersey Futurity, which is basically a race they pay for themselves."
