Revamped KYSS a success

A bill recently passed by the Kentucky legislature that sends the sales tax collected on all stud fees into a combined breed pool has met with immediate success in the Standardbred industry.

For the first time ever this year, 2 year olds raced for three $50,000 legs and then a $200,000 final in the Kentucky Sire Stakes, far more than what was available in the past with only eliminations and a final that had a much lower purse. Three year olds will be added to the mix next year, setting the stage for a Kentucky Super Night program with all eight divisional championships scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 9, at The Red Mile.

“This should be a huge jumpstart to Kentucky breeding,” said Kentucky Harness Horsemen’s Association (KHHA) president Bob Stewart. “A lot of Kentucky owners and Kentucky trainers got a lot of the money this year, and it is just going to get better. The breeding business takes time, but there is no question the Kentucky-bred yearlings are going to bring more money because of the Sire Stakes program and that will mean more people will breed in Kentucky. More mares will be bred in the state.

“There is no question business follows money, and we now have the money to attract the business. It is going to be a snowball effect from here on out.”

Stewart pointed out that currently only two trotting stallions stand in the state: Peninsula Farm’s Valley Victor, who arrived last year, and Walnut Hall Ltd.’s Like A Prayer, whose first foals were 2 year olds in 2006. World champion Cash Hall will join the cast when he begins stallion duty at Walnut Hall Ltd. in 2007, and famed French horseman Jean Pierre Dubois plans to send a stallion to the Bluegrass.

All 10 starters in this year’s $200,000 Sire Stakes final for freshman trotters held Sept. 9 at The Red Mile were sired by Like A Prayer, and it was Prayer I Am who emerged the winner, giving driver Jeff Cullipher, born in Henderson, Ky., and currently a resident of Calvert City, his biggest victory ever.

“The Sire Stakes races are very important for a Kentucky guy,” said Cullipher, who turned 35 on Sept. 30. “For a guy like me, who doesn’t have the opportunity to go to other places, I finally got the opportunity to race for money—big money!”

Cullipher, the son of longtime Kentucky horseman Roger Cullipher and brother to Terry Cullipher, said he is enjoying the limelight after his win with Prayer I Am. The colt has a distinct Southern touch as he is currently trained by fellow Kentuckian Kevin Thomas after being raised by Jeffrey Sorenson of Alabama, and owned by Alabaman Roy Dobbins.

“Since winning the race it’s opened some doors for me, and more named people are talking to me that never talked to me before,” said Cullipher. “Now in the drivers’ room some of the named drivers start speaking to you and know who you are. And it’s a great thing to be able to meet other people.

“Time will tell about this win making my career, but so far it has,” added Cullipher, whose five-percent commission from the $100,000 winner’s check came to $5,000, the single biggest of his career.

Stewart said the KHHA’s current contract with The Red Mile runs through 2010, and he expects the Super Night finals to continue at the Lexington racetrack until then and in the future.

“There is no question we want to use this money to promote the breed in the state, and The Red Mile is the only track that sends out its signal,” he said. “We want it to be as high profile as possible, and to succeed in that, the races have to be at The Red Mile.”

Stewart added that the smaller tracks of Bluegrass Downs and Thunder Ridge have not been left out of the mix as a portion of the money will go to races at those two sites. In 2007, Bluegrass Downs will host races for 3 year olds of both gaits with total purses of $80,000, while 2 year olds will race for the same money at Thunder Ridge.

“We want the people that participate at the other racetracks to be able to get some of this money,” Stewart explained. “You have to have a Kentucky-sired horse to be eligible, and I’m sure that a lot of horses that race at the fairs will participate.”

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