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Pick Pony | Dec. 31, 2024, 2:23 p.m.
As announced by NYRA in 2023, starting January 1, 2026, all New York-bred overnight races for 2-year-olds on the NYRA circuit will feature purse amounts that match those of their open-company counterpart.
This year, NYRA ran 548 New York-bred races with total purses amounting to $42,817,000. The new program is expected to boost New York-bred overnight purses by 15 percent compared to the 2024 purse levels.
According to early breeding figures reported by The Jockey Club, the New York-bred foal crop is on track for significant growth this year, with 672 live foals reported through October 13. This marks an increase of 13.9 percent compared to the same period last year, when a total of 1,088 mares were bred with 590 live foals reported. Nationally, it is anticipated that the foal crop will decrease by approximately two percent in 2024.
The programs will start being offered in 2026 at both Saratoga Race Course and Aqueduct Racetrack, as well as at the new Belmont Park, which is set to open in the fall of 2026.
Thanks to the partnership between NYRA and FOX Sports, nearly every New York-bred contest is broadcast live to a national audience on the FOX Sports family of networks. Both Saratoga Live and America’s Day at the Races, produced by NYRA, have achieved sustained ratings growth since their national launch 2016.
New York State has adopted rules that expand the scope of the New York-bred awards and benefits by establishing a pathway for non-resident mares to gain residency status. As a result, a non-resident mare purchased in foal through public auction is considered a resident mare, provided that the mare is bought for at least $50,000 at the public auction; is present in the state of New York within 15 days after a sale in North America and 60 days after any public auction sale abroad; the foal is born in New York; and the mare subsequently maintains residency in New York starting within 120 days after her last cover in the year of conception of another foal and remains a resident until foaling.