Celebrating NY-Breds
on Big Apple Showcase Day
It's Memorial Day and NYRA has some of the best NY-Breds in racing being featured at Belmont Park this afternoon. Maybe we're a bit biased at LBB Stables, but we have a five-way tie for our favorite NYB. Having a runner (or two, or three) on NY Showcase Day is certainly a big goal for LBB Stables in the future, but for now we'll watch and help celebrate some of our favorite NYB's over the years. Best of luck to all participants today!
Some of our favorite NYB's...
Funny Cide
We think it's fair to say that this guy put NYB's on the map after he won the 2003 Kentucky Derby. He went on to win the Preakness but fell short of the Triple Crown when he lost to Empire Maker in the Belmont Stakes in front of a NY crowd of 100K+ fans.
Say Florida Sandy
Owning a racehorse that starts 98 times must be incredible, but having that horse win 33 times and earn over $2MM - well that makes you one of the best NYB's to ever race. He won the Gravesend twice, the True North, the Bold Ruler and stakes placed in several open company races.
Commentator
Any horse that wins the Whitney TWICE is a special horse, but this NYB took it to some of the best in the country as a 4yo in 2005 and then again as a 7yo in 2008. He earned over $2MM in his 24-race career for HOF trainer Nick Zito.
L'Carriere
You have to wonder what this NYB's career would look like if Cigar wasn't around in the mid-90's. NY-based trainer, Jimmy Bond, has had plenty of success in Saratoga over the years, but this one took home the Saratoga Cup twice, and then ya know - ran into Cigar a few times, like the '95 BC Classic, where he finished 2nd.
King Kreesa/Lubash/Kharafa
Yep, that's right, we're including a 3-for-1 in our Top 10 NYB's because I'm not sure we'll ever see three horses as gutsy and hard-knocking form a multi-year rivalry like these three did. Between the three of them, they won 42 times and earned over $4M. The 2013 Mohawk Stakes at Saratoga was just one of the several exciting races they threw down in.
Fourstardave
"The Sultan of Saratoga." From age two through the age of nine, he won at least one race each year at the Spa. His wins included the Albany, the West Point, the Poker Stakes and Daryl's Joy (twice), which has now been named after him. After his retirement as a 10yo, he was presented with an edible key to the city of Saratoga and celebrated with his own street just outside of the Saratoga racecourse.
Bar of Gold
When you think about NYB's, it's hard not to think about the Broman's, who have been a fabric of NY racing for many, many years. This homebred filly was something special, having won seven races including the Empire Distaff, the Critical Eye, and of course going out with a bang, winning the BC Filly & Mare Sprint in her final race at odds of 67-1!
Gander
This guy's career is highlighted by 60 races over a 7-year career throughout NY and New England, with 15 wins and almost $2M in earnings. He won the Empire Classic TWICE, as well as the King's Point and Evan Shipman in 2000 for trainer, John Terranova.
Dayatthespa
This amazing NYB Filly totaled 11 wins in her career, including a 5-win streak of Stakes races in 2012. She earned over $2.2M and is one of only eight NYB fillies that have cracked the $1M mark in earnings. Her last race was a win in the 2014 BC Filly & Mare Turf.
Law Enforcement
Sometimes you just have a horse that meant something to you growing up, and that was this gutsy NYB. In a way, he's a big reason why we started LBB Stables - he was our introduction to our NY trainer, Mark Hennig and is the type of horse we hope we can have one day - just a ga e, hard-trying NYB. He won six races in his career, often times coming from the back of the pack. His most memorable win may have been his victory in the 2009 John Morrisey Stakes at Saratoga where he closed like a freight train from 14+ lengths back to win easily by a couple of lengths. I had the pleasure of meeting Law Enforcement in August of 2021, and that morning back at the Hennig barn planted the seed to one day, become a thoroughbred owner.
About Little Blue Bird Stables
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We want to bring the excitement of owning a racehorse to the everyday fan/bettor - ownership for fans, by fans. We also want LBB Stables to make a positive impact on the game we love. We aim to bring integrity, professionalism and transparency to an industry that badly needs it. We've surrounded ourselves with great horsemen and long-time fans/bettors to build a deliberate and thoughtful approach to ownership, at reasonable investment levels - a recipe that we believe will best maximize our partners' chance for success.