230 B l o o d H o r s e N O Wc o m T H E B L O O D - H O R S E J A N U A R Y 1 2 2 0 0 8

231B l o o d H o r s e N O Wc o m

Phil Birsh brought the same dream into racing that every owner does

when he bought his first two yearlings in 1991 He hoped to stand

beside them one day in the winnerrsquos circle But within six months one

became a wobbler and was euthanized And the other

On her way to her first race Birsh said ldquoshe had the misfortune of being parked

next to a truckful of live turkeys at a rest stop She panicked smashed her head

against the ceiling and never racedrdquo

Coming from a world where dreams live die and are reborn day after day Birsh was not deterred He got even more involved in racing and now at 49 he breeds buys sells and races Thoroughbreds He owns a stallion Mayakovsky and an idyllic farm in upstate New York

But Birsh is perhaps best known for his day job He is president publisher and owner of Playbill the handy magazine that tells the-atergoers whorsquos in each play and what the playrsquos about Its monthly circula-tion is nearly 39 million and it sometimes prints up to 500 different editions a month

Not only is Playbill by far Americarsquos most recognized theater magazine but the company also has a large Internet site Playbillcom releases records through Playbill Records and owns Playbill Radio a Broadway-related music station

Birsh whose primary residence is in Man-hattan sees similarities between the theater and racing

ldquoAlmost everyone in racing could be doing

something else and make more money at it but they love racingrdquo he said ldquoThe people who work on Broadway love Broadway They could be making more money and working more steadily doing something elsemdashnot as interesting not filled with the romance that is racing and Broadwayrdquo

Birsh a lifelong horse lover spent his first five years in rural Staatsburg NY about two hours north of Manhattan He was none too

pleased when suddenly his life changed

ldquoOne day I woke up in a two-bedroom apartment in the Bronxrdquo he said ldquoThat shouldnrsquot happen to a kidrdquo

The horses he saw after moving were on TV the Aqueduct replay shows He was eight when his

mother asked him whether he liked horse rac-ing He said not only that did he like racing but that he would own racehorses when he grew up He also knew in his heart that he would someday own an upstate farm

When Birsh was 16 his father bought Play-bill and the younger Birsh watched his fa-

NORTHEASTMID-ATLANTIC

In This Section Leading New York Sires by Earnings

Leading Maryland Sires by Earnings

Leading Pennsylvania Sires by Earnings

CONNECTICUT

DELAWARE

MAINE

MASSACHUSSETTS

NEW HAMPSHIRE

NEW JERSEY

NEW YORK

PENNSYLVANIA

RHODE ISLAND

VERMONT

VIRGINIA

WEST VIRGINIA

T E X T A N D P H O T O S B Y B A R B A R A D L I V I N G S T O N

Phil Birsh moves smoothly between

the worlds of theater and Thoroughbreds

Advertisersrsquo IndexClermont Farm 236Country Life Farm 150wwwcountrylifefarmcomHighcliff Farm 239wwwhighcliffcomKeane Stud 238wwwkeanestudcomMcMahon of Saratoga 233wwwmcmahonthoroughbredscomNorthview Stallion Station 243wwwnorthviewstallionscomKeane Stud 238wwwkeanestudcomPewter Stable 237wwwpewterstablecomSugar Maple Farm 235wwwsugarmaplefarmcomWalmac Pennsylvania 259wwwwalmaccom

Stage Flight

231B l o o d H o r s e N O Wc o m

Phil Birsh brought the same dream into racing that every owner does

when he bought his first two yearlings in 1991 He hoped to stand

beside them one day in the winnerrsquos circle But within six months one

became a wobbler and was euthanized And the other

On her way to her first race Birsh said ldquoshe had the misfortune of being parked

next to a truckful of live turkeys at a rest stop She panicked smashed her head

against the ceiling and never racedrdquo

Coming from a world where dreams live die and are reborn day after day Birsh was not deterred He got even more involved in racing and now at 49 he breeds buys sells and races Thoroughbreds He owns a stallion Mayakovsky and an idyllic farm in upstate New York

But Birsh is perhaps best known for his day job He is president publisher and owner of Playbill the handy magazine that tells the-atergoers whorsquos in each play and what the playrsquos about Its monthly circula-tion is nearly 39 million and it sometimes prints up to 500 different editions a month

Not only is Playbill by far Americarsquos most recognized theater magazine but the company also has a large Internet site Playbillcom releases records through Playbill Records and owns Playbill Radio a Broadway-related music station

Birsh whose primary residence is in Man-hattan sees similarities between the theater and racing

ldquoAlmost everyone in racing could be doing

something else and make more money at it but they love racingrdquo he said ldquoThe people who work on Broadway love Broadway They could be making more money and working more steadily doing something elsemdashnot as interesting not filled with the romance that is racing and Broadwayrdquo

Birsh a lifelong horse lover spent his first five years in rural Staatsburg NY about two hours north of Manhattan He was none too

pleased when suddenly his life changed

ldquoOne day I woke up in a two-bedroom apartment in the Bronxrdquo he said ldquoThat shouldnrsquot happen to a kidrdquo

The horses he saw after moving were on TV the Aqueduct replay shows He was eight when his

mother asked him whether he liked horse rac-ing He said not only that did he like racing but that he would own racehorses when he grew up He also knew in his heart that he would someday own an upstate farm

When Birsh was 16 his father bought Play-bill and the younger Birsh watched his fa-

NORTHEASTMID-ATLANTIC

In This Section Leading New York Sires by Earnings

Leading Maryland Sires by Earnings

Leading Pennsylvania Sires by Earnings

CONNECTICUT

DELAWARE

MAINE

MASSACHUSSETTS

NEW HAMPSHIRE

NEW JERSEY

NEW YORK

PENNSYLVANIA

RHODE ISLAND

VERMONT

VIRGINIA

WEST VIRGINIA

T E X T A N D P H O T O S B Y B A R B A R A D L I V I N G S T O N

Phil Birsh moves smoothly between

the worlds of theater and Thoroughbreds

Advertisersrsquo IndexClermont Farm 236Country Life Farm 150wwwcountrylifefarmcomHighcliff Farm 239wwwhighcliffcomKeane Stud 238wwwkeanestudcomMcMahon of Saratoga 233wwwmcmahonthoroughbredscomNorthview Stallion Station 243wwwnorthviewstallionscomKeane Stud 238wwwkeanestudcomPewter Stable 237wwwpewterstablecomSugar Maple Farm 235wwwsugarmaplefarmcomWalmac Pennsylvania 259wwwwalmaccom

Stage Flight

NORTHEASTMID-ATLANTIC

T H E B L O O D - H O R S E J A N U A R Y 1 2 2 0 0 8232 B l o o d H o r s e N O Wc o m

therrsquos business with interest Meanwhile he ventured often to the Big A a venue he jokingly refers to as ldquothe testing ground for your true affection for horse racingrdquo He studied racing breeding and on more occasions than hersquos proud of the fine art of gambling

Hersquos genial and loquacious and laughter comes eas-ily Asked how he came to own such a major company he said ldquoThe old-fashioned way nepo-tismrdquo

After college he worked on Wall Street in mergers and acquisitions for 12 years In 1992 around the time of the birth of his sec-ond child Abby his father floated the idea of selling Playbill or having Phil join him in the family business A few years later Birsh and his siblings bought a signifi-cant portion of the compa-ny Their father remained as chairman of the board and in 1994 Birsh took over as president and publisher

He wasnrsquot particularly passionate about Broadway he said although he can quote Gilbert and Sullivan with ease What he was pas-sionate about was racing and the reasons were multifold

ldquoI love the horses first and foremostrdquo he said ldquobut the people in racing are re-ally remarkable It doesnrsquot matter who you aremdashyou can talk to anybody in the sport Billionaires can talk to grooms and have a wonderful conversation and respect each other for what they both know

ldquoAnd racing is about dreamsrdquo he said ldquoSo if you have dreams and you have

the time you have the chance to fulfill themrdquo

He took the time After his initial foray into buying yearlings failed he kept on buying horses and also began breeding them One of his earliest purchases was an in-foal mare named Democracy whom

Birsh bought at the 1993 Keenel-and January sale for $9000

ldquoI liked her looksrdquo he said ldquoShe was correct and well-bal-anced and she was in foal to

a solid sire named Irish Tower who stood for $7500rdquo

The resulting foal a filly named Dahl became Birshrsquos first winner in 1995 The bay won three of 11 races finished sec-ond or third in six others and earned $122263 She was also three times stakes-placed including a sec-ond in the grade III Cicada Stakes Upon her retirement Dahl joined Birshrsquos brood-mare band

ldquoShe was a very nice horse ran her eyeballs out every time and got injured every time because she was so

crookedrdquo Birsh said laughing But with Dahl Birsh began visiting

winnerrsquos circles The first time his mother accompanied him there she yelled over ldquoWell you did it You told me you were going to do this when you were eightrdquo

Early on Birsh befriended Mike Tobin then manager of Sugar Maple Farm in New Yorkrsquos Hudson Valley region At the time Tobin worked with both Distinc-tive Pro to whom Birsh bred mares and Carr de Naskra a stallion in whom Birsh owned shares

Tobin freely admits he doesnrsquot quite grasp Birshrsquos stature in the theater world ldquoMy idea of a theaterrdquo Tobin chuckled ldquois (a place) you get popcornrdquo But he recog-nized Birsh as highly committed knowl-edgeable and interesting and the two became fast friends

As Playbill flourished under Birshrsquos lead-ership so too did Birshrsquos racing ventures He bred Polly Jo a 1997 Virginia Rapids filly who won the Twin Lights Stakes and placed in three other stakes She was to prove one of her sirersquos leading earners garnering $177717

Other runners brought more winnerrsquos circle visits some by himself and others in partnership but Birsh had even grander dreams He wanted to buy a stallion and he set his sights on what he calls a ldquosculp-turerdquo

When the 2-year-old Mayakovsky broke Saratogarsquos 55-year-old record for 51∕2 fur-longs in his first start (10332) Birsh was captivated A son of Matty GmdashJoy to Raise by Raise a Man the colt was not only blaz-ing fast but also stunningly beautiful He was a young Black Stallion and Black Beauty rolled into one

Mayakovsky raced just once more at 2 finishing second in the Hopeful Stakes (gr I) He returned at three with a strong win in the Gotham Stakes (gr III) Birsh at Aqueduct that afternoon was swept away again

Mayakovsky never repeated that per-formance winning three of nine starts through his 4-year-old season But that was good for Birsh He had tried repeated-ly to buy Mayakovsky but now finally he got his horse and the black beauty headed to the Empire State in 2003

By then Tobin was the stallion man-ager at Anne Morgan and Tim Littlersquos Mill Creek Farm near Saratoga Springs and that is where Mayakovskymdashand most of

2007 Leading Sires in New YorkState sire lists updated daily online

Go to httpbreedingbloodhorsecomsirelistsasp

For stallions that stand will stand or stood (deceased) in New York (exported stallions are excluded) and have runners in North America Listed below are all available statistics for the Northern Hemisphere through December 31 2007 As supplied to The Blood-Horse by The Jockey Club Information Systems Inc earnings exclude monies from Japan and Hong Kong Foal counts include Southern Hemisphere Cumulative stakes winners includes all countries (A para indicates a sire represented by his first crop to race)

Ran

k

Stallion (Foaling Year Sire) Farm Standing2008

Stud FeeRnrsWnrs

StakesWnrsWns

Rstrct SW

BT SW (Chief Earner Earnings)2007

Earnings

Cumulative

FoalsStksWnrs

A-EIndex

CompIndex

1 GOLDEN MISSILE (95 AP Indy) Milfer Farm $7500 15477 35 03 (Cobalt Blue $329433) $2965679 310 7 121 1972 CHIEF SEATTLE (97 Seattle Slew) Empire Stud $5000 14089 610 16 (Bold Chieftain $283950) $2787722 275 9 129 1413 ARTAX (95 Marquetry) Keane Stud Operations NA 13669 46 14 (Diabolical $354750) $2215645 305 6 117 1484 FREUD (98 Storm Cat) Sequel Stallions New York $10000 8140 22 22 (Karakorum Elektra $111993) $2169504 121 4 166 1415 WESTERN EXPRESSION (96 Gone West) Highcliff Farm $5000 9546 25 12 (Stunt Man $347739) $2053210 192 3 126 1306 REGAL CLASSIC (85 Vice Regent) McMahon of Saratoga NA 12559 24 12 (Half Heaven $158065) $1994650 920 43 145 1597 ELTISH (92 Coxrsquos Ridge) Keane Stud Operations $3500 10357 13 01 (Silk Ridge $369240) $1960692 221 10 122 1458 PHONE TRICK (82 Clever Trick) Died 2005 10860 11 01 (Sort of Tricky $82430) $1939354 1086 52 154 1559 DISCO RICO (97 Citidancer) Keane Stud Operations $4000 5743 25 12 (Pure Disco $285050) $1852797 101 4 161 123

10 PRIME TIMBER (96 Sultry Song) Sez Who Thoroughbreds North $3000 6937 22 02 (Premium Wine $311700) $1826941 112 3 130 14711 A P JET (89 Fappiano) Sugar Maple Farm $5000 10850 11 11 (Sense of Speed $88400) $1697161 392 12 118 13612 RIZZI (91 Afleet) Sez Who Thoroughbreds North $2000 8251 11 11 (Smash lsquoEm Sammy $143098) $1611598 344 16 128 13013 AMERICAN CHANCE (89 Cure the Blues) Died 2004 8144 22 22 (Shersquos Achance $90091) $1548618 408 29 149 13214 GOLD FEVER (93 Forty Niner) Questroyal at Metropolitan Stud $3500 8642 24 02 (Planets Aligned $145240) $1274351 391 8 128 14115 RAFFIErsquoS MAJESTY (95 Cormorant) Sugar Maple Farm $3000 4326 23 22 (Dr Vrsquos Magic $284510) $1274335 90 4 167 117

A-E and COMPARABLE INDEX The lifetime Average-Earnings Index indicates how much purse money the progeny of one sire has earned on the average in relation to the average earnings of all runners in the same years average earnings of all runners in any year is represented by an index of 100 The Comparable Index indicates the average earnings of progeny produced from mares bred to one sire when these same mares were bred to other sires Only 32 of all sires have a lifetime AEI higher than their mares Comparable Index

The monthly circulationof Playbill is about

39 million

Multiple Grade 1 Stakes Winner∕

Precocity

Miler Speed

POLITICAL FORCE SUN KING

Class LAVA MAN HAT TRICK (Jpn) POLITICAL FORCE SUN KING ISLAND FASHION EVENING ATTIRE

SoundnessRETIRES SOUND

Pedigree FORTY NINERDISTORTED HUMOR

NORTHERN TASTE

Forty Niner ndash Dream Vision by Northern Taste $7500 Live Foal

DESERT WARRIOR ($5000 lf lf ($6000 lf lf)

AN

NE

M E

BERH

ARD

T PH

OTO

MILE SPEED + PRECOCITY = STALLION SUCCESSUTOPIA ndash G1 SW AT 2 AT A MILE

NORTHEASTMID-ATLANTIC

T H E B L O O D - H O R S E J A N U A R Y 1 2 2 0 0 8234 B l o o d H o r s e N O Wc o m

Birshrsquos broodmaresmdashtook up residence Birsh promoted the young stallion ag-

gressively He bought mares advertised and tried something more akin to show business than to racing He gave away by the thousands a pinup poster of Maya-kovsky While Birsh acknowledges that most of the posters probably ended up in the hands of young horse fans mainly girls they created buzz and were fun

ldquoRacing is filled with people who have given such stuff a fling because none of this is our milk moneyrdquo he said ldquoIntel-ligently you wouldnrsquot spend the kidsrsquo tuition money on a stallion So Irsquom fond of saying itrsquos the greatest volunteer army in the world You can get yourself into all levels of trouble and commitment but itrsquos fun

ldquoTherersquos nothing more exciting in the

world than potential nothing sexier than what might berdquo he said ldquoTherersquos nothing more fun than to look at a stallion or at a weanling or young yearling and wonder lsquoIs it the one Can this be the one wersquoll all remember the year forrsquo rdquo

Mayakovskyrsquos first crop reached the races in 2007 Of his 25 named 2-year-olds nine have started and three have won He is currently the fourth-leading first-crop sire in New York with much smaller crops than those ahead of him Two of his win-ners are stakes-placed and curiously as the distances increase the performances have improved

ldquoWersquore such geniusesrdquo Birsh said of himself and Tobin chuckling again ldquoWe combed the catalogs for maresmdashbecause wersquore expertsmdashfor precocious sprinters who would run their eyeballs out for six

furlongs The results all of Mayakovskyrsquos horses are winning at a mile or more So we pedigree specialists we just really know our sport Wersquore just smarter than anyone else we knowmdashputting speed on speed for short distances and creating winners at a mile and grass horses win-ning at a mile and a sixteenth Pure ge-nius nordquo

But even a band of broodmares race-horses and a stallion werenrsquot enough to fulfill Birshrsquos big dreams So in early 2005 he bought a farm like those on postcards and travel brochures The 90-acre spread near Charlton about 20 miles from Sarato-ga Race Course included a white Federal home from the 1820s and a large red dairy barn built in the 1890s Tobin was hired as manager of what he calls ldquothe Birsh fam-ily farmrdquomdashBirsh has not yet christened

2007 Leading Sires in MarylandState sire lists updated daily online

Go to httpbreedingbloodhorsecomsirelistsasp

For stallions that stand will stand or stood (deceased) in Maryland (exported stallions are excluded) and have runners in North America Listed below are all available statistics for the Northern Hemisphere through December 31 2007 As supplied to The Blood-Horse by The Jockey Club Information Systems Inc earnings exclude monies from Japan and Hong Kong Foal counts include Southern Hemisphere Cumulative stakes winners includes all countries (A para indicates a sire represented by his first crop to race)

Ran

k

Stallion (Foaling Year Sire) Farm Standing2008

Stud FeeRnrsWnrs

StakesWnrsWns

Rstrct SW

BT SW (Chief Earner Earnings)2007

Earnings

Cumulative

FoalsStksWnrs

A-EIndex

CompIndex

1 NOT FOR LOVE (90 Mr Prospector) Northview Stallion Station $25000 177100 1117 811 (Talkin About Love $375875) $5784263 548 42 185 1522 OUTFLANKER (94 Danzig) Maryland Stallion Station $4000 13484 810 38 (Annabill $238680) $3530010 316 14 140 1173 LOUIS QUATORZE (93 Sovereign Dancer) Murmur Farm $7500 163101 46 14 (Tap Dancing Mauk $200355) $3027450 677 16 125 1514 TWO PUNCH (83 Mr Prospector) Northview Stallion Station NA 12564 24 02 (Grand Champion $279240) $2744761 876 50 153 1475 LION HEARTED (96 Storm Cat) Northview Stallion Station $3500 10464 23 12 (Maddyrsquos Heart $194194) $2463857 211 8 133 1386 ALLENrsquoS PROSPECT (82 Mr Prospector) Died 2003 14874 00 00 (All Giving $101835) $2208861 1049 68 131 1357 YARROW BRAE (95 Deputy Minister) Murmur Farm $3000 6231 24 12 (Five Steps $148440) $1266555 182 7 124 1048 CROWD PLEASER (95 AP Indy) Died 2006 6028 11 11 (Happy Surprise $103045) $1176092 124 1 089 1299 MOJAVE MOON (96 Mr Prospector) Bonita Farm $2500 6937 00 00 (Bankbusted $101329) $1096932 123 0 076 134

10 CITIDANCER (87 Dixieland Band) Pnsd 4424 00 00 (Citifest $100437) $1055076 346 28 180 12711 EASTERN ECHO (88 Damascus) Died 2004 8233 22 12 (Marias Golden Rose $67380) $961956 520 26 123 14512 POLISH NUMBERS (87 Danzig) Died 2002 4823 22 02 (One Eyed Joker $120440) $949822 513 51 156 16513 CRYPTO STAR (94 Cryptoclearance) Murmur Farm $2500 6131 13 01 (Lexi Star $273204) $939760 141 2 099 11114 JAZZ CLUB (95 Dixieland Band) Maryland Stallion Station $2500 4724 00 00 (Leave It to Cleve $108920) $823281 102 0 087 11715 CARNIVALAY (81 Northern Dancer) Died 2007 3316 24 12 (Carnival Chrome $196948) $779171 593 38 141 137

A-E and COMPARABLE INDEX The lifetime Average-Earnings Index indicates how much purse money the progeny of one sire has earned on the average in relation to the average earnings of all runners in the same years average earnings of all runners in any year is represented by an index of 100 The Comparable Index indicates the average earnings of progeny produced from mares bred to one sire when these same mares were bred to other sires Only 32 of all sires have a lifetime AEI higher than their mares Comparable Index

2007 Leading Sires in PennsylvaniaState sire lists updated daily online

Go to httpbreedingbloodhorsecomsirelistsasp

For stallions that stand will stand or stood (deceased) in Pennsylvania (exported stallions are excluded) and have runners in North America Listed below are all available statistics for the Northern Hemisphere through December 31 2007 As supplied to The Blood-Horse by The Jockey Club Information Systems Inc earnings exclude monies from Japan and Hong Kong Foal counts include Southern Hemisphere Cumulative stakes winners includes all countries (A para indicates a sire represented by his first crop to race)

Ran

k

Stallion (Foaling Year Sire) Farm Standing2008

Stud FeeRnrsWnrs

StakesWnrsWns

Rstrct SW

BT SW (Chief Earner Earnings)2007

Earnings

Cumulative

FoalsStksWnrs

A-EIndex

CompIndex

1 REAL QUIET (95 Quiet American) Penn Ridge Farm $10000 13371 411 14 (Midnight Lute $1368000) $4158973 395 10 124 1322 LITE THE FUSE (91 Buckaroo) Pin Oak Lane Farm $3500 12674 58 15 (Going Ballistic $690140) $3089116 371 22 140 1263 PARTNERrsquoS HERO (94 Danzig) Castle Rock Farm $2500 11863 35 23 (Heros Reward $515826) $2769834 293 13 132 1484 PATTON (91 Lord At War) Castle Rock Farm $2500 6835 23 12 (Kellyrsquos Landing $1313000) $2289726 356 13 095 1165 WHEATON (90 Alydar) Died 2006 8056 23 12 (Miami Sunrise $187773) $2107653 288 12 126 1066 SERVICE STRIPE (91 Deputy Minister) Pin Oak Lane Farm $3500 10959 22 12 (Joanrsquos Rose $107215) $2102106 248 13 138 1197 BANKERrsquoS GOLD (94 Forty Niner) Pin Oak Lane Farm $3500 11659 33 03 (My List $213187) $1942905 320 10 099 1428 SIPHON (BRZ) (91 Itajara) Pin Oak Lane Farm $5000 11757 44 14 (Wedded Woman $136329) $1807708 460 12 100 1729 BUDDHA (99 Unbridledrsquos Song) Pin Oak Lane Farm $5000 13746 33 13 (Hisse $123581) $1616465 255 3 062 163

10 DELAWARE TOWNSHIP (96 Notebook) Land of Believe Farm $4000 7139 37 03 (Electrify $295530) $1424359 129 4 134 13011 SNOW RIDGE (98 Tabasco Cat) Regal Heir Farms $5000 6644 11 11 (Banga Ridge $88000) $1302914 111 2 113 14212 POWER BY FAR (95 Power of Mind) Castle Rock Farm $3000 2114 11 11 (Power by Leigh $126668) $718254 53 1 133 13513 COASTAL STORM (99 Storm Cat) Pin Oak Lane Farm $2500 3117 00 00 (Tatoxcac $100620) $623746 89 2 103 08414 FLYING CHEVRON (92 Carson City) Woodvale Farm Died 2007 3321 00 00 (I Can See $117460) $598221 132 6 123 12415 WILLrsquoS WAY (93 Easy Goer) Pin Oak Lane Farm NA 4625 00 00 (Elninodemisojos $49627) $590832 163 5 117 114

A-E and COMPARABLE INDEX The lifetime Average-Earnings Index indicates how much purse money the progeny of one sire has earned on the average in relation to the average earnings of all runners in the same years average earnings of all runners in any year is represented by an index of 100 The Comparable Index indicates the average earnings of progeny produced from mares bred to one sire when these same mares were bred to other sires Only 32 of all sires have a lifetime AEI higher than their mares Comparable Index

Bar

bara

Liv

ings

ton

phot

o

FRIENDLY ISLANDCRAFTY FRIEND ndash ISLAND QUEEN BY OGYGIAN

Grade 2-winning millionaire sprinterRunner-up in the TVG Breederrsquos Cup Sprint (G1) amp the

Gulf News Dubai Golden Shaheen (G1)Won his debut at Belmont by an astonishing 17 1∕4 lengths

$5000 LFSN

Bar

bara

Liv

ings

ton

phot

o

GREELEYrsquoS GALAXYMR GREELEY ndash ASCOT STARRE BY ASCOT KNIGHT

Winner of the $500000 Illinois Derby (G2)Only graded stakes winner by MR GREELEY

to stand in New York

$7500 LF

Bar

bara

Liv

ings

ton

phot

o

PERFORMING MAGICGONE WEST ndash PERFORMING ARTS (IRE) BY THE MINSTREL

Nine winners to date including 2007 multiple stakes-placed juvenile Piquante Cat

$5000 LFSNB

arba

ra L

ivin

gsto

n ph

oto

RAFFIErsquoS MAJESTYCORMORANT ndash RAFFINIERTE BY SURUMU

1 Sire by 2007 New York-bred Miler earnings2 Sire by 2007 New York-bred Route earnings

$3000 LFSN

2008

ONE NICE CATSTORM CAT ndash JEWEL PRINCESS BY KEY TO THE MINT

Winner on both dirt and turfOut of champion older mare JEWEL PRINCESS ($1904060)

$3500 LFSN

Seri

ta H

ult p

hoto

Barbara Livingston photo

New to

New Yo

rk

Ent

ering

Stu

d

in 2

008

NORTHEASTMID-ATLANTIC

T H E B L O O D - H O R S E J A N U A R Y 1 2 2 0 0 8236 B l o o d H o r s e N O Wc o m

itmdashand renovations began The barn was completely renovated to

house horses and now there are 17 airy stalls each offering a broad view and au-tomatic waterers There is an oversized wash rack with warm water and extra large foaling stalls Poured concrete floors were covered with thick rubber padding and the aisles were made extra wide to ac-commodate indoor ldquoturnoutsrdquo

And after a yearrsquos efforts the horses arrived two Clydesdale mares three po-nies and Thoroughbred mares and lay-ups Among them is one of Mayakovskyrsquos first-crop winners Rapprocher a daugh-ter of the turkey-fearing filly Rekindled Romance from so long ago

Birsh wanders north from Manhattan about once a month often accompanied by his familymdashhis wife Odile and four children ages four to 18 The kids scam-per around the hay bales and play hide-and-seek or they climb aboard a pony or Clydesdale

ldquoItrsquos just so much better than watching them argue over video games or having to hold their hand as you walk down the street in Manhattan hoping they wonrsquot learn to be scaredrdquo Birsh said

He keeps Mayakovsky and his wean-

lings at nearby Mill Creek and sends his young horses to Cathy Perkins and Wayne Mackey in Paris Ky for breaking and ed-ucation His trainer is Jimmy Jerkens and it was Jerkens who provided Birsh several standout moments in 2007

Remember Dahl Birshrsquos first winner She produced a stakes-placed filly named La Femme Galante on her first try And her third foal Dina was three times stakes-placed by 2007 when at 5 she gave Birsh his first New York stakes victory The Dy-naformer mare romped home 41∕4 lengths clear in the Rare Treat Handicap at Birshrsquos beloved Aqueduct All told she earned nearly $200000 and in November Birsh sold her at Keeneland for $230000

Weeks after that financial windfall Birshrsquos racing dreams were fueled anew when his Melissa Jo a 2-year-old Fusaichi Pegasus filly finished a promising third in the Demoiselle (gr II) at Aqueduct Me-lissa Jo was not a homebred but a $30000 Keeneland September yearling purchase She is owned in partnership with his friend Bill Gildin

Tobin shakes his head in admiration of Birshrsquos eye for a horse

ldquoPhil bought Democracy for $9000 and she ended up being our foundation marerdquo

Tobin said ldquoItrsquos just unbelievable the luck hersquos hadrdquo

Tobin tells this story about Melissa Jo ldquoSo Philrsquos at Keeneland last year and therersquos this lsquoFu Pegrsquo Philrsquos looking down hersquos looking up shersquos a little crooked but itrsquos a Fu Peg and hersquos got a $125000 stud fee Phil said lsquo$30 (thousand) Irsquoll just go and bidrsquo rdquo

So far Melissa Jo whorsquos won or placed in each of her three starts has earned $61600 Shersquos another filly who has re-warded her devoted owner

ldquoI really love the girlsrdquo Birsh said ldquoAnd ultimately the end gamemdashbecause I think about racing from beginning middle to the endmdashthe end game for fillies is a little bit more palatable for me (than that for colts) I really enjoy the fact that I raise a filly and know that shersquos going to end up breeding and I can then have a continu-ing relationship with that horserdquo

Those relationships however donrsquot last forever as Birsh knows well Dahl died in 2006 and Rekindled Romance in 2007 ldquoIn order to survive racingrdquo he said ldquoyou have to make certain that you believe ev-erything is borrowed because ultimately it all is going to go away Whatever joys are in the world arenrsquot necessarily fleeting

Clermont Farms Broodmares Nursery Lay-ups As you plan your marersquos 2008 breeding program consider

Clermont Farms for seasonal or year-round boarding Vigilance experience and focus make the Clermont difference Our frame of reference is minutes our course of action meticulous and complete

Convenient to most New York breeding sheds

Clermont Farms 737 Woods Rd Germantown NY 12526 Liz OrsquoConnell Manager 518-610-1013

Wersquore All About Your Horse

Birshrsquos farm like those on postcards and travel brochures is a 90-acre spread near Charlton

Forestry-Quiet Dance by Quiet American

Only Graded stakes winner in the Mid-Atlantic

by FORESTRY record sales sire and sire of

DISCREET CAT-G1 ($1694180)

Only half brother at stud to Horse of the Year

SAINT LIAM who sired a $220000 weanling

at KeeNov lsquo07

CONGRESSIONALHONOR was

booked full in 2006 amp 2007 His rArr rst

foals will be yearlings in 2008

1 Pennsylvania Sire by lsquo07 Mares Bred

FFFFFFFFFFFFFooooooooooooooorrrrrrrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeesssssssssssssssttttttttttttttttrrrrrrrrrrrrrrryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy QQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeetttttttttttttttt DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnnnnnccccccccccccccceeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy QQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuiiiiiiieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeettttttttttttttt AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrriiiiiiicccccccccccccccaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnnnnnnFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFooooooooooooooorrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeessssssssssssssssttttttttttttttttttrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy--------------QQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQuuuuuuuuuuuuuuiiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeetttttttttttttttttt DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnccccccccccccccceeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy QQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQuuuuuuuuuuuuuuiiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeetttttttttttttttttt AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrriiiiiiiiiiiiiicccccccccccccccaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnForestry-Quiet Dance by Quiet American

photo

by L

ydia

Wil

liam

s

Property of a Syndicate

2008 Fee $5000 live foalSpecial consideration to mares foaling in PennsylvaniaRegistered Pennsylvania stallion bull Nominated to the Breedersrsquo Cup

standing at Maui Meadow FarmWest Chester PA (610) 793-1255 website wwwmauimeadowfarmcom

Inquiries to Greg Demasi cell (609) 330-1819 offi ce (856) 478-9549email pewterstablejunocom website wwwpewterstablecom

MA

UI

MEADOW

FARM

Forestry-Quiet Dance by Quiet American

Only Graded stakes winner in the Mid-Atlantic

by FORESTRY record sales sire and sire of

DISCREET CAT-G1 ($1694180)

Only half brother at stud to Horse of the Year

SAINT LIAM who sired a $220000 weanling

at KeeNov lsquo07

CONGRESSIONALHONOR was

booked full in 2006 amp 2007 His rArr rst

foals will be yearlings in 2008

1 Pennsylvania Sire by lsquo07 Mares Bred

FFFFFFFFFFFFFooooooooooooooorrrrrrrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeesssssssssssssssttttttttttttttttrrrrrrrrrrrrrrryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy QQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeetttttttttttttttt DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnnnnnccccccccccccccceeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy QQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuiiiiiiieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeettttttttttttttt AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrriiiiiiicccccccccccccccaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnnnnnnFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFooooooooooooooorrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeessssssssssssssssttttttttttttttttttrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy--------------QQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQuuuuuuuuuuuuuuiiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeetttttttttttttttttt DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnccccccccccccccceeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy QQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQuuuuuuuuuuuuuuiiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeetttttttttttttttttt AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrriiiiiiiiiiiiiicccccccccccccccaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnForestry-Quiet Dance by Quiet American

photo

by L

ydia

Wil

liam

s

Property of a Syndicate

2008 Fee $5000 live foalSpecial consideration to mares foaling in PennsylvaniaRegistered Pennsylvania stallion bull Nominated to the Breedersrsquo Cup

standing at Maui Meadow FarmWest Chester PA (610) 793-1255 website wwwmauimeadowfarmcom

Inquiries to Greg Demasi cell (609) 330-1819 offi ce (856) 478-9549email pewterstablejunocom website wwwpewterstablecom

MA

UI

MEADOW

FARM

NORTHEASTMID-ATLANTIC

T H E B L O O D - H O R S E J A N U A R Y 1 2 2 0 0 8238 B l o o d H o r s e N O Wc o m

but arenrsquot necessarily forever And your horses are your joys

ldquoUltimately even the best of your horses live 15 or 20 years Theyrsquore fragile animals Theyrsquore built to run and theyrsquore built to bring incredible excitement But

theyrsquore not mules who are going to live 50 years or Shetland ponies who will pull your funeral cartrdquo

He laughed again a contented easy laugh

ldquoI have yearned for 44 years to have a

place in upstate New Yorkrdquo he said ldquoand after working for 25 years toiling away I am proud and happy to say I have my life-time dream a farm Hopefully wersquoll breed a lot of good horses here but mostly we want to breed happinessrdquo B

COXrsquoS RIDGEndashNIMBLE FEET BY DANZIG2008 Fee $3500 LF

1 Two-Year-Old Sire in New York in 20073 Two-Year-Old Sire standing outside of Kentucky

2007 sire of SILK RIDGE ($363240) ndash 2YO winner of 3 straight stakes worth $400000 by a combined margin of over 15 lengths2007 sire of YELT ndash 2YO allowance winner with 5 straight wins by a combined 30 lengths

A multiple Group winner at 2 ELTISH placed in the Breedersrsquo Cup Juvenile-G1

First SIX crops 80 Runners 80winners 12 Stakes Horses (47 of which are Graded)

KEANE STUD OPERATIONS LLCPhilippe Lasseur Farm Manager bull 217 Depot Hill Rd Amenia NY 12501 bull PH (845) 373-9601 bull FX (845) 373-8954

Email infokeanestudcom bull wwwkeanestudcombull or Gary Olsen (860) 364-0391

NEW YORKrsquoS LEADING 2007 JUVENILE SIRE

32 2YO RNRS 16 2YO WNRS $799597 2YO EARNINGS

TBANJ ANNOUNCES NEW BOARD MEMBERSThree new directors have been elected to serve on the

Thoroughbred Breedersrsquo Association of New Jerseyrsquos Board of Trustees

Judith Batcha Jane Gilbert and Bo Smith began their three-year terms Jan 1 after the election results were announced during the TBANJ annual year-end meeting held Dec 4

Batcha and her husband Frank own Batcha Farm near Pen-nington NJ She is a past member of the board

Gilbert and her husband Charlie own and operate a small breeding farm and race their homebreds Gilbert is a former president of the New Jersey Horse Council board member of the New Jersey Horse Park and board member of ReRun Thor-oughbred Retirement group

Smith and his wife Stella own and operate Smith Farm amp Stable near Millstone Township NJ He has raced and bred horses in New Jersey for more than 20 years both as Smith Farm amp Stable and as separate racingbreeding partnerships that he uses to bring new owners into the industry He previ-ously served on the board as treasurer

MINOR PURCHASES HISTORIC PROPERTYVirginia entrepreneur Halsey Minor has purchased a histor-

ic property in the state and plans to use it for a Thoroughbred breeding operation

Minor bought Carterrsquos Grove Plantation an 18th-century mansion for $153 million from the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation The property includes a Georgian-style mansion and 400 acres that are subject to a conservation easement as well as 76 acres adjoining the property

The 35-room home and land have been owned by the foun-dation since 1969 Citing financial pressure the foundation announced plans to close Carterrsquos Grove to the public in 2002 The home was shut in 2003

Recently Minor purchased two-time grade I winner Dream Rush for $33 million at the 2007 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky No-vember mixed sale Former Virginia Thoroughbred Associa-tion president and Virginia-based bloodstock agent Debbie Easter signed the ticket on behalf of Minor A daughter of Wild Rush Dream Rush was consigned by Hill lsquonrsquo Dale Sales Agen-cy agent b

REGIONAL NEWSNortheastMid-Atlantic

C O M P I L E D B Y A M A N D A H D U C K W O R T H

Inquiries to Suzie OrsquoCain or C Lynwood OrsquoCain DVM Farm Mgr amp Resident Veterinarian Highcli Farm 944 Eatons Corners Rd Delanson NY 12053 Phone (518) 875-6168 Fax (518) 875-6298 E-mail highcli worldneta net Web Site wwwhighcli com

$ 10000 Reasons to Breed to Graded SW

Broad Brush ndash Alyrsquos Conquest by Alydar $2 5 0 0 l ive f o a l

(payable when foal stands and nurses)Owner RCH Stables

DELANSON NEW YORK

MAYBRYrsquoS BOY