Owner Jeff Snyder has been involved in harness racing a long time and few can match his level of success. He's owned multiple Horse of the Year winners, double-digit millionaires and a number of stallions dating back for decades. While Snyder started out buying claimers, he now seeks out the cream of the crop at the yearling sales and often walks away with stars. His Super Chapter is the morning-line favorite for the Hambletonian and that is just one of many horses he has in-to-go on that major stakes card at the Meadowlands. The always gracious Snyder took some time out of his day on the week leading up to the Hambletonian to discuss his path in the sport, his role in selecting yearlings, owner participation, his reasoning for selling part of Super Chapter to Hanover Shoe Farms and much more. Enjoy!   How did you get started in harness racing? I was a gambler way back. I used to go to Yonkers and Roosevelt when I was 16 years old. I got over [gambling] by buying horses, which is a big gamble in itself. My first trainer in New York was Buddy Regan. He was the leading trainer at Yonkers and Roosevelt back in the days when they used to have 25 to 30,000 people a night. When did you get your first horse? When I was about 19 years old. It was a horse named Senator Flin, a pacing colt I bought off someone in Monticello. When I was in the Army Reserves there was a trainer there named Larry Wolfson. I got to know him well and I started buying claimers. You mentioned gambling. Do you still like to play the horses? Not on the horses but I do play blackjack. You have owned at least 10 millionaire horses including Horses of the Year Cam's Card Shark and Rocknroll Hanover. Do you attribute that more to luck or skill? You need a combination of both. I go over the pedigrees very carefully and Dr. Goodrow, who recently passed away, helped me quite a bit regarding the conformation of the horses. I try to go to the best pedigree horses and I've had a lot of luck doing that, but I put in a lot of effort, time studying the pedigrees and if possible I got to the farms. So you are pretty hands-on with the yearling selections process? I pick all of the horses myself and get it down to maybe 10 at each sale. I don't look at horses where the page doesn't look appealing. As a buyer on the upper end of the yearling market, have you changed your purchasing habits over the years? Not really. The only thing I've done is switch from buying pacers to trotters over the last few years. I usually don't stop bidding until I get the horse I like because I don't have too many on my list. ► Hambletonian Day: Get FREE Harness Eye PPs, watch video analysis & get a 7% Rebate Many owners say it is difficult to show a profit buying yearlings. Do you feel you've been able to buck that trend? Well, this year it looks like we will for sure. We have Super Chapter, Date Night Hanover and Apex. It isn't easy to show a profit but we have different stallions that have helped us out like Cam's Card Shark, Rocknroll Hanover, Well Said, and now Super Chapter which we expect to stand at Hanover Shoe Farms next year. Are you an easy owner to work for? Yes, very easy. I don't call the trainers every day, especially when things are going well. I'm very easy to get along with and I'm that way in my own business as well. You have to treat people respectfully and not get on their case. Trainers have plenty of work to do without having me bother them every day. What is your favorite track to visit? Why? I've had a lot of luck up at Woodbine [Mohawk Park] and I like The Meadowlands as well. We have a home up in Saratoga and that has a nice half-mile track that we like to go to when we have a Sire Stakes horse racing there. What is your favorite big event in racing? Why? We've won the Meadowlands Pace three times, the Little Brown Jug three times and the North America Cup four times and the Adios three times. All of those four [laughing]. We like it where we win. Those tracks absolutely do things right for the big cards. What is your favorite thing to do outside of harness racing? Sports workouts. I keep in shape doing aerobics and try to work out every day. I also try to spend as much time as possible with my family. My daughter and my son are also involved in harness racing and we'll all be at Hambletonian Day. You are typically in attendance at the track with your wife and son. How much is your daughter involved? She sang the national anthem at The Meadowlands on Hambletonian Day three times. We had a Jugette winner named Alexa's Power as she owned 25 percent of that one. We are selling a yearling by Sweet Lou in Lexington this year that she has a piece of. My son Michael likes the European racing. He learned how to read by reading Sports Eye in the old days when Clyde Hirt and Jay Bergman were there. What is one word that describes harness racing for you? Exciting and distraction. It distracts from the everyday world. What was your best moment in harness racing? The most exciting time for us was our first big horse Cam's Card Shark. At the time he set a seasonal record of $2.2 million and he was scratched lame from the Little Brown Jug. He was 1-9 in the Little Brown Jug. He was the first stallion we had and he was the Horse of the Year in 1994. Which is the best horse you've ever owned? We've had many of them. Rocknroll Hanover, Well Said and Michael's Power. I'd have to think it was Cam's Card Shark. Aetos Kronos was excellent as well before he had a serious injury. It is amazing how he's come back for us. How many horses do you currently own? Including broodmares and yearlings, about 20. With racehorses I have eight here in the States with Marcus Melander. I also have a homebred pacer that is turned out. You have the undefeated-in-2025 Super Chapter starting in Saturday's Hambletonian. How confident are you going in? I think it will be a very tough race. He won easily the other night. I'm just hoping for the best. I think there will be a lot of speed but he can do it on or off the pace. You can't be overconfident in a race like this because in the past different horses like Tactical Approach and Cool Papa Bell have upset and some of the top horses like Greenshoe and Father Patrick didn't quite make it. You mentioned all of the pacing races you've won. What would a Hambletonian victory mean? It would be super-great. I just like to win as many Grade 1 races as possible. Winning a Hambletonian would be very important, particularly in terms of the breeding situation. It will enhance his reputation, but everything has to go perfect to win. The horse has to be sharp, he can't be sick or dehydrated, you have to get luck with the draw and the way the trip works out. It is all very important. ► Sign up for our FREE DRF Harness Digest Newsletter You brought up selling a piece of Super Chapter to Hanover Shoe Farms. What made you do that so early rather than waiting? I'd rather get the pressure off and have a place to stand the horse at the best farm in harness racing. I've had Cam's Card Shark and Well Said stand there. They are very reliable and honest. They also have the top broodmare band in the business and I felt that was the best place for him. We sold a piece before the Stanley Dancer and I'm very happy and excited about it. You never know in harness racing what could happen so I'm glad we made the deal early. Would you say you are more risk adverse? Yeah. I'd rather have a place for the horse to stand. Maybe if he wins the Hambo he'll be worth more, but it wasn't a question of money. It was about finding a place for the horse to stand and removing that issue from the table. You mentioned Apex, who will race on the Hambletonian undercard in the 2-year-old male NJ Sire Stakes final. Are you already Hambletonian dreaming for him in 2026? No. I don't think about that. It is a year away. I'm really excited about him. He was tremendous in his last race, well in-hand in 1:54 3/5 with a last quarter in 27 flat. From The Meadowlands to the Delaware County Fairgrounds you are often a present owner when your horses win. Is it important for owners to show up at the track? I think so. Today with RTN a lot of people don't go. I had something to do over the weekend and that's why I wasn't there for the eliminations. My partner Arthur Pronti was there. Where do you see your horse operation in 5 to 10 years? I'm going to keep on going as long as I can. We are having an excellent year this year and we have a few filly broodmares that are worth a lot of money. Date Night Hanover qualified extremely well the other day. If you had the power to change one thing in the sport, what would it be? I would add more promotional giveaways like they do up in Saratoga; t-shirts, hats. That will help get more people to the track. How do you view the future of harness racing? As long as the economy and stock market is good with all the tariff confusion, I think people will have money to spend and the breeders and yearling market will do well, and the stakes races will do well. If things go bad and people don't have enough money to spend gambling or buying horses, then it won't do well. Time for the stretch drive: Best Horse you ever saw: Cam's Card Shark. I'll be selfish. He was great and he wasn't sound. He also sired one of the greatest horses in history Bettor's Delight, sire of sires who gave us Roll With Joe, Bettor's Wish and many others. Favorite TV Show: Fox News. Trotters or Pacers: Right now I'm into trotters and European racing.