Joseph Appelbaum elected NYTHA president

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Joseph Appelbaum has been elected as president of the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association, it was announced Tuesday.

Appelbaum, who operates Off The Hook, a breeding, racing, and sales company with a farm and training center in Ocala, Fla., ran unopposed as previous president Rick Violette withdrew his name from the ballot last month.

In a press release, Appelbaum said he approaches his new role at NYTHA “with nervous excitement. There are large shoes to be filled and with an ambitious agenda to work on. Horse racing is at a crossroads – stagnant revenues and growing costs make it difficult for many horsemen to survive. However, our biggest events are more popular than ever. As with many things in life and horse racing, New York magnifies the national trends. The business model is not sustainable and as the largest stakeholders in the business, horsemen need to be central in the discussions to improve it.”

Owners elected to the NYTHA board include Tina Marie Bond, Jack Brothers, Tom Durkin, Terry Finley, and Robert Masiello. Trainers elected to the board include Leah Gyarmati, John Kimmel, Linda Rice, Richard Schosberg, and George Weaver.