Sequel Stallions to resume business in New York

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Leading New York breeders Becky Thomas and Dennis Narlinger will reopen their Sequel Stallions New York stallion farm in Hudson, N.Y., for the 2012 breeding season.

In 2012, Sequel’s roster will include Freud and Noonmark. Freud, sire of 2011 Grade 1 winner and Breeders’ Cup Sprint hopeful Giant Ryan, currently ranks second on the state’s sire list by earnings and leads by number of stakes winners, with eight. Noonmark, by Unbridled’s Song, has his first weanlings this year.

Thomas said that Sequel shortly will add a new first-year stallion.

The partners had closed Sequel Stallions New York in 2009, moving the operation’s stallions to Keane Stud in Amenia, N.Y. Thomas said Tuesday that they decided to reopen the farm when gaming machines finally became a reality at the New York Racing Association’s Aqueduct racetrack this month after a decade-long wait. The Resorts World Casino New York City, operated by Genting, opened at Aqueduct on Oct. 28 with 2,485 video lottery terminals and electronic table games. The Thoroughbred racing and breeding industry expect that their arrival as the first casino within easy reach of the New York metropolitan population will pump tens of millions annually into New York’s purses and breeding awards program. Aqueduct purses and the New York breeders’ awards already had gone up sharply in anticipation of the casino revenue.

“The timing is finally here,” Thomas said. “Everything we thought we were going to get for so many years is finally here. When the recession hit, we were in a situation where New York City OTB had filed for bankruptcy, our awards program had been cut, people couldn’t pay their stud fees. Financially, it just was killing us trying to run a farm when no one could pay their stud fees. Now, we fast-forward to where our purse structure is unheard-of and our award program is huge. I’d planned all along to reopen if we ever got to this point.”

Sequel Stallions New York is located on 223 acres and is the birthplace of champion Fleet Indian and Grade 1 winners Giant Ryan and Franny Freud, among numerous other stakes-winners.