Winner on all distance race track: 1/2 mile in 1.54.3 (Freehold) Dancer Memorial 5/8 mile in 1.52.3 (Dover Downs) Elimination Matron Stakes 7/8 mile in 1.48.3 (Woodbine) Invitation 1 mile in 1.54.2 (Garden State Park) New Jersey Futurity P2, 1.54.2 ; 3, 1.51 ; p4, 1.48.3 $1,110,504 Cam Fella Toxic Tanya No Nukes Co-holder of Woodbine s track record (1:48.3) between 2001 and 2005 Photo : Sylvain Gagnon Electric Stena who won 26 career victories is the 4th fastest son of Cam Fella along with Cambest, p.tt 1.46.1, Armbro Positive, p. 1.48.1 ($1,065,949) and Pacific Fella, p.1.48.2. Faster than some of the best stallions such as Camluck, Cams Card Shark, Presidential Ball, Precious Bunny, Goalie Jeff, etc. Esmeralda Semalu (1:49.4f $306,539) Ceiba de Chakrika (1:55.2f $120,277) Armand Spice (1:53.2h $107,345) Court Circuit (1:56.4h $100,853) Faucon Stena (1:51.2 $100,683) Supreme Action (1:54.3 $100,434). Finalist in many prestigious races such as: Messenger, Breeders Crown, Lou Babic, Progress, Matron, Des Smith, Canadian Pacing Derby, Gold Cup, winner of Québec Plus, Dancer Memorial and Simcoe Stakes. Faced the best in the world: Astreos, Gallo Blue Chip, Real Desire, Red Bow Tie, Peruvian Hanover, Royalflush Hanover. Winner against: Admiral Express, Camotion, Intrepid Seelster, Goliath Bayama, Rair Earth, etc. Faster than Camluck, ($1,003,260), Cams Card Shark, ($2,498,208) Presidential Ball, ($3,021,366), Precious Bunny, ($2,281,142). Out of an exceptional maternal family. His dam Toxic Tanya (No Nuke) is a 100% reproductive mare, dam of 6 foals with records of 2.00 or better Grand dam Tiona Hanover, dam of 8 foals with records of 1.59.3 or better. DVD Available (gilfort@videotron.ca) Standing at Eligibility OSS, CBC and Breeder s Crown Fee $2,500 Multiple foal discounts available kendalhillsstud@on.aibn.com www.kendalhills.com 9661 Trew Rd, R.R.#1, Campbellcroft, ON L0A 1B0 (905) 797-2124 Fax (905) 797-2081
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Father & Son CT TOM and LOUIS PONTONE make up the TLP Stable, one of the most successful partnerships in harness racing over the past 15 years. By Kimberly A. Rinker Photos by Monica Thors For Tom Pontone, harness racing is not strictly business. It s personal. It s nice to have a good horse and win races, he noted. But the best part is sharing those times through the relationships you ve forged with family and friends. Pontone, 47, hails from Kearny, New Jersey and along with his father Louis, race as the TLP Stables. It could be argued that no one has been involved with as many top horses over the past 15 years as the Pontones. Together, this father and son team has owned a formidable parade of Standardbreds that includes Muscle Hill, Art Major, McArdle, Shark Gesture, Holiday Road and of course twotime Pacer of the Year, Red Bow Tie to name just a few. Professionally, Tom has followed in his father s and grandfather s footsteps into the family business. My grandfather, Thomas Pontone, and his four brothers began working with their cousins in the casket business in Brooklyn in the early part of the 20th century, Tom explained. They had come to the United States from Certa, Italy. My father Louis became involved and eventually, myself and three of my cousins came into the business. Though his grandfather passed away in 1986, Tom and one of his two sisters remain immersed in the company. Tom is the senior vice president of sales and distribution of the Casket Division of Matthews International. Sister Donna, 50, also works in sales, while Angela, 44 and her husband Joe, own a small New Jersey farm where they care for broodmares and babies. Tom graduated from St. Johns University in 1984 with a B.S. in Business Management and soon found himself on familiar ground. Since I was 13 years-old I had been working at the company, sweeping floors and doing odd jobs, he offered. My college summers and weekends were spent working there. It seemed natural for me
FATHER & SON ACT Photo by Nigel Soult to work there because I already knew the industry and was comfortable. Growing up, Tom focused on playing sports such as football, baseball and basketball, and though his father had horses for a short stint, he wasn t bitten by the harness bug until later in life. My father had a friend, Joseph DePhillips, who was a trainer-driver at Monticello, Tom recalled. He got my father and uncle involved in the business some 30 years ago and I guess they didn t have that much success because after five years, they got out. It wasn t until 1996, when Tom and Louis hooked up with Victor and Joseph Leonardis, who race under the moniker D Elegance Stable IX, that the Pontones became involved in Standardbred racing once again. Victor and Joseph are funeral directors from New Jersey, Tom explained. We ve had a lot of business dealings with them over the years and they re good friends. When they asked us to come on board with them, we thought it sounded like fun. THE HORSES The first horse the Pontone and Leonardis partners owned together was a Muscle Hill has been one of the greatest performers the Pontones have ever owned having won 20 of 21 lifetime starts and $3.3 million before being retired to stud at Southwind Farm at the end of last year. Tom picked out the colt as a yearling on the advice of trainer Greg Peck. $20,000 claiming filly named Falcon Sight, a daughter of Falcon Seelster who earned her keep. We made a little money with her and it peaked our interest enough that my father wanted to go to Harrisburg that fall of 1997, Tom recalled. That year we purchased Red Bow Tie and Traveling Man and another horse who didn t do anything. Red Bow Tie was the third horse that we owned a piece of. We had seen him race as a two and three-year-old and knew he was a good horse, but never dreamt he d turn out to be the horse that he became. Red Bow Tie would go on to earn $2,673,920 and score a five-year-old mark of 1:48.2, and was named 1998 and 1999 Pacer of the Year. We initially just thought Red Bow Tie would be a decent horse that we could have some fun with, Tom admitted. He got us really excited about the sport. When you have a good horse, you are able to meet a variety of people and create some solid, long-lasting friendships as a result. Besides Red Bow Tie, Tom also singles out McArdle, Art Major and Shark Gesture as some of his favourites. I love all my horses, but McArdle was a horse I really took to early on, said Tom. He and Art Major were always racing against each other during their three and four-year-old seasons, but I was always secretly rooting for McArdle. He was just a tough, gutsy horse and I really admired him. Purchased for a mere $32,000 as a yearling at the 2000 Tattersalls Sale, McArdle became one of Falcon Seelster s richest sons, earning $2,692,604 and scoring a career mark of 1:49 as a three-year-old. The Pontones owned McArdle with partners Norman and Gerald Smiley, the Samson Street Stables and Perretti Racing Stable, LLC. Art Major, a son of Artsplace, was purchased by the Pontones at that same sale for $65,000 and initially included partners Deena Frost and the Samson Street Stables. Later, Jerry Silva bought a piece of the pacer and Art Major went on to January 2010 The Harness Edge
New York Sire StakeS 2010 Payment Schedule Two-Year-Old Payments Sire Stakes #50 $200 February 15, 2010 $350 April 15, 2010 State Fair $100 February 15, 2010 $200 April 15, 2010 County Fair $25 February 15, 2010 $75 April 15, 2010 Late Closers $300 July 26, 2010 Three-Year-Old Payments Sire Stakes #49 $250 February 15, 2010 $450 April 15, 2010 State Fair $100 February 15, 2010 $250 April 15, 2010 (Fillies) $350 April 15, 2010 (Colts) County Fair $25 February 15, 2010 $75 April 15, 2010 Late Closers $300 June 21, 2010 Yearling Nominations to Sire Stakes #51: $50 due May 15, 2010 Mares Bred Deadline: September 1, 2010 Keep this sheet as an easy reference guide for making your payments! Make All Payments to: Agriculture & NYS Horse Breeding Development Fund 90 State Street, Albany, NY 12207 518-436-8713 (p) info@nysirestakes.com www.nysirestakes.com You can also find us on: www.facebook.com/nysirestakes www.twitter.com/nysirestakes Breed in New York State. Breed the Best. Be the Best. Board of TrusTees John D. Sabini ~ Patrick Hooker ~ Joseph Angiolillo, Esq. ~ Keith Hamilton executive director Peter Goold
FATHER & SON ACT become a two-time Breeders Crown winner with career earnings of $3,273,217 and a mark of p,4,1:48.4. One of my best memories is when Art Major and McArdle finished first and second in the Hoosier Cup, Tom remembered. Each colt had won their elimination, too. The date was August 10, 2002 and Art Major held off the fast closing (:26.4) McArdle to win Hoosier Park s signature event in 1:50.4. Shark Gesture, well, he s just an iron horse in my mind, Tom said of the son of Cams Card Shark. When he fell down in the Breeders Crown at three, we didn t know what was going to happen to him. We didn t know if he was going to ever be able to race again, let alone race in the final. Shark Gesture had become entangled by the fractious Total Truth in the $25,000 Breeders Crown elimination on October 21, 2006 at Woodbine in the well documented incident that saw John Campbell suffer a badly broken leg. Despite the mishap which skinned his knees and hocks and cut his chest and nose, the brave sophomore returned a week later to capture the $610,000 Final in 1:52.1. His knees and nose were all scraped up and it was really heartwarming to see him return and win in the final, Tom noted. It really spoke to how tough a horse he is. Louis Pontone There used to be a buzz in the air when a horse like Red Bow Tie was racing, and now you go to The Meadowlands on a Saturday night and you re lucky if the top floor is opened up. Tom Pontone Tom Pontone After a disappointing reception at stud, Shark Gesture was brought back to the races. In the stable of Ray and Larry Remmen he became one of last year s best open class pacers. Last year he won nearly $1 million and is within sight of $2 million lifetime while taking a 1:48.1 record for the Pontones and the Smiley brothers. Without a doubt, however, it s the indomitable Muscle Hill who holds the biggest spot in Tom s heart. It was Tom who purchased the trotter at the 2007 Harrisburg Sale for $55,000 based on trainer Greg Peck s assessment of the youngster via video. Later, half-interest in the colt was sold to their friend Jerry Silva. TLP and Silva later sold a 50 per cent share of Muscle Hill to Southwind Farm in December 2008, for $3 million. That decision paid off, as Muscle Hill went on to earn $3,318,682, took a mark of 1:50.1 at three and won 20 of 21 career starts, including the Hambletonian, the World Trotting Derby and back-to-back Breeders Crowns. After his two-year-old season, we thought it would be good to get a farm involved, Tom admitted. We spoke with Allen Skolnick from Southwind Farm and it soon became apparent that we had found the perfect match for Muscle Hill. As a freshman, we weren t really thinking about retiring him, and we didn t know if he was going to come back better, the same or worse. January 2010 The Harness Edge
FATHER & SON ACT We wanted that security, he stressed. Muscle Hill earned $817,301 as a freshman, winning eight of his nine starts. His only loss came when he finished second in his very first pari-mutuel start, when he was bested by a neck in a New Jersey Sire Stakes. I knew he was a good horse but I didn t know he d come back to be one of the greatest trotters of all time, Tom said. I felt when he came back as a three-yearold that he was going to dominate the season. Then it got to be how he was going to win and by how much. When he won the World Trotting Derby, I was worried because he only won by a length, and later, when I was talking with Luke McCarthy (who drove him that day), he told me he didn t ask the horse for more than he had to, to get the job done. Tom credits trainer Greg Peck for Muscle Hill s success. Greg did a fantastic job with the horse and had him totally prepared all year long, said Tom. There was a lot of pressure to see how Muscle Hill was going to win each time he raced. I don t want to sound arrogant, but it kind of became a thing to keep his status intact, and the way he won a race seemed to dominate everyone s perception of him. Tom said the decision to retire Muscle Hill at the end of 2009 seemed appropriate. The racing game has to change in order to give owners the incentive to race these kind of horses in their older years, he stated. Southwind Farm got involved with Muscle Hill early on, and you also have to respect the people who invest in the horse, in regards to breeding potential. However, Tom said watching his fluidly-gaited trotter strut through the Woodbine stretch for the last time on his way to his second Breeders Crown victory was bittersweet. I was standing at the rail, listening to the crowd cheering him on, he said with emotion. It was tough watching him trot down to the wire, despite the fact that he was winning easily, because I knew it was the last time I was going to watch him like that. Hopefully we ll see his sons and daughters do the same thing in the future. Tom Pontone calls McArdle one of his favourites of all time. "He was just a tough, gutsy horse and I really admired him. THE FUTURE The TLP Stable isn t slowing down having purchased more than 20 yearlings this fall, with a variety of conditioners. My dad and I collaborate a lot on what horses we like, and we depend on Greg (Peck) a lot, Tom said. We bought 15 yearlings with him this fall, and also have horses with Larry Remmen and Ray Schnittker. We love the racing game and want to keep investing in the sport that s been so good to us. Tom said Hambletonian Day 2009 was his single greatest day in racing. We had Muscle Hill win the Hambletonian and Holiday Road win the ($523,600) Haughton. It doesn t get any better than that. We ve been blessed to have great trainers who pick out great horses, but it still comes down to luck, Tom added. Despite his personal success, Tom believes the harness racing industry needs a serious image lift. Things need to change in New Jersey and elsewhere to ensure we still have racing in the next few years, he stressed. There used to be a buzz in the air when a horse like Red Bow Tie was racing, and now you go to The Meadowlands on a Saturday night and you re lucky if the top floor is opened up. It s not just the gambling or slots that will help. We need a whole image lift. People are going to show up for those few select days a year, but we need them showing up every weekend. It s an education to the public, he continued. Its not just the responsibility of the racetracks, the Meadowlands does a decent job, but it s the responsibility of everyone involved in the industry. Our sport is easy to follow because our horses race every week and from a handicapping standpoint, that s a dream situation. We need to get people to become harness racing fanatics who develop a following. That s why partnerships are important, Tom stressed. If you get people who even just have a tiny interest in a horse, they re going to bring more friends out, and get more people involved. We all need to work on that. The partnerships are what will grow the business. But Pontone isn t a man who dwells on the negative for long. Instead, his words reflect the passion and love he has for the sport and his horses. I hope one day I ll be standing in the Hambletonian winner s circle again, he said. I love this sport and would like to stay involved for many years. I spend a lot of hours traveling for my career and enjoy it, but it s still nice at the end of the day to be able sit and watch races or read good stories about horses and racing. Photo by Lisa Photo January 2010 The Harness Edge
Yonkers Raceway The Historic Empire City Trotting Club 2010 HOPEFUL PACING SERIES Late Closing Series For Three -Year-Olds in 2010 Nominations Close - January 15, 2010 - No Starting Fee Nomination Fee - $100 U.S. Funds Only Three-Year-Olds in 2010 - Non-winners of $20,000 in 2009 through December 1, 2009. Also eligible: Three-Year-Olds, non-winners of two races lifetime. FILLIES Feb. 19 Feb. 26 Mar. 5 Mar. 12 Mar. 12 COLTS & GELDINGS Feb. 20 Feb. 27 Mar. 6 Mar. 13 Mar. 13 First Preliminary Second Preliminary Third Preliminary Consolation Final Nomination Fees Added To Final Race According to Sex CONDITIONS $10,000 $10,000 $10,000 $20,000 $40,000A - Fillies $40,000A - Colts & Geldings 1. The fields and post positions for all races; preliminary, finals and consolations will be drawn by lot. All races 1 mile dashes. 2. If there is more than one division of any preliminary race, each division will race for the full advertised purse. If more than three divisions of a preliminary race are required, right is reserved to race one or more of these additional divisions on the next two racing nights. 3. The declared horses with the highest money-winnings will be eligible to the final and consolation races. The final and consolation races will be limited to eight starters. Choice of a starter for those horses that are declared in of horses with the same money - winnings will be drawn by lot except that a non-stable entry horse will be given preference over a horse creating a stable entry. In the event not enough money-winners declare for the final or consolations, starters in the series that are not money-winners may declare and will be drawn by lot to obtain a full field of eight. A trainer and/or owner will be limited to only two starters in the final and consolations. The consolation race must have six separate betting interests or it may be canceled by the raceway. 4. Also Eligibles for the Final and/or Consolation will be at the discretion of the Race Secretary. 5. Purse & Point Distribution: 50% - First, 25% - Second, 12% - Third, 8% - Fourth, 5% - Fifth. 6. Declarations to start close at a prescribed time and date, and must be made for all preliminary, final and consolation races. 7. Should circumstances prevent the racing of any or all of these races, monies paid in will be refunded to the owners of horses nominated unless one race of the series has been contested. In the event of weather or other unforeseeable cancellation of any preliminary race, no make-up will be made. In the event of weather or other unforeseeable cancellation of the consolation and final races a make-up will be made the following week. 8. One charted line meeting the qualifying standards is required within 30 days. If continued satisfactory performance is not maintained in races, additional qualifying line(s) will be required and subsequent declarations will be rejected until this requirement is fulfilled. 9. There will he no refunds for horses that are not properly nominated. 10. Yonkers Raceway reserves the right to refuse any horse, trainer, driver and/or owner to race in this series. 11. These races will be conducted under the rules and regulations of the New York State Racing and Wagering Board and Yonkers Raceway General Rules and Procedures. Nomination Blank Name of Entry Color Sex Sire Dam.. Owner or Trainer. Address Phone Make checks (US Funds Only) payable to YONKERS RACING CORP. Mail to: RACE OFFICE. - Yonkers Raceway Corp.-810 Yonkers Ave.- Yonkers, New York 10704 - Phone: (914) 457-2627