Increasingly prominent Thoroughbred owner Frank Antonacci, a partner with David Reid in Ice Wine Stables who campaigned No Nay Never (Scat Daddy) in partnership with the Magnier family, has been elected to the Harness Racing Hall Of Fame, the organization announced Friday.
Antonacci, known as “Frank The Elder,” is a second-generation member from one of harness racing's most famous and successful families. The family initially began operating Lindy Farms, a Standardbred farm located first in New York and then in Connecticut, and as part of the Crown Stables, which include in its alumni such champion trotters as Lindy's Pride and Speedy Crown.
Frank and his brother Gerald (Jerry) have operated Lindy Farms of Connecticut since its establishment as both a racing and breeding operation. The Antonaccis have raced or bred nine Standardbred millionaires–Moni Maker, Crazed, Cantab Hall, Victory Dream, Lucky Chucky, Harmonious, Snow White, Mr. Feelgood, and Ready For Moni. They have won three Hambletonians, three Breeders Crowns, the Elitloppet in Sweden, and the Prix d'Amerique in Paris, among the innumerable races captured by their stars.
Stallions such as Lindy Lane, Walner, International Moni, Harmonious, and Crazed, along with many prized broodmares, have kept Lindy's credentials high off of the racetrack for years. Lindy was also instrumental in developing the frozen-semen market so that both North America and Europe could benefit from the best of each other's horses.
An operating partner and owner of The Red Mile and an owner of Tattersalls Sale Company, Frank has also served as a trustee of the Harness Racing Museum & Hall Of Fame since 2011, a director of the Hambletonian Society since 1993, and as a director of the U.S. Trotting Association from 2001 to 2019.
His son, Philip Antonacci, a graduate of the Godolphin Flying Start program, started a Thoroughbred training career in late 2020, and trains the family's horses under the Lindy Farms banner. Their four-year-old colt Fauci (Malibu Moon) was most recently third in the Lucky Coin S. at Saratoga on Sept. 2.
Ice Wine and Lindy Farms have approximately 25 Thoroughbred mares in the U.S. and Europe, and support their interest in No Nay Never, who stands at Coolmore Ireland, with those mares.
Reid and Antonacci also have horses in training with Joseph O'Brien in Ireland, and with Gai Waterhouse in Australia.
Not a subscriber? Click here to sign up for the daily PDF or alerts.
