Najja Thompson

The New York Thoroughbred Breeders, Inc., and SUNY Cobleskill will team up to offer an accredited course for upper-class students in the Animal Science program to experience all aspects of the Thoroughbred breeding and racing industry. The pilot program will be offered to 15-20 junior undergraduate students that have met prerequisites. The course, which runs from late August to early December, falls in line with the NYTB's goals to make outreach with students interested in equine studies and finding the next generation of the industry's workforce and leaders in racing...

With a 60% majority of New York-bred foals now sired by out-of-state stallions, the board of directors for the New York Thoroughbred Breeding and Development Fund (NYTBDF) is reaching out to the state's stallion owners to try and spark incentivization ideas that might swing that balance back toward in-state sires. Chief among the concepts that have the most traction so far are 1) recalculating the splits of the fund so that more money flows to stallion owners; and 2) changing rules at tracks so that eligibility in New York-bred races...

The New York Thoroughbred Breeders, Inc. (NYTB) will honor the 2021 New York-Bred Divisional Champions Friday, Aug. 12 at Saratoga Race Course and Fasig-Tipton Co. in Saratoga Springs. The festivities start with "A Day at the Races" from 1-6:30 p.m. with a dining buffet in The Rail at the exclusive 1863 Club at Saratoga, which will host four New York-bred stakes, worth $500,000 in purses, on the day's card. The proceedings continue across Union Avenue from 7-8 p.m. with the 2021 New York-Bred Annual Awards Presentation and Cocktail Hour at...

Backed by a number of animal rights groups, two New York state lawmakers have introduced a bill that would end payments made to the state's racing and breeding industries from slot machine or video lottery terminal (VLT) revenue. According to a press release issued Wednesday by the animal rights group NYCLASS, the bill would cancel out the $230-million payment made annually to horse racing and breeding and will redirect the money to "help New York's taxpayers, schools, workers and other social programs." NYCLASS has led the effort to ban carriage...

Thomas J. Gallo, III, founder and managing owner of Dream Maker Racing, Thomas J. Gallo III Sales Agency, LLC and owner of Blue Stone Farm, was reelected President of the Board of Directors of the New York Thoroughbred Breeders, Inc. (NYTB) during a meeting Jan. 21. Mallory Mort, manager of Gallagher's Stud, was reelected as Vice President, while Edition Farm owner Vivien Malloy was again elected Secretary/Treasurer. All three NYTB board officers will serve two-year terms concurrent with their two-year tenure on the board. Board directors are: Scott Ahlschwede, D.V.M.,...

New York Thoroughbred Breeders has announced Executive Director Najja Thompson will be appointed, as the NYTB's representative, to the New York Racing Association Board of Directors and the New York Breeding and Development Fund Board of Directors, made effective at a Dec. 18 meeting of the Board. Thompson's appointment fills the vacancies created with the resignation of former Executive Director Jeffrey Cannizzo, who will join NYRA on Jan. 1 as Senior Director of Government Affairs. "I feel very fortunate to represent the interests of breeders in New York with this...

Wendy Davis from the Race Track Industry Program at the University of Arizona has been elected president of the Turf Publicists of America (TPA) for 2021 and 2022, it was announced Tuesday by outgoing President Amy Gregory. At the same time, it was announced that Najja Thompson from the New York Thoroughbred Breeders has been re-elected as a vice president, and because of a tie in the voting both Claire Crawford from the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club and Kevin Kerstein from Churchill Downs Racetrack have been elected vice presidents for...

Officials at New York Thoroughbred Breeders Inc. have announced that Najja Thompson will be the organization's new executive director. He will begin in his new role Dec. 14. Thompson brings nine years of experience with the New York Racing Association to his new position, having served in various roles in the marketing and communications offices. Most recently, he worked as a recruitment and employee engagement specialist, where he was responsible for identifying and cultivating new talent and developing onboarding initiatives. Additionally, he serves as Vice-President of the Turf Publicists of...