northwood

Wendy Ross Interview with Bob Boni

Wed, 09 Jul 2025 14:22:19 GMT

Listen as Wendy Ross talks with 2025 Hall Of Fame inductee owner and breeder Bob Boni at the Hall Of Fame dinner on Sunday July 9 2025

Bob Boni Knows How To Pick'em (Part 2)

Fri, 27 Jun 2025 17:11:39 GMT

Bob Boni Knows How To Pick'em (Part 2)

Prior to his Hall of Fame induction next weekend in Goshen, NY, Bob Boni shared his thoughts on a few influential horses, and things he’s enjoyed in his career.

Part 1 is here .

Nihilator ($3,225,653) Foal of 1982 (Niatross—Margie’s Melody—Bret Hanover)

Pershing Square ($812,277) Foal of 1982 (Niatross—Treasure Blue Chip—Meadow Skipper)

“The first yearling crop by Niatross were foaled in 1982. I had researched them. There were approximately 75 colts and 75 fillies among them. I remember the situation where the plan to buy a group of what I thought were to be his best ones came to me. I was walking on First Avenue on my way to Bloomingdales on what was a dreary Saturday morning. It was as though I was thunderstruck. I went to a pay phone — no cell phones back then — and immediately called Lou Guida. Lou loved the idea. ‘You buy the horses and I’ll come up with the money. We’ll decide after they’ve been bought whether we sell them or put them into training.’ We ended up buying seven privately, and an eighth at auction. To say that the venture was successful would be an understatement. The two best ones were Nihilator and Pershing Square, both of which went to the Haughton Stable. I can’t say that I knew that Nihilator was to become a generational horse, but based on what I regularly saw of him and the way Billy spoke, I felt pretty positive about his chances.

“You asked me why didn’t he succeed in the stud. I’m not smart enough to know that, but I suspect that it may have something to do with his gait and the fact that he hit the ground so hard. He was so great that he overcame those deficiencies. As is sometimes the case, his foals didn’t. There have been other great horses with gait issues who had those transmitted negatively in the stud. Two that come to mind are Prakas and Matts Scooter.”

Caressable ($1,006,380) Foal of 1983 (Niatross—Tarport Karen—Thorpe Hanover)

“She came from the second crop by Niatross and was destined to become his most accomplished filly. One very interesting story with her. She was regularly driven by Bill O’Donnell. The Breeders Crown for fillies was to be raced at Yonkers Raceway that year. O’Donnell was racing earlier at Garden State Park. The schedule called for us to helicopter over to Yonkers after Billy’s early drives were done there. We had plenty of time to get there. Would you believe? The helicopter pilot got lost trying to find Yonkers and we didn’t make it in time. Herve Filion subbed for Billy and he won. It was, remarkably, the only time in all the years that I’ve been in the business that Herve drove one for me. It was also the richest race that Herve won of all the *82,336 that Herve officially drove in.”

* There were many more. That number only includes the time since those records were kept.

Camtastic ($2,117,619) Foal of 1985 (Cam Fella—Lushkara—Albatross)

“He was another limited partnership horse. Whereas Nihilator’s partnership, the Wall Street Stable, was composed of 10 owners with equal equity, that of Camtastic was many owners with very small individual ownership. Furthermore, the group wasn’t completed until later in the year. This resulted in his not being able to be put into training until December. That didn’t hold him back though. He still made his baby race debut on May 29. This coming from Bob Bencal’s stable, one known for being quite conservative. Of note about Camtastic.

Bob Bencal would say that of all the horses he ever trained he never had one who enjoyed training more than this colt. He just loved working and being on the track. There are some who say, when shopping for yearlings, they want the leader of the pack. The leader of the herd will also be the leader on the racetrack, so they say. Certainly not in Camtastic’s case. He was what I would call a very timid colt. He had a buddy who was also timid. Those two would hang out together, away from the rest of the herd in their field of yearling colts. I suspect mostly because the other colts would bully them.

“He was an exceptional 2-year-old, becoming the 2-Year-Old Pacer of 1987. He had to be scratched from the Woodrow Wilson because he came up sick before the race. His ownership group, their friends and relatives were all planning to come to the race. I had to cancel 172 dinner reservations. After he was scratched, Bencal asked me what he would need to do to become 2-Year-Old Pacer of the Year. I responded that he would have to go undefeated for the rest of the season. He proceeded to do just that.

“You again, asked why he failed in the stud. I had an answer for Nihilator. Here I have none. He was as perfect a racehorse as there ever was. If he might have been lacking in any area, I have no idea what that might have been. I suppose it goes back to the biblical verse, when speaking of great stallions – ‘Many are called, but few are chosen.’

Always B Miki ($2,715,368) Foal of 2011 (Always A Virgin—Artstopper—Artsplace)

“I remember first seeing him baby race at The Meadowlands. I was sitting with Mitchel Skolnick and Mike Klau. He was more than impressive. He had been bred and raised by Joe Hurley’s Roll The Dice Stable. Joe had given him to the late Richard Ringler to break and get going. I believe he had trained in 2:02 and Hurley had sent him to Joe Holloway to race. We had some interest in him because we had invested in his sire Always A Virgin who also had the same Hurley-Holloway connection. I suggested to Mitchel that maybe he ought to express some interest in the colt to Hurley and figuratively get his oar in the water. Mitchel did the same. By his third race he kept getting more impressive. It was time to talk serious. Mitchel struck a deal with Hurley.

“In retrospect, it was a tremendous bargain. Hurley raised his initial price by $300 after his third start. You might ask where the extra $300 came from. You would have to ask Hurley about that. ‘Miki’ began making breaks and Holloway sent him to Roger Welch in Indiana where he was eligible in the Indiana program. I cannot stress how great a job Roger did with the colt. He not only made a solid racehorse out of him, but he also became the dominant colt in Indiana. At 3, he was back with Holloway and doing extremely well. He appeared to be the top 3-year-old in the country. Then while warming up for the Breeders Crown for which he was favored, he broke a bone. Because of where he was to be in his recuperation, Holloway and Mitchel had a difference of opinion which resulted in their partnership becoming dissolved. Ultimately Mitchel’s group bought out Marty Granoff, who had in the interim come into the ownership group, at a very significant price for a horse who had just broken a bone. The horse was given to Jimmy Takter. Takter loved him and wanted to buy a small interest, 10 per cent. Mitchel said okay, but the price would have to be based on the same number as he and his partners had paid. Takter said okay. A few days later Always B Miki broke his other hind pastern. Takter said he had made a deal and was still in for his purchase. Three months later Always B Miki was back racing and winning. The rest is history. Everybody who has had anything to do with him has done exceptionally well. We call him the gift that keeps giving.”

It seems, we’ve only scratched the surface. You’ve had an incredible career. Is there anything you’ve done more than anything else that has given you the greatest satisfaction?

“The simple answer would be all of it. Believe it or not, I even enjoyed unloading hay and straw and doing stalls. When I was at Pine Hollow and the stud man took a Sunday off and I was asked to sub for him I felt like I was being asked to pinch hit for Mickey Mantle. I suppose that if it came down to the most enjoyable, it would be the racing, specifically the two years with Nihilator. Racing is a lot more fun than breeding. Something I’ve said only half-jokingly, if you enjoy racing and want to torture yourself, get into breeding.

“If you were asking the achievement of which I was most proud, it would be the hand I played in 2018, getting the initial five-year appropriation for harness racing in New Jersey, in no small part using my friendship with George Norcross in achieving it. It was a coordinated effort, shared with only Kathy Parker and John Campbell, with most done behind the scenes.”

Bob Boni Knows How To Pick'em (Part 1)

Thu, 26 Jun 2025 17:08:35 GMT

Bob Boni Knows How To Pick'em (Part 1)

It was Goshen week of 1970. I was visiting Pine Hollow Stud Farm in nearby Pine Bush, NY. Mort Finder had just begun the enterprise. As was to be his custom, the farm was showing some of the yearlings that would be featured in their consignment to Harrisburg that November. I recall thinking, who features yearlings the first week of July? They were bound to be immature and under developed compared to how they would look five months hence. Hell, none of them are even a year old yet. Well, Mort Finder did and the person showing and who had prepped them was a scrawny New York City born and raised young man named Bob Boni. I was impressed by the condition and the amazing presence of these yearlings.

That was my first introduction to Boni. Looking back, I doubt that there is a single person involved in all of harness racing in America that I’ve known longer.

This story has had many starts and mostly stops to it. I’ve wanted to do it almost from the start of this column. My problem was in determining how to do it, since Boni has worn so many hats in the business. What do I write about? Is he a breeder, an owner, a farm manager, a racing manager a sales representative? He has been involved in those, and likely several other areas of our sport. ‘How do I write about them all?’ I asked myself. I came to the conclusion that I was unable to. Instead, I just procrastinated and did nothing. Now, with the imminent induction of Boni to the sport’s Living Hall of Fame next week, I decided it had to be now or probably never.

The reason this column is appearing on Friday, rather than its usual Sunday spot is my editor has opted to split it into two parts, with Part 2 coming on Sunday.

Instead of writing about Boni’s entire life, one well lived — a project for a younger and more capable person, Charlie Leerhsen or Dean Hoffman — I decided to focus on a part, a very important segment, of his story. I doubt that there have been too many individuals in our sport, absent some trainers, who have been involved with the management and selection of so many great and influential horses. This was the area on which I decided to focus.

Chronologically, here are Boni’s thoughts on a select few:

Green Speed ($953,013) Foal of 1973 (Speedy Rodney—Peridot—Hickory Pride)

“He was as nice a yearling as I had ever seen or had anything to do with, certainly to that point in time. He was bred and owned by Lloyd S. Lloyds a patron of the W R Haughton Stable. I’m not certain that Mr. Lloyds had ever even seen him until he began training. Mr. Lloyds had made the decision to sell him at Harrisburg as a yearling. I suspect that he didn’t initially want to train him because his late wife Margaret was the first exponent of the theory of the first foal often being the best foal that a mare will have. Green Speed was Peridot’s second foal. Her first foal was named Peridot’s Pride. He was a talented stakes winner, but physically he was as different than Green Speed as day was from night. Peridot’s Pride was a big, plainish, kind of coarse colt. Green Speed was more refined, and racy looking, to my eye, a much nicer individual.

“Billy Haughton had come to the farm to look at our yearlings as he always did. He looked at Green Speed as well. He loved him as I was certain he would. He loved him even more after he was turned out in the paddock. He called Lloyds from my desk and told him that he really liked the colt. Did he really want to sell him? Lloyds said ‘Yes.’ Billy then asked him if it would be okay if he tried to buy him for another owner. Lloyds said that was fine. Apparently, sometime between then and the Thursday before Harrisburg he had a change of heart. After our trucks had loaded and were on their way to Harrisburg, I received a phone call from Lloyds. He had decided to keep the colt and have Billy train him. I told him the colt was already on his way to Harrisburg. Of course, he was then withdrawn from the sale. The rest, of course is history. He raced alright until the later part of the racing season at 2, but nothing to indicate what he was going to become, until he won the Hanover Colt Stake at Liberty Bell in 2:01f which then was the world record for a 2-year-old trotter. From that point forward he was a force to be reckoned with. He, of course went on to win the 1976 Hambletonian at DuQuoin and was voted Horse of the Year.”

Escape Artist ($85,194) Foal of 1976 (Meadow Skipper—Noreen Napoleon—Bret Hanover)

“There are likely many today who won’t even recognize the name. But this colt gave me, to that time, what was likely my greatest thrill ever in the sport. As was mentioned above, the Fourth of July weekend is often not the best time to display a yearling that will be sold in November. Escape Artist was most definitely such a colt. In July he was a big, gangly immature colt. I suggested to Mr. Finder that we might not want to showcase him during Goshen. But Finder insisted. Noreen Napoleon, his dam might have been Finder’s favorite mare ever. We showed him, but I doubt that he turned many heads then. As time went on, what had been a figurative ugly duckling grew into the most beautiful swan. He became a truly exceptional individual. I knew he would top our consignment. But I didn’t know how well he would do. He brought $260,000, the highest price for a yearling ever. I still have the tape of Tom Caldwell selling him. It took him 6½ minutes to sell and I was smiling for each second of the time. Words cannot express how pleased and proud I was.”

Cam Fella ($2,041,367) Foal of 1979 (Most Happy Fella—Nan Cam—Bret Hanover)

“I didn’t have anything to do with either breeding or racing this truly great horse and sire. He was standing stud at what then was Jef’s Standardbred Country Club. We did a partnership deal where we bought the farm and its equine assets from Ed Friedberg. The biggest asset of those were the 10 breeding rights we were to receive for standing Cam Fella. The new venture was called Dreamaire Stud. It was to be managed by Leo McNamara. With the termination of the Dreamaire partnerships, Cam Fella moved to Stonegate Farms where he lived out the rest of his life.”

In Part 2, Boni will share his insight on the great Nihilator, among others.

Bob Boni to USHWA Hall of Fame

Sun, 01 Sep 2024 15:11:57 GMT

USHWA, in conjunction with the Harness Racing Hall Of Fame, is pleased to announce the election of racing executive Tom Aldrich, bloodstock expert Robert Boni, and trainer Chris Ryder to the greatest honor in the industry, membership to the Hall Of Fame.

Harrisburg, PA - USHWA has also elected racing official and administrator Judy Davis-Wilson and writer/editor Debbie Little to the pinnacles of their professions, membership in the Communicators Hall Of Fame.
Robert Boni’s parents took him to Yonkers Raceway as a youth, and upon his graduation from high school, he embarked on a harness racing career that has taken him through increasingly responsible stints with Pine Hollow Stud, International Standardbred, the Wall Street Stable with principal Lou Guida, Dreamaire Stud, and his present operation of his Northwood Bloodstock Company, which combines bloodstock agency, sales consultancy and breeding expertise. Along the way, Boni pioneered the usage of video as a marketing tool for selling top racehorses, dating back to 1978 and the Liberty Bell Sale.

Among the many great horses with whom Boni has been associated are Horse of the Year Nihilator, world champion Always B Miki , Pershing Square and Caressable ; he has been a part of six Breeders Crown championships. For Dreamaire, Boni assembled a broodmare band that contained 20 mares with 1:55 records, at a time when no one else owned two such mares.

Boni’s impact has been greatly felt in the upper echelons of harness racing’s premier guiding associations. Boni is a trustee of the Harness Racing Museum, has written several timely and pertinent articles on major issues of the day, and is Chairman of USHWA’s Breeder, Sire, and Broodmare Awards Committee. In his capacity of vice president of the SBOA of New Jersey, Boni played a primary role in securing appropriation funding that helped revitalize racing and breeding in the Garden State.

Aldrich, Boni, Ryder, Davis-Wilson and Little will be honored in two upcoming ceremonies. They will receive their first formal recognition at the U.S. Harness Writers Association’s Dan Patch Awards Banquet, to be held at the Rosen Centre, in Orlando, Fla., on Feb. 23, 2025 . The second event will, of course, be their formal introductions to their Halls at Goshen on the first Sunday of July 2025 .

The United States Harness Writers Association (USHWA) is the leading group of communicators about the Standardbred horse. USHWA conducts the official annual balloting for the sport’s most prestigious honors: induction into the Hall Of Fame and Communicators Hall Of Fame, along with the selection of the Horse of the Year, Trotter and Pacer of the Year, and the leading divisional horses of each season.

Each year, USHWA holds the Dan Patch Awards Banquet, honoring the best and brightest performers in North American harness racing. This banquet is the association’s principal source of funding, and with generous financial support from the harness racing and breeding industry, USHWA is able to host the banquet at a world-class facility in a world-class manner.

Click here for the complete story

“I am honored and humbled to receive this recognition and I thank all who have supported me…it has truly been a great ride with many special people and great horses and a lifetime of doing everything I ever wanted to do with no plans of stopping.”
Bob Boni

Ownership Change for Volume Eight

Sat, 21 Jan 2023 16:48:32 GMT

Winning Key Farm acquires ownership interest in Volume Eight

Worthington, PA – Jan. 21 2023 Winning Key Farm is excited to announce a partnership with the current ownership group of 2-year-old 2022 Trotting Colt of the Year Volume Eight that gives them an interest in the champion trotter beginning in 2023. The transaction was put together by Bob Boni of Northwood Bloodstock Agency , bringing the idea to his trainer Noel Daley, and then to Patty Key.

“With Patty Key and Winning Key, his breeder, in mind, I reached out to Noel about the possibility of an interest in Volume Eight being available,” said Boni. “Noel said yes and Patty was immediately enthused about the possibilities. It did not take much more than that to put the parties together. I asked Patty’s farm manager Eric Crocker about the colt as well as they raised him, and being a son of the great Chapter Seven, it seemed like a perfect fit. He has shown extraordinary ability and hopefully it will be a fun year for everyone involved.”

Noel Daley added that “It is a terrific opportunity at this time to have the breeder come back in with an ownership interest. He is clearly a very talented trotting colt that will be pointed for the major events in ’23 and in addition to the excitement of his racing career, as breeders he could very well prove to be an important part of their breeding program in the future.”

“When Bob Boni brought this to us, I was immediately excited with the prospect of participating in his ownership as it is very much a chance to continue the legacy of my late husband Bob,” commented Patty Key. “While we have been mostly focused on our breeding program and not given much thought to racing, this is a very special situation. We followed all of his races as if we still owned him and I am thrilled that Noel and the other owners have given us this opportunity. Now we can look forward to his races with even more anticipation and I believe it is something Bob would have wanted us to do.”

The Dan Patch Award winner was the fastest 2-year-old colt trotter of 2022, taking his mark of 1:52 with a last quarter of :27 flat and a dominant victory in the Kindergarten Classic Final for earnings of $432,232. He finished his campaign winning five in a row, adding the Valley Victory Final for trainer Noel Daley and driver Andy McCarthy, and he is listed as the Meadowlands Winter Book favorite for the 2023 Hambletonian.

Fate and Keen Vision Draws Boni to Indiana

Thu, 05 Jan 2023 19:41:39 GMT

Fate and Keen Vision Draws Boni to Indiana

It is impossible to tell the story of harness racing without Robert “Bob” Boni and for over a decade it has been impossible to tell the story of Indiana harness racing without his name as well. Since 1969, Boni has been full time in some capacity in harness racing and the results have been nothing short of remarkable on the East Coast as well as the Hoosier state.

Boni’s full time involvement in harness began at Pine Hollow Stud but not exactly by design. “I finished school, got in my car, and made my way to Goshen, New York in hopes of securing a job with Arden Homestead’s main trainer Harry Pownall,” said Boni. His plan did not come to fruition as he had planned which in hindsight may have been for the best. “Mr. Pownall said he would have loved to hire me, but he simply did not have any openings or much turnover in his grooms for a spot to be available for me,” Boni remembered.

Boni’s harness racing aspirations were not squashed by the fruitless venture to Goshen as he took the short drive over to Pine Bush where Pine Hollow Stud was located. “Pine Hollow looked to be the premier farm in New York at the time and I was lucky that they had an opening when I showed up and asked for a job. It was only about an hour and a half from my boyhood home in Queens so it made a lot of sense to start there,” Boni noted. “I spent 11 years there and I do not regret it one bit.”

After his tenure at Pine Hollow, Boni ventured out on his own with almost immediate success. He managed the Wall Street Stable that went “all-in” on the first crop of Niatross which led Boni to travel all the way to Indiana one winter day where he inspected and purchased the former fastest horse of all time, Nihilator. “I’ve always said Indiana is my second favorite state and that is a big reason why,” Boni said with a laugh.

Boni has certainly been no one hit wonder with his connected standardbreds. His other standouts include $800,000 winner Pershing Square, 1987 Pacer of the Year Camtastic, Indiana standout stallion Always A Virgin, and the 2nd fastest horse of all time Always B Miki. The latter two certainly have strong connections to the Midwest and Boni was instrumental in both of their paths.

Always A Virgin was partially purchased by Boni with multiple other partners prior to his three year old season where he earned over $1 million in purses. After his 4-year-old season, the decision came on where he should stand, at which point Boni made the case for Indiana. “It definitely took some convincing of our fellow partners, but my partner Mitchell Skolnick and I had studied and admired the Indiana program and thought it was the best spot for him. We knew he would have several years of support where in some states that is not always the case because you never know which new hot sire might come in after you,” Boni stated.

The success of Always A Virgin as a sire has been immense and his impact on the growth of Indiana Standardbreds cannot be overstated. His first two two crops produced 3 millionaires, 3 Breeders Crown winners, and the at one time fastest horse of all time. In total, Always A Virgin’s offspring have earned over $60 million and still counting. “Always A Virgin is what you hope for from a regional sire. He immediately produced horses that could leave the state program and win. Once you do that, you are made as a stallion, and Indiana certainly gave him the support,” said Boni.

Boni’s connection to Always A Virgin played a role in leading him to one of Indiana sired sons, Always B Miki. After watching Always B Miki’s early baby races, Boni was enamored by the colt. “He showed incredible speed as a young horse, and my connection to Always A Virgin definitely made me take a closer look at him. Luckily, he was owned by Joe Hurley’s Roll The Dice stable who owned Always A Virgin so we already had a strong relationship there,” Boni noted.

Always B Miki took Boni and the other connections on an incredible ride, but he was not the last tie to Indiana for Boni. He has continued to play a role in sending multiple stallions to Indiana including the likes of Class Included, JK Endofanera, and newcomer in 2023 Rebuff. The latter stallion is an extremely exciting prospect in the eyes of Boni. “He is a horse that could have stood anywhere. He is a Breeders Crown winner and the fastest son of Muscle Hill, which is a remarkable accomplishment,” said Boni.

In Boni’s eyes, Rebuff is a further affirmation of the rise of the Midwest in harness racing. The massive growth of Kentucky combined with the addition of the Peter Haughton and Jim Doherty trots now at Hoosier has created a shift in the business in Boni’s opinion. “It is a validation of the midwest. Some people did not pay attention to this program due to the distance from the east coast, but with so many stables established in Kentucky, that is now changed. It really is a cataclysmic shift in the way we race horses. It is going to open up the thought process and Indiana will be looked at much differently,” Boni explained.

Besides the rise of the midwest coming in the future, Boni has glowing remarks for the current program. “People really do not realize the amount of open stakes offered by Hoosier Park. Indiana and Hoosier Park put on an excellent presentation. I think with the growth of dual eligibility in Kentucky, you are going to see nominations to the big races in Indiana rise dramatically.”

New formula used for Meadowlands Pace final post position draw

Tue, 12 Jul 2022 19:49:06 GMT

The brainchild of SBOANJ first vice-president Bob Boni — 15 years in the making

Lexington, KY — Moments after his trainee Night Hawk finished second in the second of two Meadowlands Pace eliminations last Saturday night (July 9) at The Meadowlands, trainer Brian Brown thought to himself that now he will need to hold his breath awaiting the post position draw for the $600,000 final this Saturday (July 16), hoping his colt didn’t draw post 10 in the open draw among the non-winners.

At the time Brown wasn’t aware that a format change had been made for this year’s Pace final draw and that Night Hawk was guaranteed a spot on the starting gate no farther out than post seven.

.... read the complete story

Bob Boni Talks with Dave Brower

Thu, 20 Jan 2022 21:41:46 GMT

Bob Boni Talks with Dave Brower abou t the Winter Mixed Sale at the Meadowlands On Jan. 17 2022

Whichwaytothebeach topped the Tattersalls Winter Mixed Sale with a bid of $390,000

Tue, 18 Jan 2022 14:25:38 GMT

Toscani nabs Whichwaytothebeach for $390,000

It was the second highest-priced hors e sold in sale history and it came during an auction that set new records for average ($47,259) and median ($29,500).

With one significant purchase, Gino Toscani of Mount Hope, ON led the buyers at the Tattersalls Winter Mixed Sale held Monday (Jan. 17) in the paddock at the Meadowlands Racetrack in New Jersey.

Bidding online via ProxiBid, Toscani spent $390,000 to collar the sale topper, Hip 77 Whichwaytothebeach , a 4-year-old gelded son of Somebeachsomewhere out of Swinging Beauty consigned by Bob Boni’s Northwood Bloodstock.

“He seems like a nice horse,” Toscani told the USTA’s Ken Weingartner. “I hope he can come through. He’s just going to be 4. His brother, Captain Barbossa, was good as a 4-year-old and hopefully he’s going to be the same for us and we can get our money back.”

Whichwaytothebeach will be trained by Desiree Jones. It was the second highest sale-topper since at least 2014. The record was set in 2020 when Lindy The Great sold for $450,000.

Previously trained by Brett Pelling, Whichwaytothebeach earned $546,425 with a record of 12-6-6 in 27 starts and a mark of 1:49.2.

“He’s a legit horse and he was younger than the others. I think that was a big edge,” Boni said.

In all, 90 racehorses, stallion shares and breedings collectively sold for $4,253,300 to produce an average of $47,259 and a median of $29,500. The sale set new records for average and median. This year’s auction also set a record for the fewest offerings sold.

“(The record average is) partly a reflection of the number of horses sold, but, on the other hand, it is a fair representation of what we did offer. I was very happy with that,” said sale manager David Reid. “It’s always exciting to have a live sale, for sure.”

This year’s gross was up 14 per cent from last year’s total of $3,741,400. The average was up 50 per cent from $41,244 in 2021 and the median was up 55 per cent from $19,000 last year.

The record for gross was set in 2018 when 221 horses/stal- lion shares — 131 more offerings than this year — grossed $6,694,000.

Northwood also sold Hip 83 Belmont Major N to Amanda Kelly of Greenfield Center, NY for $200,000 — “A very strong price.

The half-mile track miles he showed earlier really helped him a lot,” Boni said — and Hip 67 Ethan T Hanover for $115,000 to Matthew Medeirra of Big Z Farm.

Reid’s Preferred Equine consigned both the second- and third- highest-priced horses sold — Hip 56 mare Swift Swanda for $240,000 to Josh Green, agent, of Milford, DE and Hip 85 2020 Little Brown Jug winner Captain Barbossa for $210,000 to Robert DiNozzi of Ossining, NY.

“If he’s anything like he’s been all his career, he’ll make money,” DiNozzi told Weingartner. “We’ll race him at Yonkers a little bit, put him in the Borgata Series, but he’s also good on a mile (track) so if he’s racing well, we will put him in everything. He’s raced with the best and either been competitive or beaten them. There is nothing not to like about the horse.”

Preferred Equine sold 51 offerings, grossing $2,479,200 for an average of $48,612.

Northwood Bloodstock had 28 sales, grossing $1,284,600 for an average of $45,879.

Diamond Creek sold eight for a total of $428,000, an average of $53,500.

Reid said he was “very happy with the pre-sale traffic and the at-sale traffic. I was very happy with the attendance. I thought the auctioneers, once again, they are a very talented crew that kept a very good pace to the sale and we continued to offer the online bidding as a convenience to owners that can’t make it and it’s working out very well.

“I think there were 10 horses sold online today with another 14 (online bidders) ending up the underbidder. Obviously, as a result of the pandemic, we’ve offered other services and tools. I think the results played in today.

“The other thing I thought was interesting is that on the stream- ing through www.tattersallsredmile.com there was a point in time today where we had more than 1,000 viewers watching the live stream. For the industry, I think it’s great to see the energy and the participation level and it kind of goes off 2021’s sale season, which was favorable.”

For historical reference, in 2020, the Winter Mixed Sale sold 128 horses/stallion shares for $5,279,200 to produce an average of $41,244 and a median of $26,500.

In 2019, 150 horses/stallion shares grossed $4,395,300 for an average of $29,302 and a median of $20,000.

In 2018, 221 horses/stallion shares grossed $6,694,000 for an average of $30,290 and a median of $20,000.

In 2017, 233 horses/stallion shares grossed $6,288,400 for an average of $26,989 and a median of $15,000.

In 2016, 258 horses/stallion shares grossed $5,849,400 for an average of $22,672 and a median of $16,500.

In 2015, 269 horses/stallion shares and breedings grossed $5,971,500, for an average of $23,291 and a median of $14,000.

In 2014, the gross of $5,971,500 for 234 horses/stallion shares produced an average of $25,519 and median of $14,000.

In 2013, 206 horses and stallion shares grossed $4,549,600, an average of $22,085.

Northwood Bloodstock sells Empressive Hill for $410,000

Thu, 11 Nov 2021 13:24:53 GMT

Kentucky Championship winner Empressive Hill brought the second-richest tag of the Harrisburg Mixed session

Selling as Hip 1391, KYSS champ Empressive Hill was purchased by Jean-Pierre Barjon of Paris, France for $410,000. Consigned to the sale by Northwood Bloodstock, Empressive Hill (Muscle Hill - Slice Slice Baby) sports a record of 1:51.2 taken at The Red Mile as a sophomore, with a 10-2-1 from 19 career starts and $273,775 in earnings.

Adios winner HELLABALOU sold by Northwood Bloodstock Agency!

Mon, 02 Aug 2021 19:16:36 GMT

Adios winner HELLABALOU sold by Northwood Bloodstock Agency!

Congratulations to owner Eric Good and trainer Eddie Dennis and driver Tim Tetrick on their exciting new record 1:58.4f winning the $375,000 “Adios” at the Meadows on July 31..

Congratulations as well to breeders Andray Farm and Sergent Stables . HELLABALOU was sold for $42,000 by Northwood Bloodstock Agency at the 2019 Harrisburg Sale.

Please visit our Harrisburg and Lexington yearling consignments this fall and look for your next stakes winner.

We are now accepting entries for the November 11 & 12 Harrisburg Mixed Sale…the premier mixed sale for racing and breeding stock.

If you have any entries or any questions or for further information please contact us via Facebook or email or call 201 863-2082.

Standardbred Horse Sale Mixed Entries

Mon, 10 May 2021 14:47:47 GMT

Now Accepting Entries for the Black Book Mixed Sale

NORTHWOOD BLOODSTOCK AGENCY is accepting entries for the Standardbred Horse Sale on November 11-12 .

The entry deadline for the SUPPLEMENT is scheduled for Sept. 1 .

If you have any entries or any questions or for further information please contact us via Facebook or email nwbloodstock@aol.com or call 201 863-2082.
Click here to enter online.

Boni's Trifecta

Sat, 07 Nov 2020 21:08:02 GMT

Boni's Trifecta

Nihilator, Camtastic, Always B Miki

Many have won more Breeders Crown races, but only a couple of owners have won Crowns 30 years apart. One of them is Bob Boni, who in 1985 owned an interest in Nihilator , who captured the Crown for 3-year-old colt pacers. Last year Boni was standing in the winner’s circle at Woodbine after Always B Miki , who he co-owns as a member of Bluewood Stable, won the Crown Older Pace. In between, Boni shared ownership of Camtastic , a Crown winner in 1987 and ’88.

If you enjoy talking horses, Boni’s your guy. By taking a job right out of high school with Pine Hollow Stud, Boni is almost a 50-year veteran of the sport. Raised in Queens, N.Y., his parents took him to Yonkers Raceway and he became a fan of harness racing.

After working at Pine Hollow, Boni operated International Standardbred Agency, beginning work as a bloodstock agent, which he continues today as Northwood Bloodstock. In between the tenures of those agencies he managed racing partnerships (such as Nihilator’s ownership group, Wall Street Stable) and the combined racing-breeding venture of Dreamaire. He also served as president and general manager of the North American Sale at Garden State Park, with that experience now putto work managing the Goshen Yearling Sale.

In addition to his bloodstock and sales company work, and in 2016 following Always B Miki around from track to track—he didn’t miss a race—Boni also serves as a director of the Standardbred Breeders and Owners Association of New Jersey and is a trustee of the Harness Racing Museum and Hall of Fame.

From top: (from left) Boni, Lou Guida, Billy Haughton, Albert Adams and Jack Baugh welcomed Nihilator to Almahurst Farms,

where he began his stallion career in 1986.

Bill O’Donnell and Camtastic on the track for the 1988 Adios final. Nihilator and catchdriver O’Donnell at the Meadowlands in 1985.

Boni holds Camtastic’s Adios trophy, joined by Delvin Miller, O’Donnell, St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Famer Stan Musial, Bob Bencal,

What do you remember most about your start in racing?

One of the things that I’m most proud of is winning Breeders Crowns 30 years apart. Nihilator (winner of the 1985 Breeders Crown 3-Year-Old Colt Pace) we purchased as a yearling early; Camtastic (winner of the 1987 Crown 2-Year-Old Colt Pace and ‘88 Crown 3-Year-Old Colt Pace) was a homebred; and Always B Miki (winner of the 2015 and 2016 Crown Older Pace) was purchased in training.

My first brush with great horses came when I went to work for Pine Hollow Stud in 1969. It was a great education because we boarded 600 head of horses during some periods of time. And the horses weren’t numbers to me. I knew Tiffy Time, and Noreen Napoleon, and Speedy Rodney and Romeo Hanover.

Then in 1982-83 I was a part of Dreamaire Stable and we raced Tanzy Lobell, Time O Nic, Lushkara, Madam Madusa those mares were world champions. Dreamaire owned 20 mares and five of them had records of 1:55 or faster. The significance of that is there were only 20 mares in existence with marks of 1:55 or faster, and no one else owned more than two. And we had another three mares in 1:55.1.

I always liked mares that performed. The mission was to breed, and when you’re trying to breed, if you can have that one more extra quality of good performance, it seems to carry on. That’s what motivated us to buy those mares. You could buy lots of yearlings and never come up with the mares we bought. Lushkara was the crown jewel of that group of mares because she produced Camtastic.

How did you become an owner of Nihilator?

I had been very active trying to buy mares in foal to Niatross. Through Lou’s (Guida) assistance, I had any info I wanted about Niatross. In those days, there was no Pathway. I was trying to buy Margie’s Melody so I developed a relationship with Bob Gangloff, the owner of the mare and the breeder of Nihilator.

Unbeknownst to most people, Hempt came very close to buying Margie’s Melody in foal, carrying Nihilator. And she carried 12 months for him!

I always remember something Delvin (Miller) said about Niatross, that it was like the horse skipped a generation. Remember, when he went 1:49.1, the record was still 1:52. And I felt the same way. I don’t think we’ve seen a jump in generations like this again. Maybe the closest to it is Muscle Hill.

When the Niatross foals were born, I asked Lou to get me a list. His first crop was about 148-150 and it was pretty much split 50-50 colts and fillies. I noticed a lot of the foals were owned by small breeders. I’m starting to get an idea that if you could own 10 percent of Niatross’ colts, it might be big.

I remember exactly when and where I was when I came up with this. It was a dreary Saturday morning, I was in the city (New York) and walking to Bloomingdale’s when it dawned on me. I can tell you exactly where the pay phone was, and I called Lou. Lou was a great idea guy. He loved anything new. He said, ‘Great! Let’s do it.’

Since Niatross stood his first season at Castleton, Castleton owned a fair number of colts, but I didn’t like the mares. So I

traveled around to look at the colts. I went to Blue Chip because they had three colts there and I liked Pershing Square. He was a nice, plain, correct bay colt with a good pedigree. The only surprise with him came later when we found out he was ridgling.

When we first bought the colts, we didn’t have a plan. We thought of putting them in a sale. But that quickly changed to ‘Let’s

race them.’ And so we put together Wall Street Stable and we got the financing because Lou had a very friendly banker. We paid $825,000 for seven colts. In addition to Nihilator the group included Pershing Square, Flight Of Fire, Cruncher and Port Stanley.

Nihilator was the last one of the group that we bought, and the cheapest. I said we’d pay $100,000, and he (Gangloff) said $105,000. So I flew out to Indiana and Gangloff picked me up at the airport and we drove out to his farm. There was snow on the ground. It’s February or March and Nihilator is an early yearling. I asked him to kick him out in the paddock, but he had cows in the paddock that day, they alternated with the horses, so that didn’t happen.

Nihilator was very much like Niatross, but it was like you took a piece of sandpaper and smoothed the rough edges off. Now Gangloff wants $125,000, and I want to pay $100,000.

I flew home and the next day we Federal Expressed him a check for $100,000, with a return Fed Ex envelope if he didn’t want to sell the colt. He called the next day and asked if we could wire the money instead. I later found out he wanted money for his business.

Subsequently, when Nihilator won the Woodrow Wilson we bought the dam and granddam of Nihilator for $750,000, plus a

breeding to Nihilator. Then we sold Margie’s Melody for $750,000. She had the one we wanted, and she was never going to have another Nihilator. We sold her in foal to John Signorelli’s Saratoga Standardbreds.

It turned out she was carrying twins and aborted and became a problem breeder.

Nihilator was raised by Schare Adams at Standardbred Pacers & Trotters in Lexington. We decided who would get the horses and Billy Haughton got Nihilator.

He went into training with Haughton and the first call I got from Billy, he says, ‘Do you mind if we freeze his splints?’ He had two big splints so I was thinking, here we are freezing splints in December. That was probably the last significant vet work he had until he had quarter cracks as a 2 year old.

The quarter cracks were only a problem early in his 2-year-old season. Right away, Billy wanted to try the piano wire, which

was a new thing, and he was going to try to do it himself. And Ernie (Gaskin, a Haughton assistant trainer) said, ‘Let’s just send him to the University of Pennsylvania.’ So they sent him over there. He wore a window bar shoe, and where the quarter crack was, there was no shoe. Instead of the patches used today, they literally wove piano wire, like a shoelace, to close up the crack. Then on the night of the (Woodrow) Wilson eliminations, he had a quarter crack on another foot. But by the end of his 2-year-old season, it was never an issue again. After the splints and the quarter cracks, I think his hocks were only injected once.

The first time I saw him train I thought he looked like a quality colt. And the faster he went, the better he went.

I’m a big believer in fate. The first day they put Nihilator and Pershing Square in to baby race, Billy (Haughton) gave Tommy (Haughton) his choice of who to drive, and Tommy picked Pershing Square. As far as how Billy O’Donnell came to drive Nihilator, first of all, the fact that in 1984 O’Donnell, who was a leading driver at the Meadowlands, would not have a mount in the Woodrow Wilson, that was fate.

Billy (Haughton) decided on his own to take himself off of Nihilator. It was 100 percent his decision. I remember getting a panicked call from Lou. He wanted to know what to say to Haughton. I said to tell him thank you, and he would still get his five percent (driver commission).

What do you consider to be Nihilator’s greatest race?

His race as a 2 year old the first week of the Grand Circuit in Lexington. (Ni- hilator beat Niafirst despite starting from post 12, in the second tier, and being parked until he pulled away in the stretch drive, delivering a :27.3 final quarter to win by 2 1⁄2 lengths, with Marauder third.) That race separated him. He wasn’t just fast, he wasn’t just good. He was parked the mile and in the stretch he just drew off. It stunned me.

Nihilator was part of one of harness racing’s most sensational races of all time, the Breeders Crown at The Meadows, which was won by Dragon’s Lair, the hometown horse. Why did Nihilator get beat?

He didn’t race the second week in Lexington, then he went to The Meadows and won the first heat of the Breeders Crown, but he wasn’t good. He just got beat. Later, Guida went out and bought Dragon’s Lair. But the two horses never met again.

As a 3 year old, Nihilator suffered another defeat—while in the midst of an undefeated season—in the Adios at The Meadows. What happened that time?

Originally, we were never going to the Adios because the plan was to go from the Meadowlands to Springfield and time trial there. Nihilator won at the Meadowlands on Hambletonian day in 1:49.3 while On The Road Again won the U.S. Pacing Championship in 1:51.4 that same day. After the races we were sitting with Delvin (Miller, who founded The Meadows and created the Adios and maintained close ties with the track). Del Miller is asking us if we’ll bring our horse to the Adios. How can we say no?

In the first heat of the Adios, Nihilator had the rail and got away seventh, and 15 years later O’Donnell admitted over

lunch, ‘Boy, did I drive bad.’ (Nihilator finished fourth after being parked out by winner Marauder.) He won the second heat and we scratched from the race-off. And the funny part was two years later, when Camtastic won the Adios, we’re standing there with the trophy and O’Donnell says something like, ‘I didn’t know there was a trophy with this race.’

In Springfield it rained. Then DuQuoin came and his feet were bothering him. He was much better gaited, and much faster, with the aluminums, but they took their toll.

There were no trackside indicators at Du Quoin, so it’s hysterical to think what happened. Ernie Gaskin was standing at the half, up on a little hill, with a bull-horn, yelling the times. O’Donnell laughs about how all he heard was a blur of noise as he went by. The funniest line of the day was Haughton wrote down all the splits on a piece of white paper—quarter, three-eighths, half, five-eighths, three-quarter pole. And when Nihilator comes up short (he hit the wire in 1:50.4, far short of his sire’s mark of 1:49.1),O’Donnell and Haughton are looking at each other and O’Donnell says, ‘One problem, Bill. You forgot to put down the final time.’ He’s about the only guy who could get away with saying that.

After that, the pressure was off. Nihilator went to Garden State Park and won the Dancer—that’s when Freehold was

closed because of the fire. In the winner’s circle, Haughton and I asked O’Donnell, ‘You think he’d be OK on a half?’

O’Donnell said he’d have no problems. So I turned to Guida and told him we were going to Delaware.

Initially, we weren’t planning to go to Delaware. Leon Caston, who took care of Pershing Square, thought he would have his moment in Delaware, and then the truck pulls in with Nihilator. In order to be comfortable, at 7 a.m. on Monday morning, after Haughton had his Bob Evans breakfast, he buzzed Nihilator, going into the first turn there as fast as he could go. There was a big crowd and most

of them left convinced Nihilator wouldn’t have any problems. At the draw, the first pill that came out was Nihilator, then post one.

But the Jug was a tough race for him. The only time I’ve seen a horse tired was

after the Jug. I went back to the barn afterwards and he almost had his eyes closed. If we needed to race a third heat, I’m not sure he would have won. (Nihilator won the Jug with heat victo ries in 1:53.1 and 1:52.1, and in the second heat he won by a mere head over stable mate Pershing Square, with Dignatarian a neck back in third. O’Donnell and Nihila tor started from post one in the second heat and Nihilator raced with a horse on his flank or at his neck the entire race.) After the Jug, Nihilator went to Lex ington and he raced another two heats, so he raced four heats in two weeks. Part of the Nihilator experience was having a horse with Billy Haughton and being around him. How he related to people, from grooms to his biggest own ers, was unbelievable. He could sit in a track kitchen with a groom to his left, the billionaire Lloyd Lloyds across from him, and some harness racing dignitary and make everyone comfortable. And the big moment didn’t faze him, and he was not afraid to make changes, to do something different.

So two years after Nihilator is retired to stud duty, Camtastic comes along.

The thing I’ll always remember about Camtastic is early on, when Bob (Bencal) was jogging him, obviously second to the colt showing talent, Bob said the horse would stay on the track all day and he would be just as happy. The horse was happy being on the track. He always showed he wanted to do it. And for a guy who was labeled a conservative trainer, Camtastic didn’t get to Florida until mid December—because he was in partner ship we were selling out and the attorneys advised us not to do anything until it was done—and still the colt made his first start on May 29 in a baby race. He was ready in 3 ½ months!

Camtastic won a lot of races relatively easily. As for his best race, the one that comes to mind is when he set the two-heat world record (in Lexington). In both races he was dead game. He did all the work and was dead game and unbelievably tough. He hung on by a nose. The rest of the year he was untouchable. Before Lexington, he didn’t win the Woodrow Wilson at the Meadowlands.

He won an elim, but that year there was a week off between the eliminations and the final. O’Donnell wanted to qualify him, maybe Monday. But before that, I went to the barn late after the races, and he wasn’t throwing his head. He would not have been a good horse in detention barns because he would always throw his head. So I saw he wasn’t throwing his head and all I said to Bencal was,

‘What’s wrong?’ The colt had a temperature. Camtastic was owned by a limited partnership and I had made 170 reservations in the dining room. Some people thought we scratched so our other horse Threefold would have a better chance to win, but we scratched early enough to let another horse in the race. Even Odds ended up winning.

(Camtastic finished off his freshman season by capturing the Breeders Crown by 5 3⁄4 lengths—his 13th victory in 14 starts—and was voted the 1987 Two-Year-Old Colt Pacer of the Year and Pacer of the Year.)

So as a 3 year old Camtastic earned $1.1 million and won 16 of 22 starts, but it wasn’t a smooth season.

O’Donnell trained him in Florida during the winter and didn’t like how he trained, and when the season got started he didn’t have confidence in the horse. He didn’t do any good in the North America Cup, but he won his Meadowlands Pace

elim (by 6 1⁄2 lengths). He won the first heat of the Jug. He won races in Lexington.

At the Breeders Crown, O’Donnell was insistent after the elim that the horse’s hocks needed done. Bencal says the horse

is fine. So I get to the track the next week for the final and I see Cindy Mikita (the colt’s caretaker) and I tell her that if

O’Donnell asks if we did his hocks, tell him yes, even though we didn’t. O’Donnell goes the last trip and brings him back and says, ‘He’s good. But he was running out a little bit in the stretch; he’s probably just needle sore from where they did his hocks.’ The horse won the final and he dominated.

Then he had a good 4-year-old season. He beat everyone he faced, but he had to race Matt’s Scooter, who was a great horse.

Twenty-five years after you raced Camtastic, you buy an interest in Always B Miki. What has this experience been like?

Like my other top horses, so many people were wrapped up with this horse, and that makes it special.

Always B Miki became the sport’s fastest horse, what was his best race?

The Ewart first, and then the Breeders Crown. The Ewart because first-over to Wiggle It Jiggle It. To go :26 up the backside, and you’re parked by Wiggle It Jiggleit, as he was, you’ve got to give the edge to the Ewart. Then the Breeders Crown.

When horses win races that they’re not supposed to win, that makes it more remarkable. Late in the stretch, I had him losing the race.

His 3-year-old season was remarkable too. The Meadowlands Pace (when he was parked three wide the entire mile and finished second in1:46.4) was significant, but we saw that he wasn’t a fluke because he went to being the best 3 year old. He won both weeks in Lexington and then went and won the Monument Circle at Hoosier Park. All the big ones were in it and he dominated on a really miserable night. He paced in 1:52 and that same night Bettor’s Edge and Sweet Lou finished on the wire together (a neck apart) in 1:53. That race made me realize he was

more than just a very good horse.

Miki just never stops. I remember Jimmy (Takter) and his whole crew always commenting on how he never gets tired or stressed. He never knows the end of a mile.

With the world record in Lexington, at the top of the stretch I still didn’t know what to expect. Then after he paces in 1:46, to go back and see him at the barn, he was no worse for the mile. He just wanted his dinner. And all that race did was make him better, as we saw with the Breeders Crown and TVG.

Miki just did things horses aren’t supposed to do, and to see him in the winner’s circle when he was retired, to see how good he looked, it was a testament to anyone who knows horses.

Always B Miki enters the Living Horse Hall of Fame

Sat, 18 Jul 2020 13:30:54 GMT

"One of a Kind"

Always B Miki enters the Living Horse Hall of Fame

story by Anne Doolin

A lways B Miki , the co-fastest horse in the history of the sport, has a long string of accomplishments, accolades, and fans. The stallion blazed to his lifetime mark of 1:46 in the Allerage Farms Open Pace at Red Mile in 2016.

He won three Dan Patch Awards that year—Horse of the Year, Pacer of the Year, and Older Pacing Horse of the Year. He retired to stud with earnings of more than $2.71 million and 30 wins from 53 starts.

What makes his accomplishments even more amazing is that he was away from the races with what could have been a career-ending injury not just once, but twice.

“It always starts with extreme talent. Perhaps the difference with Always B Miki was his ability to carry his speed as long as any horse I have seen,” said Bob Boni, one of Always B Miki’s owners. “And he never stopped trying. Many of his most memorable miles saw him parked first-over and he would wear down any horse he could get to. He truly never knew the end of the mile.”

Hall of Fame member David Miller was his regular pilot the last two years of his career and had driven him earlier, as well.

“I only drove him a couple of times at 2, then again at the end of his 3-year-old season,” he said. “Then at 4 and 5.

“[I was impressed] right off the bat. His first baby race he went like [1]:55 and he did it handily. He was so big, but he handled himself very well. He has the biggest heart in a horse that I’ve ever seen in my life. His will and determination—I’ve never seen another horse have it like that. He is a very special horse. That’s all there is to it. He’s very dear to me.”

Always B Miki was bred by Joe Hurley’s Roll The Dice Stable. Boni and Mitchel Skolnick purchased half of the colt for their Bluewood Stable after his third 2-year-old race at The Meadowlands.

Always B Miki is by Always A Virgin, who was also bred by Hurley, as was the horse’s dam, the Artsplace mare Artstopper.

Skolnick and Boni also co-own Always A Virgin with Hurley.

“We bought half of him right before his 3-year-old season started, honestly just hoping to have a nice Jersey sire [stakes] type of horse,” Boni said. “He ended up being much better than that.

“We kind of followed up with Miki the same way. Since we had a relationship with Hurley, I told Mitchel after that first baby race, ‘Maybe you ought to get a hold of Joe and see if he wants to do something.’ Miki was that impressive.”

Several trainers had a hand in making the horse who would go on to make history.

“Rich Ringler broke and trained him down, and Joe Holloway got him right when he was ready to race and trained him as a 2- and 3-year-old,” Boni said. “We also sent him out to Roger Welch to race in Indiana for a while. Miki was making breaks here [in New Jersey.] He was a tall colt and very immature at 2 and he couldn’t put everything together and would make breaks.

“Mitchel and I both credit Roger for teaching him how to be a racehorse. He may have sacrificed some speed, but he taught him to be a racehorse and he finished up the year nicely at 2. We turned him out after that at Elizabeth Caldwell’s Cane Run Farm. He was still tall and lean and a colt that hadn’t really grown into himself. He trained down OK [for his sophomore season], but it wasn’t until right before he was ready to qualify that he trained a couple of times where he really was impressive. That season had its ups and downs, but he went on a hell of a run at the end, and then ended up breaking that bone.”

That bone was his left hind pastern. Always B Miki had won two of 12 outings as a freshman, then 12 of 19 starts at 3 with a mark of 1:47.4 at Red Mile. He was favored in the 2014 Breeders Crown but was scratched right before the race. He kicked the stall wall in the paddock the night of the Breeders Crown final and underwent surgery the following Monday.

Always B Miki was sent to Jimmy Takter to prepare for a return to the races early in 2015.

“Jimmy and Christina asked about buying into him early May, maybe end of April,” Boni said. “What I remember vividly, in the interim of getting our check, he broke another bone. This time it was his right hind pastern. Mitchel and I talked about it and decided if they didn’t want to conclude the deal, we didn’t have a problem with that and weren’t going to push, because here he’s going to have to rehab again.

“They were rather insistent that, ‘No, we made a deal and we’re going to live up to it.’ I think 99 percent of people I know, especially if given the opportunity to back out of the commitment, most would have said, ‘Thank you and we’re going to pass.’ All in all, the stars lined up right, and there you go.”

Boni credits a certain veterinarian in New Jersey for Always B Miki’s recovery.

“Dr. Patty Hogan’s expertise put him back together both times,” he said.

It was almost a year before Always B Miki returned to the races. At 4 he qualified twice in the fall—once at Pocono and once at Red Mile before his first pari-mutuel start on Oct. 3 at Hoosier. A win there tuned him up for wins in his elimination and final of the Breeders Crown at Woodbine and then the American-National at Balmoral. He ended his season going four-for-four.

Takter explained Always B Miki’s injury could have been difficult to overcome.

“[A pastern break] is a nasty break,” Takter said. “It’s quite painful when it happens. With me, he did it with the other leg. It was in May and he was just about ready to race. Then we had that setback. That healed very well, but the first break was much worse than the second.

“Have you seen the movie War Horse? That is Miki. He’s a war horse for sure. One of a kind.”

At 5, Always B Miki tuned up for stakes season in the Open ranks before capturing the Ben Franklin at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono, the William Haughton Memorial at The Meadowlands, the Jim Ewart Memorial at Eldorado Scioto Downs and the Hoosier Park Pacing Derby. He ended the season on a dominating four-race win streak beginning with his 1:46 score in the Allerage, followed by a trio of Meadowlands races—an Open, the Breeders Crown, and his career finale, the TVG.

His first crop of foals are 2 this year, and he was the leading first-crop sire in 2019 with his yearlings averaging more than $63,000 at public auctions.

He is now owned by 146 Stable, which includes his original owners, and stands at Diamond Creek Farm in Pennsylvania.

“So far, I have heard good things on his 2-year-olds, and I have very much liked the few that I have seen at Nancy Takter’s and with Per Engblom,” Boni said.

Miller has yet to sit behind one of Always B Miki’s foals but is looking forward to the opportunity.

“I’m pretty excited for them to get going,” he said.

He is not the only one anticipating the stallion’s first crop to hit the track.

“My daughter Nancy has five or six of them,” Takter said. “Reports about them are super. We are very excited. It looks like he’s for real.”

Anne Doolin is a freelance writer living in Kentucky.

Photos by Mark Hall

Article courtesy of Hoof Beats July 2020

Always B Miki to the Hall of Fame

Fri, 10 Jan 2020 01:45:38 GMT

Always B Miki to the Hall of Fame

Goshen, NY — The Living Horse Hall of Fame nominating committee of the Harness Racing Museum and Hall of Fame has announced the results of recent balloting to determine the 2020 inductees into the Harness Racing Living Horse Hall of Fame.

Museum members voted for the three horses they felt best exemplified greatness. Their choices are racehorses Always B Miki and Sweet Lou and race mare Bee A Magician. The other nominees were Chapter Seven, Father Patrick and Peaceful Way.

.... read the complete story

Boni Receives Lifetime Achievement Award

Thu, 03 Nov 2016 17:40:42 GMT

Boni To Be Honoured By Writers

Bob Boni has always had a good eye for a horse. It was his keen sense of pedigree and conformation that prompted him to inspect and select world champion Nihilator as a yearling on a cold morning in February at the colt’s birthplace in Indiana.

Fast forward 30-plus years and Boni finds himself associated with another world champion from Indiana, Always B Miki, who is the fastest Standardbred of all time. It is this sharp eye for horseflesh that has helped Boni develop his own Northwood Bloodstock into one of North America’s leading harness horse sales agencies over the last several decades.

His efforts have not gone unnoticed. When the Monticello-Goshen chapter of the United States Harness Writers Association holds its 58th annual awards banquet on December 4 at the Fountains at Wallkill Golf Club, Boni will receive the chapter’s highest honour – the lifetime achievement award.

A native of NYC’s borough of Queens, Boni’s interest in harness racing began at Roosevelt and Yonkers during his childhood. “In those days,” he notes, “everyone owned a horse or a piece of a horse. And, my Dad was no different. It was a very popular form of entertainment!”

This ‘family ownership’ began when Boni was in the fourth grade, and eventually led to weekend and summer work on the backstretch at Roosevelt Raceway. However, by his early twenties, Boni yearned for a change of scenery from what he had grown accustomed to in the Big Apple.

The aspiring horseman jumped into his car and drove from NYC to Goshen Historic Track where he met with Harry Pownall Sr., trainer for the famed Arden Homestead Stable.

“You hiring?” Boni politely asked. But it was not to be. The Pownall/Arden Homestead crew were well entrenched and caretakers rarely left that successful stable.

So he continued on his quest and found himself in Pine Bush, New York at Pine Hollow Stud Farm, one of the two premier farms in the state at the time.

He met the farm manager, Jack Adams, who asked the young Boni, “Who did you work for in Westbury?” Boni replied, “George Butterworth, sir. I worked for George Butterworth.”

Adams hired him on the spot, noting that “If you can work for that guy, you can work for anybody!”

Boni continued to work for Pine Hollow for the next 11 years, ascending to the position of vice president, until he went out on his own in 1980. And the rest, as they say, is history.

This year, in addition to the year-end awards for horses and horsepeople from the local tracks, the Monticello-Goshen chapter will also honour Keith Hamilton (Excelsior Award); Kenneth Jacobs (John Gilmour Good Guy Award); Dave Little (Phil Pines Award); Roger Dowd (Amy Bull Crist Distinguished Service Award); Robert Krivelin (Amateur Driver); Justin Huckabone (Rising Star); and Denise DeSimone (Award of Appreciation).

Tickets for the gala event can be reserved by contacting Shawn Wiles at 845-794-4100 (Ext. 458) or email swiles@empireresorts.com .

(USHWA)

northwood

Wendy Ross Interview with Bob Boni

Listen as Wendy Ross talks with 2025 Hall Of Fame inductee owner and breeder Bob Boni at the Hall Of Fame dinner on Sunday July 9 2025

Bob Boni Knows How To Pick'em (Part 2)

Bob Boni Knows How To Pick'em (Part 2)

Bob Boni Knows How To Pick'em (Part 1)

Bob Boni Knows How To Pick'em (Part 1)

Bob Boni to USHWA Hall of Fame

USHWA, in conjunction with the Harness Racing Hall Of Fame, is pleased to announce the election of racing executive Tom Aldrich, bloodstock expert Robert Boni, and trainer Chris Ryder to the greatest honor in the industry, membership to the Hall Of Fame.

“I am honored and humbled to receive this recognition and I thank all who have supported me…it has truly been a great ride with many special people and great horses and a lifetime of doing everything I ever wanted to do with no plans of stopping.” Bob Boni

Ownership Change for Volume Eight

Winning Key Farm acquires ownership interest in Volume Eight

Fate and Keen Vision Draws Boni to Indiana

New formula used for Meadowlands Pace final post position draw

The brainchild of SBOANJ first vice-president Bob Boni — 15 years in the making

Bob Boni Talks with Dave Brower

Bob Boni Talks with Dave Brower abou t the Winter Mixed Sale at the Meadowlands On Jan. 17 2022

Whichwaytothebeach topped the Tattersalls Winter Mixed Sale with a bid of $390,000

Toscani nabs Whichwaytothebeach for $390,000

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Northwood Bloodstock sells Empressive Hill for $410,000

Kentucky Championship winner Empressive Hill brought the second-richest tag of the Harrisburg Mixed session

Adios winner HELLABALOU sold by Northwood Bloodstock Agency!

Adios winner HELLABALOU sold by Northwood Bloodstock Agency!

Standardbred Horse Sale Mixed Entries

Now Accepting Entries for the Black Book Mixed Sale

Boni's Trifecta

Boni's Trifecta

Always B Miki enters the Living Horse Hall of Fame

Always B Miki to the Hall of Fame

Boni Receives Lifetime Achievement Award

Boni To Be Honoured By Writers

“I am honored and humbled to receive this recognition and I thank all who have supported me…it has truly been a great ride with many special people and great horses and a lifetime of doing everything I ever wanted to do with no plans of stopping.”
Bob Boni