Tuesday, August 05, 2008

THREE CHIMNEYS FARM TO SPONSOR HISTORIC HOPEFUL STAKE

Two prestigious names in the world of thoroughbred racing are now linked as Three Chimneys Farm has become the title sponsor of the Grade 1, $250,000 Three Chimneys Hopeful Stakes. The most significant stakes for two-year-olds run at the New York Racing Association’s Saratoga Race Course, the seven-furlong Three Chimneys Hopeful will be run for the 104th time on Labor Day, Monday, September. 1.

“The Hopeful Stakes has long held a unique place on the Saratoga stakes schedule, as the winner is automatically stamped as the crop’s first classic hopeful,” NYRA President and CEO Charles Hayward said. “Three Chimneys Farm has such strong associations with classic-type horses, so we’re thrilled they’ve extended those associations to include the Three Chimneys Hopeful.”


The race traces its roots back to its inaugural running in 1903, and since then, Man o’ War (1919), Whirlaway (1940), Native Dancer (1952), Jaipur (1961), Buckpasser (1965), Secretariat (1972), Affirmed (1977)and, more recently, Afleet Alex (2004) have all flashed early brilliance in this prestigious juvenile stake. Many other winners of the Saratoga season’s final Grade 1 stake have gone on to win a classic, including 14 who went on to win the Belmont Stakes.

“Sponsoring a race as prestigious as the Hopeful is a privilege. We are thrilled to be involved with NYRA as the sponsor of one of the premier two year old races in the country,” said Robert Clay, owner of Three Chimneys Farm. “We have been associated with two Hopeful winners, Chief’s Crown (1984) and Sky Mesa (2002), and we look forward to supporting the race, beginning this year.”

Three Chimneys Farm is a more recent force in thoroughbred racing than the race it now sponsors, beginning in 1972 with 100 acres of undeveloped land in Midway, KY. With “honesty without hesitation” as its motto, Three Chimneys Farm was founded on a simple philosophy: focus on the client’s success, from the birth of a healthy foal, all the way to the winners’ circle.

Today Three Chimneys incorporates approximately 2,000 acres in six divisions, four of which are devoted to mares and foals, one to yearlings and one is home to ten world class stallions, including Smarty Jones, Point Given, Dynaformer, and joining the roster on retirement from racing, this year’s thoroughbred star, Big Brown.

As part of its two-year sponsorship of the Three Chimneys Hopeful, the farm will receive on-track exposure at Saratoga Race Course and Belmont Park, and advertising in track programs.

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