July 2020 Issue

EAST COAST EQUESTRIAN July 2020 Page 15 with some of the finest racehorses of the era. For the next 42 years, his goal was to keep Hanover Shoe Farms, "the greatest name in harness racing". When he mar- ried, his wife Charlotte joined him in that endeavor. Russell Williams laughed when he shared how came to own the farm. “I was doomed. Lawrence is my grandfather. My mother loved horses and I did too, so I was already in deep.” Simpson shared how Ha- nover Shoe Farms has been the leading money-winning breeder of any breed in the world. “We have been in business for [94] years and we’re the larg- est - or close to the largest -stan- dardbred operation in the world. There is a farm in Delaware who may now have more than us.” Shoe Farm customers come from the USA as well as the Scandinavians, the United Kingdom, Canada and Germa- ny. Simpson is part-owner of two “Hanover” horses, along with trainer, Paul Kelley, who has two stables - in New Jersey and Saratoga Springs. He says the Hanover Shoe Farm resume speaks for itself. “When I transitioned from buying older horses into buying yearlings, going to Hanover Shoe farm - the largest nursery in the business - was a no-brainer,” Kelly said. (Continued from page 13) Kelley said the Shoe Farm also owns the former Hanover Fairgrounds. “They move their yearlings over there in mid-September to prep them for the November sale,” he said. “They groom and exercise them daily, organizing how they will present them to the customer. A lot of us like to do pre-sale legwork and see the babies at the farm before the sale. It is a more relaxed, natural envi- ronment and gives you a bigger perspective.” Kelley said he examines the pedigree, videos of the horses, and personally looks at about 75 trotters at Hanover Shoe Farm and a few other farms annually, purchasing about 10. He spoke of the two trotters from Hanover Shoe Farms that he and Simpson are part-owners of. “The one filly, Allswell Ha- nover is a 3-year-old filly from the 2018 Harrisburg sale. She was a $100,000 yearling and was in the upper echelon, with a nice pedigree. She is a beautiful yearling with great conforma- tion. Her dam earned $280,000 on the racetrack. The other filly, Derailed Hanover, is a really ex- citing filly. She was a $150,000 yearling and is a half-sister to Donato Hanover, who earned just shy of $3 million on the racetrack. He was the 2-year- old trotting colt of the year in 2006, and the 3-year-old trotting colt of the year in 2007. He won the Hambletonian, our biggest event, and he won a whole host of top stakes races at two and three. Anything can happen in this family. She has been training well and will have tremendous residual value as a broodmare. She’s only two and is about a month away from her first race.” Williams says the brood- mares are of utmost importance. “The most important thing for a breeding farm is the quality of the broodmare band,” he said. “You want as many of the best mares as you can get. Sometimes they surprise you. Back in the early 90s, we were offered a mare who was okay. She’d won about $96,000 racing. They offered her for $13,000 and we thought she was worth that. Well, her first foal won $971,000 and became a top breeding stallion. Her second foal won 2.2 million dollars. The third one won a half million and fifth foal won $965,000. One more won $2.7 million and went on to become a great breeding stallion.” Kelley spoke of the Shoe Farm broodmares. “They have a really deep broodmare band, both in the trotters and the pacers. They are really well established in terms of excellence in breeding. I will look at 75 or more foals every year, and one of the things, to me, that is most attractive about Hanover [Shoe Farms] is the people I deal with every year. Their farm man- ager, Dr. J. [Dr. Bridgette Jablon- sky] and Jim Simpson and Russell Williams, their integrity is im- peccable. They care about every facet of the industry. That speaks volumes about exactly who they are, why they are successful, and why we put so much trust in the Hanover name.” Kelley thought for a mo- ment, his voice becoming quiet. “When you walk around looking at those horses, you know that there are some future world champions right there be- fore your eyes. It is up to you to try to figure out who that is.” Visit Hanover Shoe Farms online at hanoverpa.com. High Sobriety and her 2020 foal by Swan For All, a full sister to Hannelore Hanover, the 2016 Horse of the year who made over $3 million racing. Photo credit: Hanover Shoe Farm World’s Largest Standardbred Breeder, Hanover Shoe Farm Sets the Standard