by Melissa Keith

Bettors Delight (p, 3, 1:49.4m; $2,581,461) has had a long reign as the undisputed king of standardbred sires. This year was supposed to be his last breeding season in North America; plans were for the 26-year-old stallion to retire in New Zealand after the conclusion of the 2024 Northern Hemisphere breeding season.

Unfortunately, an unresolved health issue has affected breeding and possibly future travel for the U.S. (2013) and Canadian (2007) Hall of Fame inductee.

“We’re still not collecting him because of fluid building up in his abdomen, near his testicles,” Tom Grossman, syndicate manager for Bettors Delight and owner of Blue Chip Farms in Wallkill, NY, told HRU late on Friday (April 19). “We worked with [the University of] Guelph for quite a while. We’re in the process of sending a specialist from Cornell [University] up there [to Winbak Farm of Canada in Inglewood, ON, where the horse is currently based].

“We’re really doing all we can do. He’s happy and healthy on a daily basis… He’s already got 60 mares in foal.”

Fortunately, the Ontario Sires Stakes (OSS) program has also allowed Bettors Delight’s 2024 crop conceived from frozen semen to be eligible to race in its future events. The wording of OSS rules about frozen semen specify that the offspring are only considered “Ontario sired” if the stallion’s semen “was collected and frozen in Ontario and is from a recognized Ontario sire at the time of collection and when the mare was inseminated.”

In the case of Bettors Delight, a waiver was granted late last week, permitting his Ontario crop of 2024, produced using semen collected and frozen while the horse was at Blue Chip Farms, to maintain their eligibility to the OSS.

An April 19 release from Blue Chip Farms, LLC detailed the specifics of Bettors Delight’s availability for what is expected to be his last-ever Northern Hemisphere season at stud:

“As mentioned previously, we do have sufficient frozen semen in New York to provide at least one dose of frozen semen for every mare currently booked to the horse. Our partners at Winbak have sought, and received, a waiver from the OSS that will allow any foal conceived via this frozen semen to retain OSS eligibility.

“Interested mare owners can A) ship the mare to Blue Chip or send a tank to Blue Chip (note that there are further regulations regarding shipping the semen to Canada that Winbak is currently trying to access, please contact them for details).”

Grossman said that Bettors Delight’s full brother Roll With Joe “hadn’t really picked up the mantle” of the super-sire, and multiple Bettors Delight sons were still in pursuit of their sire’s achievements. Bettors Delight has been a constant in the Ontario Sires Stakes, one reason why the stallion resides and stands at Winbak of Canada.

“He’s been up there for 10 years,” said the horse’s syndicate manager. “He just fits that program very well.”

As far as Bettors Delight’s availability at Woodlands Stud in New Zealand, Grossman said “that depends” on “if it’s at no risk to his health.” He added that Northern Hemisphere shareholders also share in Southern Hemisphere breeding revenue from the globally-popular shuttle stallion who has been traveling back and forth for over 20 years, every year.

The demand for Bettors Delight offspring is seemingly unstoppable, like his gritty, competitive-minded progeny.

“I personally think his horses are just tough and can take a lot of air,” said Grossman. “When bred with fast mares, he produces like no other stallion.”

The World Champion has been North America’s all-age money-winning sire in seven of the past eight years, with his progeny having won over $500-million (U.S.) worldwide, and still counting.

Jack Burke, general manager of Winbak Farms, is based in Maryland but well aware of Bettors Delight’s current health status. The horse was bred, and foaled May 4, 1998, at the Chesapeake City, MD farm.

“I know physically he’s quite well,” Burke said on Saturday (April 20). “When he originally presented, he had a fever, but that’s gone away.

“We’ve kind of been waiting to see how this [breeding situation] would go forward, so this is a conversation we’ll be having. The vets at Winbak are very experienced with using the frozen semen. We’ll have to look at his overall health before we send him down [to New Zealand]. That would be something that Tom [Grossman] and Blue Chip and Winbak will discuss, [to determine] what is good for the horse.”

Burke said that artificial insemination using frozen semen is “just a more meticulous process, where you have to check the mares more often” than using fresh or chilled semen.

Bettors Delight’s last book is not closed, although Burke said that “that will be another conversation to have” soon with Grossman, veterinarians Dr. Chuck Hall (Winbak Canada) and Dr. Herb Burns (Blue Chip Farms), among others involved in the stallion’s career.

“We’ll have to look at the numbers and make a decision on that,” said the Winbak Farms manager.

Making Bettors Delight available as possible within the limits of his age is a priority for Winbak farms, said Burke, adding that the Cams Card Shark—Classic Wish son is one of a kind.

“He really is,” Burke said. “Every year, there’s no other stallion who’s been as good as he is, for as long, on two separate continents.”

Pat Woods of Winbak Canada works with Bettors Delight daily. He told HRU that the physical issue affecting the horse is a concern that does not affect his fertility, sperm motility, or other reproductive health factors.

“That’s exactly it,” said the longtime Winbak Ontario farm manager. “The biggest thing is the vets can’t pinpoint exactly where the swelling is coming from. [His veterinarians] have ideas… When [Bettors Delight] came back [to Ontario from New York], we did a test-breed on him, but the inflammation came back. They felt there was no advantage to jumping him. The biggest thing is for the people who supported him for years and years to have the opportunity to breed to him.”

Woods said that many owners, trainers, drivers, fans, and others across the harness racing industry had been reaching out to ask him about Bettors Delight.

“It was very nice to hear from people checking up on the horse, just wanting to know how the old boy is doing…” Woods said. “I know [Bettors Delight’s trainer during his racing days] Scott McEneny is always asking and checking in on him.”

Woods said that the reason for Bettors Delight’s enduring reputation is constantly on display, in stakes and in the older pacing ranks everywhere.

“I think the biggest thing with him is he tends to pass on that racing attitude,” he said. “He makes racehorses. If you go to any racetrack across North America on any given night, there’s a Bettors Delight racing.”

Age has not affected the horse’s fertility nor the quality of his semen.

“He’s always arguably had the best semen in the business,” said the Winbak Canada manager. “He produces a little bit less than he used to.

“He’s like a grumpy old man around the farm. He’s not running the fences or looking to fight with other stallions. He’s a professional, but he’ll take that last little nip at you before he goes in the paddock. He knows exactly how good he is. It’s his world and we just live in it.”