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Celebrating New York’s Finest

Sep 02, 2008 | by Jeff Bergman

Schnittker stable has plenty to smile about

Generally the $1.4 million New York Night of Champions is a place for native New Yorker Ray Schnittker to shine. The driver-trainer, who has been a mainstay at Empire City Yonkers Raceway over the last 20 years and is a Standardbred Owners Association Board member, will be represented with a host of New York Sired trotters and pacers on Saturday, Sept. 13. The difference this year for Ray as opposed to other years is that he already has just one horse that happened to win one race worth a cool $1.5 million.

Deweycheatumnhowe proved his superstar status becoming the first horse in history to capture the sport’s number one race, the Hambletonian, while unbeaten. The son of Muscles Yankee, bred in New Jersey, is not eligible for New York Sire Stakes final action but that won’t keep Schnittker from looking to garner a lion’s share of the purse funds available on Night of Champions.

With eight individual divisions racing for final purses of $175,000, the Schnittker stable will have chances at division honors. Riggins, a strapping colt from the first crop of Art Major, has proven himself on all sized tracks this year. The three-year-old pacing colt is likely to meet division leader Bullville Powerful in the final.
My Last Laugh has given the Schnittker stable plenty to smile about this season in his first year at the races. The juvenile pacing colt, by Sealed N Delivered, has shown speed and versatility on all of the New York harness tracks this season and should be ready for an epic performance on September 13.

Tough Competition

Schnittker’s success outside of New York in major stakes races may be one of the reason’s that Yonkers Trot runner-up Make It Happen won’t make it happen in New York Night of Champions action. The son of Conway Hall was also third to stablemate Deweycheatumnhowe in the Hambletonian and captured a division of the Zweig in August at Tioga Downs. Make It Happen’s success in major stakes races has kept him out of the New York Sire Stakes competition.

The advent of video gaming machines at Empire City as well as the rest of New York’s harness tracks has been a boon to the breeding business. New York Night of Champions is a celebration of sorts for breeders within the state who have invested millions of dollars in quest of better caliber racing stock. With some of the purse money for Sire Stakes competition derived from the VGM’s the total value of these races has escalated dramatically over the last few years.

Schnittker is one of a host of resident New York trainers that have invested heavily in the New York program and maintain stables within the state.

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