Leading owner and breeder Barry K. Schwartz. Coglianese Photo.
The New York Thoroughbred Breeders, Inc. (NYTB) is pleased to announce Thoroughbred breeder and owner Barry K. Schwartz will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award for excellence in the New York-bred program.
Schwartz, who owns and operates Stonewall Farm in Granite Springs with his wife Sheryl, will be recognized at the NYTB’s Awards Dinner sponsored by the New York Thoroughbred Breeding and Development Fund from 6:30-9 p.m. Monday, May 19 at Sacred Saratoga on the property of GMP Farm in Schuylerville.
“Barry has been an integral and influential person in the development of New York breeding and racing,” said NYTB President Dr. Scott Ahlschwede. “He has achieved success in every facet of our industry, and we are proud to honor and recognize his contributions to New York breeding and racing at our marquee event.”
Schwartz, the former CEO of Calvin Klein Inc., grew up a racing fan and purchased his first horse in 1978. He has consistently been one of the Empire State’s leading owners and breeders for nearly four decades since.
“What a great honor,” Schwartz said. “When I got the call, everything was out of the blue and kind of shocking. Yes, I was shocked. Shocked. I guess it tells you you’re getting up in years when they use that lifetime word.”
A member of The Jockey Club and former Chairman and CEO of the New York Racing Association, Schwartz bred and campaigned New York-bred Grade 1 winners Voodoo Song, The Lumber Guy and Princess Violet, along with New York-bred graded stakes winners Lovely Lil and Sharp Starr in his signature black and white colors. Other leading runners campaigned by Schwartz include Boom Towner, David, Degenerate Jon, Great Intentions, Jacaranda, Killer Diller, Lovely Lil, Nothing But Fun, Papa Shot, Papua, Rodman, Star Dabbler, Thepromonroe, Three Ring, Turnofthecentury and Whatlovelookslike.
Boom Towner won 29 of 82 starts with 30 other placings and earned $962,391. Claimed for $50,000 in September 1993 at Belmont Park, he won the Grade 3 Boojum Handicap three starts later at Aqueduct for trainer Mike Hushion. The popular gelding known for his tendency to lug in won three more stakes carrying Schwartz’s colors. Boom Towner continued to run competitively in the claiming ranks at 7, 8 and 9 before being claimed for $25,000 in late June 1997. Schwartz and Hushion claimed him back for $18,000 in December 1997 and retired the gelding in early 1998.
“He certainly wasn’t the best horse that I’ve had, but he was my favorite,” Schwartz said. “We claimed him for $50,000. He went up the ladder. He was a stake horse for a long, long time. He came back down the ladder, as he aged, and got claimed a few times. Eventually I retired him and he lived until he was 31.
“Every year when I’d go out to California, I’d see him and take a picture with him because I didn’t know if I was going to see him again. But he hung in there. He lived until he was at 31, which is a real ripe old age. He definitely recognized me. He’d know my car when I came up the road to the paddock he was in. He’d come over to the fence and look for some sort of a treat. He’d stick his head right into my chest, you know, and nuzzle me. We had a very personal relationship.”
Schwartz takes a hands-on approach to building and sustaining his broodmare band that runs between 15 and 20 mares every year. He’s assisted by his longtime farm manager Peter Moore and enjoys the challenges with breeding his own racing prospects.
“Most of the years, believe it or not, I did it all myself,” Schwartz said of his approach to mating mares. “I did a lot of reading. I go back in the days reading the Racing Form when (Leon) Rasmussen would write the ‘Bloodlines’ column. I read Tesio’s books. I read most everything I could get my hands on relating to breeding over the years.
“Now I do it all with my farm manager. He’ll go down to Kentucky to visit the stallions, look at them physically and make recommendations. He’s truly a horseman. We’ve become very close and have really worked very well together for a number of years now.”
Stonewall Farm was honored as Breeder of the Year by the NYTB in 2023 and 2012 and by the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association as New York Breeder of the Year in 2023. Schwartz also received the Alfred G. Vanderbilt Award as “the person who did the most for racing” in 2001 by the New York Turf Writers Association.
“We look forward to celebrating Barry’s lifetime achievements as an owner, breeder and racing executive at this year’s New York-bred Divisional Champions Awards dinner,” said NYTB Executive Director Najja Thompson. “In addition to celebrating each of our divisional program nominees it will be a wonderful evening.”
