The New York Sire Stakes Gives You More Ways to Stay Connected

ALBANY, NY (05/29/2009)(readMedia)-- Peter Goold, executive director of the Agriculture & New York State Horse Breeding Development Fund today announced the Fund's new initiatives to help you stay informed on the latest news, information and schedule for the New York Sire Stakes racing and breeding program.

These new initiatives include interactive improvements to www.nysirestakes.com, a Twitter feed, and a Facebook Page.

"Over the past year we have made vast improvements to the New York Sire Stakes website and to all of the Fund's promotional materials to better serve our customers and to better promote the New York State breeding and racing program," Goold said. "These new initiatives bring the New York Sire Stakes racing program into the 21st century by embracing today's social media market and reaching out new and younger fans, which will help to ensure the growth and perpetuation of our great sport for years to come.

"We've added these interactive tools to help people stay connected to the NYSS program. Our horsemen lead busy lives; using mobile applications for Twitter, Facebook, and Google, New York Sire Stakes fans and horsemen can easily stay up to date on our latest news and information while on the go," Goold added.

Interactive improvements to www.nysirestakes.com:

Now users can use social media sharing tools on any of the Fund's news or notices on www.nysirestakes.com. With a click of a button, users can easily share their favorite news items with a variety of social media sharing tools, such as de.li.cious, newsvine, facebook, and myspace.

With the Google Calendar on the NYSS website, users with a free Google account can download the entire New York Sire Stakes race schedule to their desktop and mobile calendars. Simply click on the "Google" button on the corner of the calendar and follow Google's simple steps to downloading the calendar.

Find the New York Sire Stakes on Facebook:

The New York Sire Stakes Facebook Page creates an online community for harness racing fans. Facebook users can become a fan and share their thoughts and stories about the New York Sire Stakes. The page includes discussions about harness racing in general and the NYSS in particular, photos of NYSS races, upcoming races and their locations, and interesting historical NYSS and general harness racing facts. Simply search Facebook Pages for "New York Sire Stakes" or follow the link provided on the NYSS website to find us on Facebook!

NYSS Twitter Feed:

Follow our tweets on Twitter! Sign up for free on Twitter.com and follow the www.twitter.com/NYSireStakes Twitter feed. The NYSS Twitter feed features updates on all aspects of the New York Sire Stakes racing and breeding program: reminders for staking payments, updates on races, notices to horsemen, and much more.

For more information, visit www.nysirestakes.com or contact the Agriculture & New York State Horse Breeding Development Fund at 518-436-8713.

The Agriculture and New York State Horse Breeding Development Fund (the Fund) is a public benefit corporation established in 1965 by the Laverne Law (Laws of New York, Chapter 567 of the Laws of 1965). The mission of the Fund is to promote the breeding of standardbred horses and the conduct of equine research within the State. To carry out its legislative mission, the Fund administers the New York Sire Stakes (NYSS) Harness Racing Program. Today the NYSS offers approximately $15 million in purses and $1 million in Breeders' Awards, holding races at all of New York State's harness tracks and 22 county fairs, providing unmatched racing and money-earning opportunities for the many horsemen in the Empire State. Additionally, the Fund provides monetary assistance to equine related organizations, including county agriculture societies, the statewide 4-H program and the Harry M. Zweig Fund for Equine Research. For more information about the Fund and its programs visit www.nysirestakes.com.

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