by Victoria Howard
Molly D’Agostino is grateful that her uncle Lon Rosenfeld visited a harness racing track about 50 years ago and never left, laying the foundation for his family’s interest in the sport.
Molly’s parents, Laura and Joe D’Agostino, watched the races on the home stretch at Vernon Downs and took Molly with them. It wasn’t long before the wide-eyed girl fell madly in love with the majestic animals.
In middle school, she got her first job as a groom for trainer Whitney Bell, which only increased her love and admiration for horses.
During her high school years, Molly worked for various trainers and learned something new from each one. Molly is not just a pretty face, after graduating from law school she was admitted to the bar in New York where she currently supports major non-profit organizations in the US and runs MMXX Standardbreds.
“When I moved from New York to Connecticut in 2018, there were no horse racetracks,” Molly said. “I missed harness racing terribly. My family owned a trotter named Fox Valley Photog who didn’t go to the track often, but I loved him. In 2020, I retired Fox Valley, who was 14 years young and had 308 races. I built him a barn in Connecticut so he could retire.”
Molly really missed the company of horses and decided to go for a few rides and practiced riding with Fox Valley Photog.
“My neighbors, who are very interested in traditional horse shows, couldn’t believe he was a Standardbred racehorse and convinced me to train him for the show,” she said. “With their guidance, we did it and Fox Valley Photog became a superstar in the ring!
“Last year he was the SPHO (Standardbred Pleasure Horse Organization) Horse of the Year, basically the best Standardbred under saddle in the United States. This year in June he competed in Tulsa, OK, at the PTHA World Championships and had four top 10 finishes in the world under saddle, which is a tremendous accomplishment for a Standardbred. All the other competitors in our classes at the World Championships were Quarter Horses.”
In 2021, Molly formed an all-Standardbred show team (MMXX Standardbreds) under the management of Fox Valley Photo.
“Many horses have joined our team, including the current leading horse for 2024 Horse of the Year and Breeders Crown trotter Go Daddy Go; Breeders Crown winner Split The House; full brother to the great Atlanta, Monticello; and many more. And I’m proud to say we have several kill pen rescue horses on our show team as well.
“Due to the success of the show team, we have launched an adoption program in 2023 to help my friends at the racetrack place their horses in safe riding homes.”
In addition to her show horses, Molly also owns racehorses at Vernon Downs, which are coached by Dave Dewhurst.
“My show team is based in Connecticut at Angel & Anchor Farm,” she said. “My star on the track right now is Makadushin N Cheez, an open trotter in New York. My star in the stable is the Breeders Crown pacer Go Daddy Go.”
Although Molly loves all of her horses, there is no doubt that one is superior to the others.
“My favorite horse in the whole world is Fox Valley Photog,” she said. “He was definitely not the fastest and was very underperforming in his over 300 starts on the racetrack, but under saddle he paved the way for over 140 of his brothers and sisters to find homes that promise them a secure future as riding or show horses. ‘Foxy’ is the love of my life and I will never be able to repay him for everything he has done for me and this breed.”
Molly came up with the idea for MMXX Standardbreds when she was competing and was constantly asked about her horses.
“As I was traveling with our show team in show rings across the country, beating Thoroughbreds, Quarter Horses and Warmbloods, I was continually asked by the top show stables, ‘What breed is this and how can I get one?'” she said. “With my connections to the racetrack, it was only logical to combine my two passions to create a unique direct adoption program off the track.
“MMXX Standardbreds is a show team and adoption program for only Standardbred horses. Since our inception, we have facilitated 140 adoptions and helped racing owners and trainers find homes for horses that are no longer competitive on the racetrack or have since retired.
“We also have a full team that makes it all possible. On the show team side, my husband Jay is our newest second trainer and my board members Jessica Rivard and Dana Ziter also help on the show team. Our logistics coordinators are Alex Rhodes and Justine Albin and we have several volunteer riders, Liesl Dalpe, Emma Lewis and Grace Glasko and others.
“On the adoption side, we have had several volunteers help us move the adoption program forward, including Ellen Harvey, Laura Rosenfeld and Nichole Phelps, all of whom are angels sent from heaven for our Standardbreds.”
According to Molly, her show team was very successful in the ring because of the training methods they used.
“Standardbreds are very easy to train because they have all the ‘buttons’ for a safe ride: start, stop, yippee, go, left, right, etc.,” Molly said. “What they don’t understand is what ‘leg’ means. The best way to start training a Standardbred is to teach him to go and understand leg signals. This can only be done through repetition.
“I was very fortunate to have several great riders in the show ring to help me and guide me, because when I started I knew nothing at all about show riding.”
MMXX Standardbreds is a non-profit organization.
“The only support we receive is industry sponsors and individual donations,” Molly said. “Despite the endless requests we have made to the USTA or STA, we have not received any support, which is disheartening. But we thank our many sponsors who help us do what we do, especially our main sponsor Bluestone Farms. Bluestone has been committed to allowing us to continue the adoption program during the show season.”
Author’s note: To donate to MMXX Standardbreds, go to HereTo register a horse, please email Molly at [email protected].
