President

Joe Appelbaum claimed his first horse in 1999 and won some races and lost his fair share before linking up with Carlos Morales to form Off The Hook in 2002. A breeding, racing and sales company with a farm and training center in Ocala, FL and offices in New York City, Off The Hook has experienced a string of pinhooking and racing successes. Off the Hook is built around the idea that a patient and pragmatic approach early in a horse’s development will lead to lasting competitive excellence at the racetrack.

Joe played football at Yale University, and went on to become a college football coach, spending seven years coaching at five different universities, most famously working with Wayne Chrebet and Victor Cruz. He was the President of Kids Interest Development Services Inc. and co-founded Oasis Children’s Services LLC, which provided school, camp and after-school programming for thousands of children throughout the Northeast.

Joe has worked with a wide variety of trainers: Tom Bush, Chad Brown, Jim Bond, Mike Hushion, Leah Gyarmati, Andrew Lakeman, Jorge Abreu and Todd Pletcher. Off The Hook has developed dozens of stakes winners: most notably, Breeders Cup Champion Informed Decision, Grade I winners El Deal, Turbo Compressor, Zipessa and Paola Queen, as well as NY-Bred Millionaire Zivo.

Joe is a native New Yorker and currently lives with his wife and children in Manhattan. He served his first term on the NYTHA Board from 2014-17, and was named NYTHA President in 2017.