All Equine All The Time

Girolamo With the new year upon us, racing is slowly heating up for the 2017 Triple Crown while breeding sheds prepare for breeding season. While no doubt stallions across North America will be busy this year, a few look like they’re poised to grab even more interest from breeders in 2017.  Here are seven U.S.-based stallions with anywhere from one to four crops of three-year-olds on the track who look like they’ll be ones to watch in 2017. When both Shackleford (Forestry) and Dialed In (Mineshaft) retired to stud at Darby Dan Farm in 2013, it was probably believed that the Preakness winner would have an advantage at stud. But three years later, Dialed In isn’t just the King of the Freshmen at Darby Dan, he’s taken home the title over all the freshmen in this year’s exceptional crop. Dialed In looks to have a nice colt in two-time graded stakes winner Gunnevera with Ms Locust Point and Ruffenuff both representing his fillies at the stakes level with 19 sires winning for ...

Bodemeister Perhaps the deepest crop of first crop sires North America has seen in many years, 2016’s leading first crop sire battle may be one for the ages. With multiple stand outs waiting for their chance to shine, it doesn’t look like 2016 will have an Uncle Mo (Indian Charlie) type stallion to run away with the lead but instead a neck and neck stretch duel all the way around the track. But who should you watch for at the top of the list? And who are some “smaller” stallions who may not have the number of foals needed to rock the rankings but may make some noise this year? Read below to find 10 stallions who answer at least one of the aforementioned questions. A Florida stallion, Biondetti (Bernardini) won the Group 1 Gran Criterium at two and is a half-brother to the dam of multiple champion Royal Delta (Empire Maker). While his turf race record may have been a little iffy for a United States stallion prospect, that family helped him to attract a solid book of 108 ma...

When one mentions that the racehorse industry has become commercialized, they only have to point to the yearling sales to prove their point.   This year’s first season sires are an example of that, with the racing industry getting to see a large sample of these new sires’ offspring a year before they make it to the track. Union Rags has 75 yearlings selling this summer Between the sales of the two major sales companies (Keeneland and Fasig-Tipton) summer yearling sales, many foals born to these new sires last year won’t race under their breeders’ names. Freshmen sires account for 990 yearlings selling this summer, with 45.3 percent of their foals born in 2013 going through the ring at Fasig-Tipton and Keeneland. On first glance, WinStar Farm’s Bodemeister, who had 135 foals born in 2014 looks to be the freshman stallion most visited by commercial breeders. Of those 135 born, 98 have either sold at a Fasig-Tipton yearling sale this summer or will sell at Keeneland S...