Bates Motel pensioned at 24

Graham Beck's Gainesway Farm has pensioned 24-year-old former champion Bates Motel because of the horse's age.

Bates Motel, 1983 champion older male, stood his final season this year for an advertised fee of $3,000. A Sir Ivor stallion out of the T.V. Lark mare Sunday Purchase, he currently has eight foals on the ground. He was bred to 18 mares this year and 11 are in foal, according to the farm.

Trained by John Gosden, Bates Motel was voted champion after a season highlighted by victories in the Santa Anita, Monmouth, San Antonio, and San Diego handicaps. During his career, Bates Motel won 9 of his 19 starts and earned more than $850,000 for his owners, Jacqueline Getty Phillips and her son, Michael Riordan.

Bates Motel's best American runners are Grade 2 winners Private School, Rare Blend, Barbarika, and Girl on a Mission, and $799,000 earner Packett's Landing.