Big Brown pensioned from stud duty; settling in at Old Friends

Big Brown, the 2008 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner, has been pensioned from stallion duty and recently arrived at Old Friends in Georgetown, Ky., where he will live out his days.

Big Brown, a 19-year-old son of Boundary, won seven of eight starts during his racing career, with his only loss coming when he was eased to the line in his Triple Crown bid in the 2008 Belmont Stakes. In addition to dominant wins in the Derby and Preakness, his Eclipse Award championship season included Grade 1 scores in the Florida Derby and Haskell Invitational, and a stakes win on turf in the Monmouth Stakes.

Big Brown retired to stud at Three Chimneys in Kentucky for the 2009 season. He later moved to New York, beginning with the 2015 season at Dutchess Views Farm in Pine Plains, and then to Irish Hill and Dutchess Views Stallions in Stillwater, near Saratoga Springs, when two prominent stallion operations merged.

He became a prominent sire in his adopted state, finishing as New York’s leading general sire in 2015 and 2020, and in the top three on that list in 2017, 2019, 2021, and 2022. He is seventh by earnings in 2024 through Sept. 29.

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Big Brown is the sire of 38 career stakes winners, led by multiple Grade 1-winning millionaire Dortmund and multiple graded stakes-winning millionaire Somelikeithotbrown. He is also the sire of U.S. graded stakes winners Coach Inge, Kiss to Remember, and Send It In.

Big Brown’s final foals will be racing in the coming years. He covered 12 mares in 2023, according to The Jockey Club’s Report of Mares Bred. The stallion stood for an advertised fee of $5,000 this season at Irish Hill and Dutchess Views. Breeding statistics are not yet available for this season.

Big Brown is the fifth Derby and Preakness winner to be retired to Old Friends in Kentucky. He joins current residents Silver Charm (1997) and I’ll Have Another (2012). The farm was also home to the late Charismatic (1999) and War Emblem (2002).

“We are excited beyond measure to welcome Big Brown as an honored member of the Old Friends family,” John Nicholson, president and CEO of Old Friends, said in a release. “We are deeply grateful to [syndicate managing member] Andy Cohen and all of Big Brown's connections for choosing to share this great horse with racing fans everywhere.”

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