Breeders' Cup raises fees

The board of directors of Breeders' Cup Ltd. has decided to raise the nomination fees for stallions who have more than 50 foals in a year, the company announced Friday.

Under the new structure, which will take effect in 2006, any stallion who produces 50 to 99 foals in one year will carry a nomination fee of 1.5 times his stud fee, and any stallion who produces 100 or more foals in one year will have a nomination fee of two times his stud fee. The current nomination fee for stallions is one stud fee.

Any offspring of a Breeders' Cup-nominated stallion is eligible to be nominated to the Breeders' Cup. The owner of the foal must pay a $500 nomination fee to make the horse fully eligible.

The Breeders' Cup board made the decision at a time when many stallions routinely cover more than 50 mares in a season. In Kentucky, the average stallion covered 56.6 mares in 2004, according to The Jockey Club.

The increase is the first in the history of the Breeders' Cup. The organization began collecting stallion nomination fees in 1982.