Triple Crown winner Justify had a breakout season with his runners in 2023. His popularity as a stallion is expected to spike – and thus, his stud fee has risen accordingly.  Justify stood for an advertised fee of $100,000 in 2023 at Coolmore’s Ashford Stud, following a debut season in which he was among North America’s leading freshman sires. With his runners achieving Grade/Group 1 success worldwide last season, his 2024 fee was set at $200,000 in October. It was later moved to private – a common practice when stallions experience high success after the publication of fees. Capitalizing on the expected demand for Justify, Ashford will use his success to bolster the books for some of his younger stablemates this season – the latest example of a farm innovating to help its stock – as all are at crucial stages of their stud careers.  Breeders who book mares to Eclipse Award champion juvenile Corniche (standing for $25,000), Eclipse champion 3-year-old Epicenter ($40,000), multiple Grade 1 winner Jack Christopher ($40,000), or multiple Grade 1 winner Tiz the Law ($20,000) for the breeding season that begins in February will be entered into four separate drawings, one for each of those books, to a no-guarantee season to Justify. There is no limit on the number of tickets per client. The drawings will take place April 26. “Justify has enjoyed a sensational year,” Coolmore’s Charlie O’Connor said. “We think ‘The Justify 4’ concept is a novel idea which is sure to catch the imagination of breeders given four seasons to this great stallion are up for grabs.” Corniche, Epicenter, and Jack Christopher are all about to begin their respective second seasons at stud, while Tiz the Law will have his first 2-year-olds on the track this year. All are at crucial stages where additional mare support could play a role in their continued success.  Stallions often garner an outstanding book in their first season at stud, as their farms and supporters work to get them off to a good start in both quality and quantity. The numbers often then shift toward supporting other newcomers.  The Jockey Club’s Report of Mares Bred illustrates a few examples in the last two years. Yaupon (Spendthrift Farm) covered 242 mares in 2022 to be the second-busiest stallion in the country and one of three first-year stallions in the top 10 that year. In 2023, Yaupon bred 202 mares to drop out of the top 10. The 10 busiest stallions in 2023 did include five first-year stallions – including Ashford stablemates Golden Pal and Epicenter atop the list, with Jack Christopher in fourth.  Meanwhile, the year a stallion has his first runners also is a crucial stage. Breeders may hang back, waiting to see how those first runners perform, rather than taking the risk of breeding a mare and, in the worst-case scenario, winding up with a non-commercial foal by an underperforming stallion. Justify, himself, was not immune to the trend of a fourth-year numbers drop. The Triple Crown winner covered 252 mares in 2019, his first season at stud. He covered 156 mares in 2022, the year his freshman crop raced.  Justify has gone on to a stellar start to his stallion career, leading both the North American second-crop sires list and overall 2-year-old sire list in 2023. He sired a pair of Breeders’ Cup winners last November at Santa Anita, with Just F Y I winning the Juvenile Fillies and Hard to Justify winning the Juvenile Fillies Turf. Both are finalists for the divisional Eclipse Award, to be presented Thursday night.  Justify also sired European champion 2-year-olds City of Troy and Opera Singer and two additional Grade 1 winners in Arabian Lion and Aspen Grove. His six Grade/Group 1 winners tied with five-time reigning leading general sire Into Mischief (Spendthrift Farm) for the most in North America in 2023.  Under the terms of this breeding season’s drawing, the mares contracted to the four young stallions must be bred before the contest winner’s nominated mare can be bred to Justify. The mare nominated must be “approved and fit for breeding purposes,” and mares older than 17 or barren for the last two years are excluded. Coolmore, which said its staff could be contacted for more information, added that all of its employees and related parties are ineligible for the draws, as are any partners in the participating stallions.