Darley lowers many fees, but Medaglia d'Oro up to $100K

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Sheikh Mohammed al-Maktoum's Darley organization has announced it will lower or keep unchanged the fees on 37 of its 40 stallions for the upcoming 2010 breeding season.

One who will get a fee raise is Medaglia d'Oro, who goes from $60,000 to $100,000 for 2010. Darley purchased Medaglia d'Oro from Stonewall Stallions earlier this year, and 2010 will be his first full season at Darley.

Medaglia d'Oro has had an outstanding year in 2009, led by the brilliant performances of his daughter Rachel Alexandra.

Cape Cross, the sire of top European runner Sea the Stars and one of Darley's Irish stallions, will have the same fee he had last year: 35,000 euros, or about $51,450 at Wednesday's exchange rate.

Among the Darley sires getting fee cuts this year are Bernardini, who drops from $75,000 to $60,000; Street Sense, from $60,000 to $50,000; Hard Spun, from $40,000 to $35,000; Any Give Saturday, from $30,000 to $25,000; Henny Hughes, from $30,000 to $25,000; Discreet Cat, from $25,000 to $20,000; Rockport Harbor, from $15,000 to $12,500; E Dubai, from $15,000 to $10,000; and Consolidator, from $15,000 to $7,500.

Darley also will introduce new stallion Street Boss at $20,000.

The remainder of the U.S.-based Darley stallions will stand for the same fees they had in 2008, including Darley America's highest-priced stud, Street Cry, at $150,000.

"There is no doubt that the yearling market throughout the Northern Hemisphere in 2009 has been extremely selective," said Maktoum's chief bloodstock adviser, John Ferguson. "Breeders therefore have to be very conscious of the cost of production at every level of the yearling market. Due to reasons both within and outside of the racing industry, there is a shortage of people wishing to invest in racehorses at the present time, and, although we should be cautiously optimistic for the future, Sheikh Mohammed believes that Darley's stud fees must remain exceptional value in order that breeders may continue to operate successfully in these difficult times."