Fipke waives stallion fees for 2020 season

Prominent owner and breeder Charles Fipke will waive stud fees for the 2020 season on all his stallions as a response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Fipke stands seven stallions publicly around North America, all homebreds from his program. He said that this move is intended to provide some relief to small breeders who could be particularly hard-hit by the economic implications of the pandemic.

"Small breeders will especially be affected by the economic conditions, and they are the backbone of this industry," Fipke said in an advertisement for Darby Dan Farm, which stands three of his most prominent stallions in Lexington, Ky. "None of my stallions stand for more than $5,000, and they are primarily supported by small breeders. Because I own my stallions outright and don't have shareholder responsibilities, I am able to do this, with the support of the farms where they stand. I'm passionate about this game and will continue to support my stallions, and I'd like to show my appreciation for outside breeders who do so as well in these trying times."

Fipke's trio at Darby Dan is led by Grade 1 winner Tale of Ekati, the sire of Grade 1 winner Girvin and graded stakes winners Ekati's Phaeton and Verve's Tale. Tale of Ekati, who covered 34 mares in 2019, according to The Jockey Club's Report of Mares Bred, was standing for an advertised fee of $5,000 this season. Like all of Fipke's stallions, that fee will be waived for breeders who have already signed contracts for their mares, and zero-fee contracts will be issued for new breeders.

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Darby Dan also stands Bee Jersey, a son of Fipke's Grade 1 winner Jersey Town; and Tale of Verve, by Tale of Ekati. Both entered stud in 2019, covering books of 61 and 13 mares, respectively. Bee Jersey, who won the stallion-making Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap, was standing for $5,000 this year; Tale of Verve, second to American Pharoah in the 2015 Preakness Stakes, stands for $2,000.

Jersey Town, who produced Bee Jersey from his first crop, currently stands at Daehling Ranch in Elk Grove, Calif., with an advertised fee of $3,000, after previously standing in Kentucky and British Columbia.

Another of Fipke's homebreds, stakes-placed Forever d'Oro, entered stud last year at Hidden Springs Farm in Palmyra, Ind., with an advertised fee of $2,000. The young stallion is out of Kentucky Oaks winner Lemons Forever, making him a half-brother to Eclipse Award champion Forever Unbridled and Grade 1 winner Unbridled Forever.

Rounding out Fipke's current public stallion interests are Canadian classic winner Danish Dynaformer and Grade 1-placed Perfect Timber, both standing for $2,500 in local funds at Colebrook Farms Stallion Station in Ontario, Canada. The two entered stud in 2019 and 2018, respectively. Perfect Timber is a son of Fipke's most successful stallion, Canadian champion Perfect Soul, who was pensioned last November at Darby Dan. Perfect Soul sired Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf winner Perfect Shirl and Grade 1 winner Seeking the Soul, both of whom campaigned in Fipke's colors.