Harness: Walner's stud fee climbs to $30,000 in 2022

The Walner Syndicate announced today that the 2022 stud fee for its record-setting trotting stallion has been set at $30,000. Walner, whose stud career is managed by Preferred Equine Marketing, stands at Southwind Farms in Pennington, N.J.

Never before has the industry seen a trotting stallion's first crop achieve such success. Walner is the overall leading sire of 2-year-old trotters, with $4 million, and ranks more than $1.3 million ahead of his closest rival - his own sire, Chapter Seven.

He has sired a jaw-dropping 20 2-year-old trotters with race records of 1:55 or faster and eight $100,000-plus winners, led by the sport's no. 1-ranked trotter in the current Hambletonian Society/Breeders Crown poll, Venerable 2,1:52 ($927,295).

Walner's success at the yearling sales mirrors his racing output. After posting the second-leading average among trotting sires of more than $82,000 from his first crop in 2020, he stepped up at this year's Lexington Selected Sale to lead all sires with an average of $160,792 for 48 head sold.

He sired not only the sale topper at $800,000, but four of the top five selling lots.

There will be 19 Walner yearlings on offer at next week's Harrisburg sale, plus 11 broodmares in foal to Walner.

"What Walner has accomplished with his first crop is nothing short of phenomenal," said syndicate manager David Reid. "Anyone who followed his racing career and studied his pedigree anticipated the best, but the level of his siring ability surpasses all expectations."

Reid attributes a large part of the stallion's success to his syndicate breeders.

"The syndicate members deserve accolades," said Reid. "They went 'all in' and sent him quality mares his first year at stud, and that decision paid off handsomely both at the yearling sales and on the racetrack.

"Even mares with deep but recently 'quiet' pedigrees perked up quickly when bred to Walner. That's the mark of a truly great sire, in my opinion."

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Walner's first crop is led by the aforementioned Venerable, the year's richest freshman trotter and the Mohawk Million and Doherty Memorial winner. He is also the sire of a trio of Breeders Crown elim winners in Raised By Lindy 2,1:51 3/5 ($295,243), Lilbitalexis 2,1:52 2/5 ($173,362), and Testing Testing 2,1:53 4/5 ($70,025), plus the winner of the William Wellwood and Peter Haughton Memorials, King Of The North 2,1:52 4/5 ($578,915).

For further information regarding Walner, contact David Reid at Preferred Equine Marketing, (914) 773-7777 or email davereid@preferredequine.com.

--press release (Walner Syndicate)--