In one of the closest duels on any stallion list for 2024, Vekoma edged McKinzie and Tiz the Law to claim the freshman sire earnings title. Vekoma, who stands at Spendthrift Farm, had a class-high 39 winners from a sizeable 84 starters for progeny earnings of $2,763,960. McKinzie, standing at Gainesway Farm, had 20 winners from 70 starters for $2,741,021. Coolmore’s Tiz the Law, based at Ashford Stud, had 22 winners from 50 runners for $2,731,687. The earnings margin between the top three was less than $33,000, a razor-thin margin considering the size of maiden-race purses in some jurisdictions. The three stallions all showed precocity as graded stakes winners as 2-year-olds, with McKinzie and Tiz the Law winning Grade 1 races. All three carried their form onto Grade 1 victories at ages 3 and/or 4, and showed both brilliance and stamina by winning stakes around both one and two turns. Vekoma was helped to his earnings victory with five individual stakes winners, which is tied with Tiz the Law and Complexity for the most in the class. Vekoma’s season was highlighted by Jonathan’s Way, winner of the Grade 3 Iroquois Stakes and runner-up in the Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club. Tiz the Law had graded winners on both dirt and turf, with Non Compliant winning the Grade 2 Oak Leaf Stakes and Scythian taking the Grade 2 Miss Grillo on the grass. Airdrie Stud’s Complexity, a good fourth on the earnings list with 22 winners from 56 starters, showed similar versatility, with Group 2 winner Black Forza on turf and Grade 3 winner Mo Plex on dirt. McKinzie had just two stakes winners, but had the distinction of siring a pair of Grade 1 winners. Chancer McPatrick won both the Hopeful and Champagne stakes in New York and was an Eclipse Award finalist. McKinzie’s daughter Scottish Lassie won the Grade 1 Frizette Stakes in the Empire State. This is the third consecutive year Spendthrift has been represented by the leading freshman sire by earnings. The run started with 2022 leader Bolt d’Oro. In 2023, Spendthrift swept the top four spots on the freshman list, led by Mitole – who, like Vekoma, won the Metropolitan Handicap. Spendthrift has plenty of reasons for pride on this freshman list, with Thousand Words and Authentic checking in sixth and seventh, respectively, behind Vekoma. Authentic was one of three sons of Spendthrift kingpin Into Mischief in the top 10, along with Honest Mischief, who stands at Sequel Stallions in New York, finishing eighth and Taylor Made’s Instagrand coming in 10th. Twirling Candy leads on turf With the introduction of several Breeders’ Cup races, lucrative turf-centric meets such as those at Kentucky Downs and Colonial Downs, and series such as New York’s turf triple for 3-year-olds, there are more high-end turf opportunities in the United States than ever before. While it’s by no means a bad thing to have a stellar turf sire, versatility was a hallmark for the country’s leading turf sires of 2024. Twirling Candy, who stands at Lane’s End Farm, was the leading turf sire by winners, with 55 on grass, and earnings, at $8,294,964. He outdistanced WinStar Farm’s Constitution, whose earnings stood at $5,972,102 with 50 winners. Twirling Candy’s eight individual stakes winners were led by Grade 1 Del Mar Oaks winner Iscreamuscream. Following Twirling Candy and Constitution on the list were Taylor Made’s Not This Time, Claiborne Farm’s flagship sire War Front, and leading general sire Into Mischief. With the exception of War Front, four of the top five sired graded stakes winners on both dirt and turf in 2024. Perhaps no one showed that versatility more strongly on the season than Not This Time, whose top runners were the crack turf sprinter Cogburn and the dominant dirt marathon specialist Next. War Front has ably proven his versatility in the past, with the likes of Preakness Stakes winner War of Will and multiple Grade 1 winner Omaha Beach on dirt. He distinguished himself in his own ways in 2024. According to Daily Racing Form’s exclusive stallion metrics, the Beyer Sire Performance Standings, War Front’s progeny recorded the most benchmark Beyer Speed Figures of 90 or higher on turf in 2024, with 49 – leading the late Calumet Farm resident English Channel, who had 42. War Front recorded the nation’s top average progeny Beyer, a 68. Ransom the Moon sires winningest horse Multiple Grade 1 winner Ransom the Moon, who stands at Calumet Farm, had the distinction of siring the winningest horse of 2024. Tennessee Moon won 13 of 18 starts, and was second twice, during her 4-year-old campaign. The now 5-year-old mare was bred at Calumet and is owned and trained by Mark Hibdon, who claimed her for $5,000 in late 2023. During her standout campaign, Tennessee Moon raced at Hibdon’s base of Delta Downs in Louisiana, but also traveled to Lone Star Park in Texas, Fonner Park in Nebraska, Energy Downs in Wyoming, Arapahoe Park in Colorado, and Churchill Downs in November for the annual Claiming Crown, a celebration of blue-collar horses. Although she raced mostly under starter-allowance, starter-optional, and allowance conditions, she did win the Molly Brown Stakes and Columbine Stakes at Arapahoe, Al Swihart Memorial Stakes at Fonner, and the Jack Greer Memorial Stakes at Energy Downs. “We just tried to find the right races for her and putting her in there,” Hibdon said at last fall’s Claiming Crown. “I try to be realistic with what I’ve got,” he said. “I claimed her for $5,000. She’s a lower-level horse, and we’ve been able to run her in some races and make a little money with her. I know she’s not Seabiscuit, but she is to us.” Ransom the Moon won two editions of the Grade 1 Bing Crosby Stakes before entering stud in 2019. The son of Malibu Moon is the sire of four stakes winners overall.