Texas Chrome to stand stud in Arkansas

Texas Chrome, who has been named 2017 Texas-bred horse of the year, will enter stud this season in Arkansas, his owner, Danny Keene, said Wednesday.

Texas Chrome also was the Texas-bred horse of the year for 2016. He retired last year after becoming just the second Texas-bred Thoroughbred to reach $1 million in earnings, behind champion Groovy.

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Keene said Texas Chrome will stand this year at his Keene Thoroughbreds in Hot Springs, Ark. He has a training center at the farm and said next year he will have a separate breeding facility completed in Hot Springs and that Texas Chrome will move there. Keene is breeding a number of his own mares to Texas Chrome, but also will offer the horse commercially to approved mares for a fee of $3,000.

“I think he’ll fit well up here,” Keene said. “Arkansas has got such a good breeding program, why not go with it?”

Texas Chrome ran second in a pair of Grade 3 races last year at Lone Star, the Steve Sexton Mile and the Lone Star Park Handicap, and also won the track’s Assault Stakes to hit millionaire status. The points he earned in those stakes helped him lock up his title. He will be honored during the Texas Thoroughbred Association’s annual banquet June 23 at Lone Star.

Texas Chrome’s half-sister Patrona Margarita will be honored as the Texas-bred 2-year-old filly champion of 2017 following her win in last year’s Grade 2 Pocahontas at Churchill. Trainer Bret Calhoun said she is being pointed to the Rachel Alexandra at Fair Grounds.