The ranks of elite turf sires are in a period of major change, both in North America and Europe, with the loss of several titans in recent years. Emerging as a leader of the group is War Front, a stallion popular on both sides of the Atlantic. The flagship of the Claiborne Farm roster, War Front is the leading living turf sire by earnings in North America, with several other stallions also emerging as horses to keep an eye on in the coming years. The earnings leader among all North American stallions, regardless of status, is champion English Channel, who died in 2021 after a successful run for Calumet Farm. Among living active sires, War Front led the continent’s turf sires in 2022 with 10 black-type winners, edging out Uncle Mo and Into Mischief. The latter two, who stand at Coolmore’s Ashford Stud and at Spendthrift Farm, respectively, are considered multi-surface threats. The turf earnings list top 10 also includes Kitten’s Joy, who died in 2022 at Hill ‘n’ Dale Farm, and More Than Ready and Pioneerof the Nile, WinStar Farm residents who died in 2022 and 2019, respectively. On the Beyer Sire Performance Standings, Daily Racing Form’s exclusive stallion metrics, the late English Channel again leads the way with the most benchmark Beyer Speed Figures of 90 or higher on turf recorded by his progeny, with 45 runs to crack that ceiling. Following him is another name among North America’s consistent turf sires, Spendthrift’s Temple City with 36 races with 90-plus Beyers. They are followed by Into Mischief with 33 and Uncle Mo and War Front with 26 each. Going a step higher up the ladder, the Beyer Sire Performance Standings list of stallions with the most 100-plus Beyers on turf includes a number of international names. Dubawi, standing for Darley in Europe, has become one of the world’s leading sires, taking up the mantle of the great Galileo, who died in 2021. Dubawi, who has a major presence in North America for the international Godolphin operation, recorded nine 100-plus Beyers to lead the way in 2022. Those were led by Modern Games, who recorded the year’s top turf Beyer with a 112 winning the Grade 1 Woodbine Mile. He went on to notch a 104 winning the Breeders’ Cup Mile. On the same card, Dubawi’s Rebel’s Romance recorded a 107 winning the Turf. After Dubawi comes Declaration of War, a former Kentucky stallion who now stands in Japan, with six 100-plus Beyers. Recording five each in the category were Uncle Mo; Animal Kingdom, who moved to Japan from Kentucky; and Juddmonte’s European champion Kingman. Among the ranks of up-and-coming turf sires, Kitten’s Joy appears to have a heir on the rise in Oscar Performance, the leading freshman sire by turf earnings. A Mill Ridge Farm resident and sire of graded stakes winner Andthewinneris from his first crop, Oscar Performance finished 38th among living and active Kentucky sires by turf earnings with his seven-figure bankroll. Ghostzapper tops synthetic list With increasing opportunities to race on synthetic surfaces in North America, the multi-surface stallion Ghostzapper tops the list by progeny earnings on that surface as the only stallion to crack $2 million. Following the synthetic main-track era in Southern California, the synthetic earnings list became mainly the realm of Canadian stallions, thanks to the meeting at Woodbine – and, indeed, the top three stallions behind Ghostzapper on the 2022 list are all Ontario residents. But in recent years, the purse structure has grown more robust at Turfway Park, making the synthetic earnings category more significant for Kentucky sires. There are opportunities to race on all-weather surfaces at Presque Isle in Pennsylvania and Golden Gate Fields in Northern California, and Gulfstream Park continued to add to the significance of the surface by debuting a synthetic track in late 2021. New York is considering adding an all-weather track. Ghostzapper’s top earner on synthetic was Canadian standout Moira, whose three stakes wins included runaway scores in the Woodbine Oaks and Queen’s Plate. Ghostzapper’s top Beyer Speed Figure on the surface was a 105 recorded by Visitant, a multiple stakes winner at Turfway.