Who is the world’s best racehorse? You may be surprised to learn that the official holder of that title for 2017 was Arrogate, whose dramatic Dubai World Cup performance was the highest-rated single performance of the year according to the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities. Unlike electoral trophies such as the Eclipse and Cartier awards, the IFHA’s annual World’s Best Racehorse Rankings are based on the single best performance by a horse every year instead of form over the whole year.

Multiple Grade 1 winner Ransom the Moon, a contender for the Breeders’ Cup Sprint, will enter stud at Calumet Farm for the 2019 breeding season. 

Ransom the Moon is a son of Malibu Moon trained by Phil D’Amato for Agave Racing Stable and Jeffry Wilke. 

“As the only Grade 1-winning sprinting son of Malibu Moon to go to stud, Ransom the Moon offers breeders with a dirt-speed option on an incredible sire line,” Calumet Farm’s director of stallions Jak Knelman said in a release. 

Grade 1 winner Girvin will stand the 2019 breeding season at Ocala Stud in Florida in a deal involving several parties, including major Kentucky operation Airdrie Stud. 

Brad and Misty Grady of Grand Oaks Farm, who campaigned Girvin on the racetrack, have partnered with Kentucky-based Airdrie to co-own Girvin through his stallion career. The deal was structured by West Bloodstock. 

Always Dreaming, the 2017 Kentucky Derby winner, has officially been retired from racing, it was announced Wednesday. He will stand at stud in 2019 at WinStar Farm for a fee of $25,000.

Always Dreaming was originally owned by Anthony Bonomo, Maryellen Bonomo, and Dominick Schettino, who was the trainer for the colt’s first two career starts as a 2-year-old.

Spendthrift Farm has announced that it will discontinue the Spendthrift Stallion Stakes at Churchill Downs after October’s renewal, citing a refusal by the North American International Cataloguing Standards Committee to give black-type consideration to the race. The race is restricted to runners by Spendthrift sires.

Quality Road had a career year in 2017, siring Eclipse Award champions Abel Tasman and Caledonia Road. His momentum has continued this year with a strong summer with his 2-year-olds, capped by Bellafina’s victory in the Grade 1 Del Mar Debutante.

Bellafina, who finished second in her debut, won her maiden in the Grade 2 Sorrento Stakes. She won the Debutante by 4 1/4 lengths last Saturday.

Because of Claiborne Farm’s more cautious, traditional approach to stallion management than the norm, Claiborne stallions tend to be at a bit of a disadvantage early in their careers. Since Claiborne restricts its stallions to not many more than 100 mares a year, they usually do not have the numbers to compete statistically with stallions standing at farms that take full advantage of the big-book era.

Multiple Grade 1-winning multi-millionaire Accelerate, a leading contender for the Breeders’ Cup Classic, will stand at Lane’s End Farm upon retirement, the farm announced Wednesday.

Earlier this month, Accelerate, who is trained by John Sadler for Hronis Racing, won the Pacific Classic by 12 ½ lengths. He became the third horse to win the Santa Anita Handicap, Gold Cup – now run at Santa Anita, formerly at Hollywood Park – and Pacific Classic in the same year, joining Lava Man and Game On Dude.

The arc of a young stallion’s career seldom follows a smooth path.

Nearly two decades ago, More Than Ready was among the first group of horses trainer Todd Pletcher started in the 2000 Kentucky Derby, finishing a creditable fourth. On Saturday, Pletcher’s former assistant Jonathan Thomas saddled Catholic Boy, a son of More Than Ready, to win the Travers Stakes at Saratoga.