Quality Road's stud fee will more than double for the 2019 season, Lane's End Farm has announced.  

As stallions age both quality and quantity of their books clearly decline. Fertility begins to wane a bit, but more significantly the market moves on to the shiny new star, and as the market goes, so goes the attention of commercial breeders.

Reloaded, trained and ridden by international event rider and longtime Thoroughbred and Mustang advocate Elisa Wallace, was voted “America’s Most Wanted Thoroughbred” at the Retired Racehorse Project’s $100,000 Thoroughbred Makeover and National Symposium this weekend at the Kentucky Horse Park.

The unbeaten but lightly raced Army Mule, away from the races since winning the Grade 1 Carter Handicap in April, has been retired and will enter stud at Hill 'n' Dale Farm in 2019, the farm announced Saturday afternoon. He will stand for a fee of $10,000.

Encosta de Lago, a leading sire and broodmare sire in Australia, has died, Coolmore Australia said Saturday. The son of Fairy King was 25.

Encosta de Lago won three of eight starts, taking the Group 1 Vichealth Cup, Group 2 Ascot Vale, and Group 2 Quantas Bill Stutt. As a sire, he is represented by 1,136 winners worldwide, including 116 stakes winners, for career progeny earnings of $146,645,036.

Leading juvenile sire Into Mischief's stud fee has risen to $150,000 and he is already booked full for 2019, Spendthrift Farm has announced as it revealed its stallion roster and a new incentive program.

Breeders' Cup Classic candidate West Coast, last year's champion 3-year-old male, will join the Lane's End Farm stallion roster in 2019, the farm has announced.

West Coast, a Flatter colt who races for Gary and Mary West, finished second to Accelerate, another future Lane's End stallion, in last Saturday's Grade 1 Awesome Again Stakes. That marked his first start since finishing second in the Dubai World Cup six months prior.

The Churchill Downs Racing Club has been named the 2018 New Owner of the Year, OwnerView has announced.

The award, presented by Fasig-Tipton, honors a new Thoroughbred owner who has been successful in the sport and has had a positive impact on the industry. The Racing Club will be honored during the fifth Thoroughbred Owner Conference, scheduled for Oct. 30-Nov. 1 in Louisville, Ky.

Tapwrit, winner of the 2017 Belmont Stakes, has been retired from racing and has arrived at Gainesway Farm to stand alongside his sire, Tapit, in 2019.

This year’s North American Thoroughbred foal crop will show a slight decline, according to The Jockey Club’s report of 2017 breeding statistics and 2018 foal crop statistics released Monday.

The Jockey Club has reported that 1,778 stallions covered 34,288 mares in North America during 2017, according to statistics compiled through Sept. 26. The number of active stallions has declined 5 percent from the 1,863 reported for 2016 at this time last year, while the number of mares bred also declined 5 percent from the 36,045 reported for 2016.