In the final weeks of trainer Brittany Russell’s time with the Mid-Atlantic star Post Time, the only parting gift she could give him was to send him out a winner. Back at Laurel Park on Dec. 20, the dynamic duo connected one more time in the $100,000 Robert T. Manfuso, the Maryland-bred’s 11th and final victory at home.
The importation of the successful young sire Sergei Prokofiev from England should be a huge boost to the Ontario breeding industry.
Sergei Prokofiev will stand for $10,000 at Ballycroy Bloodstock north of Toronto after the son of Scat Daddy was purchased privately and syndicated last fall by his Canadian breeder, David Anderson. A $1.1 million Keeneland yearling purchase by the Coolmore clan in 2017, he won three sprint stakes in England and Ireland during his formative years, including the Group 3 Cornwallis.
Perennial leading sire Candy Ride was no slouch in 2025 as he continues to produce quality. The Lane’s End stallion, who turns 27 this year, finished 10th among North American leading general sires by earnings, with five stakes winners led by Dubai World Cup hero Hit Show.
But Candy Ride’s influence has shifted to his sons at stud picking up the torch. On various 2025 sire lists, he is represented by a number of top 10 finishers.
Unified might have distinguished himself as a dirt horse on the track, but it would be a turf runner he sired, Idratherbeblessed, that helped him edge Coal Front atop the 2025 stallion charts in Louisiana.
Unified led all Louisiana-based stallions in progeny earnings last year, with $3,906,416, according to statistics from Daily Racing Form. His chief earner was Idratherbeblessed, the Grade 2 Mervin Muniz Memorial winner in March who closed out 2025 with a victory in the $100,000 Buddy Diliberto Memorial on Dec. 20 at Fair Grounds.
Classic sire and leading sire Distorted Humor was euthanized Saturday morning due to the infirmities of old age, WinStar Farm, where the stallion resided as a pensioner following his long career, has announced. The stallion was 33.
LEXINGTON, Ky. – WinStar Farm has announced that Gerry Duffy will assume roles as the farm’s president and chief executive officer this year, with Elliott Walden, the former trainer who has been synonymous with the farm over the past two decades, stepping down from those roles but remaining involved with the operation.
With dual classic winner Sovereignty, a lock to earn a divisional Eclipse Award and a strong candidate to be named Horse of the Year, leading the way, his sire, Into Mischief, continued his streak as the nation’s top stallion and his owner-breeder, Godolphin, looks to continue its own streak of awards, as well.
Tangling with champions was commonplace for Collected in the late summer and fall of 2017.
As a 4-year-old that season, Collected won three stakes, notably the Grade 1 Pacific Classic at 1 1/4 miles at Del Mar, beating Arrogate by a half-length. Arrogate was the champion 3-year-old male of 2016 and later an inductee to racing’s Hall of Fame.
In his following start, Collected bravely chased Gun Runner in the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Del Mar, only to finish second by 2 1/4 lengths. Gun Runner was named the 2017 Horse of the Year and also is in the Hall of Fame.
Consequences of the 2025 closure of Harris Farms in Coalinga, Calif., as a commercial breeding facility will not be fully known for a few years, but some clues will surface for the state’s breeding industry in coming months.
By any measure, the 330-acre farm’s closure is a loss, but it also is an opportunity for other farms to gain a greater role in the region.
Harris Farms, centrally located, stood nine stallions in 2025 who were bred to 187 mares, or 14.4 percent of the 1,291 bred in the state, according to The Jockey Club’s report of mares bred.
