War Front, the flagship of the current roster at historic Claiborne Farm, quietly put together another consistently outstanding season.

War Front was North America’s leading living turf sire by progeny earnings in 2023. He had a remarkable strike rate with 33 winners, including 10 stakes winners, from 91 starters for a turf bankroll of $5,863,936.

That placed him behind only the late English Channel (Calumet Farm), and just ahead of the versatile leading sire Into Mischief (Spendthrift Farm) to make him the living leader in the category.

Justify was a breakout success as a racehorse, crossing the line first in all six of his starts in 2018, including a sweep of the Triple Crown series. The Horse of the Year, now based at Coolmore’s Ashford Stud in Kentucky, enjoyed breakout success as a sire in 2023, with six Grade/Group 1 winners, tied for most by a North American sire with Into Mischief (Spendthrift Farm).

Two-time Horse of the Year Curlin made the vast majority of his starts in Grade/Group 1 races and only missed the top three once while retiring as North America’s all-time leading money winner. His high achievement has continued into his second career as a stallion, as he has been a remarkably consistent sire of upper-level horses.

A number of the most exciting sires currently standing in Ohio have moved there from other states. In the case of National Flag, he began his career in Ohio for one of the Buckeye State’s most prominent partnerships and is rewarding them as a rising star.

National Flag, who stands for a $2,000 fee for racing co-owner WinStar Farm and longtime Ohio partner Tim Hamm at the latter’s Blazing Meadows Farm in Ohio, was the state’s leading freshman sire of 2022. He stepped up to finish third on the state’s general sire list for 2023.

Great Notion led Maryland’s general sire list for the fifth consecutive year in 2023, with progeny whose longevity is helping him continue to dominate this market.