Miracle Man, a multiple-stakes-placed runner on turf and dirt at several tracks, will begin his stud career at Lois Engel's Pucker Ridge Farm in Warrensburg, N.Y.
His fee for the 2009 breeding season is $2,500, and he stands as the property of Jeff Pearl, Fred Picarello, Vincent Formato, and John Seyford.
Miracle Man started his career with three consecutive victories, moving through his conditions and defeating several good performers, including the graded-stakes winner Silver Train.
Florida's foal population, as reported earlier this month, is expected to decrease by approximately 15 percent in 2009. The number of broodmares in production also is expected to decrease. New stallions, however, are swelling the Florida stallion ranks. This means that those standing stallions will have to think and act creatively if they want to generate bookings.
Fasig-Tipton Midlantic's December mixed sale has been trimmed by about a third from previous years, with fewer than 400 broodmares, weanlings, yearlings, and horses of racing age cataloged for the one-day sale, to be held Dec. 8 at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium.
LEXINGTON, Ky. - The Thoroughbred market's continuing downturn has prompted WinStar Farm and Taylor Made Farm in Lexington to revise fees for two major sires this week. WinStar's Distorted Humor, originally slated to drop from his 2008 fee of $300,000 to $225,000, will now be on offer at $150,000. And Taylor Made stallion Unbridled's Song, initially advertised to keep his 2008 fee of $150,000, will now be available at $112,500. Breeders paying by Nov. 1 can get him at that fee, but those wishing to wait until the resulting foal stands and nurses will pay $125,000.
As the dam of three multiple stakes winners who together had earned more than $1 million, Thirty Eight Steps was deeply mourned when she died three years ago at the age of 18.
Her owner, William R. Harris, chose a special name for the filly born just 2 1/2 months before her death - Sweet Goodbye.
Now, Sweet Goodbye, a Maryland-bred daughter of Louis Quatorze, is opening new doors for Harris, a resident of Mineral, Va., who has campaigned many successful homebreds since buying his first horse in 1961.
LEXINGTON, Ky. - The public appraisal of Curlin at a value of $20 million this week stirred curiosity about how an appraiser puts a value on a horse, especially a stallion. Essentially, there are two broad steps to doing this: assessing the horse in a class of comparable animals and estimating what income might be derived from the use of the horse at stud.
Multiple Grade 1 winner Silver Wagon will stand the 2009 breeding season at Kurt Butenhoff's and James LaMonica's Empire Stud in Hudson, N.Y.
His fee will be $5,000, foal stands and nurses.
"I felt like we could bring a quality animal to the breeders that was an A-plus physical specimen, an A-plus racehorse, and a very good-pedigreed horse," said LaMonica. "It gives them what, in my opinion, a horse that was brilliant at 2 and was sound throughout his career. If anybody comes and sees him they'll be blown away. He's a gorgeous animal."
LEXINGTON, Ky. - Zayat Stables' multiple graded stakes winner J Be K has been retired and will enter stud at Gainesway Farm in Lexington.
The 3-year-old Silver Deputy colt will stand his initial season for a $10,000 fee.
Ahmed Zayat purchased J Be K at the 2007 Fasig-Tipton Calder select juvenile sale for $350,000, and the colt went on to capture three graded races for Zayat Stables: the Grade 2 Woody Stephens Stakes and the Grade 3 Bay Shore and Jersey Shore stakes, all this year. He also was runner-up in the 2008 Withers Stakes, another Grade 3.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Feisty Suances is undefeated in two starts, and trainer Darrell Vienna is still unsure what to make of the colt.
"I don't know how good he is," Vienna said. "I don't think we've seen the top of him. We need a lot more information."